An implant can be thought of as a replacement root, anchored into the bone to allow a crown to be placed on top. Most implants today are made of titanium, a material that fools your body into believing that it is not a foreign object, and thus avoiding your body’s natural rejection response. After an implant is surgically implanted into the bone of your upper or lower jaw, the implant will structurally and functionally connect to the bone, in a process called “Osseointegration”.
This process takes about 3 months to occur, and after that healing period, we can go ahead and place a crown on top of the implant. This will make it appear as if you never lost your tooth!
Implants can also be used for a number of other dental procedures. If you have 3 or more teeth missing in one area, two implants can be placed with a space between them, and then a bridge can be constructed to replace the 3 or 4 missing teeth. In some cases, multiple implants can be used to anchor a bridge that replaces all of the teeth in your upper or lower jaw. Implants can also be used in conjunction with dentures, stabilizing the denture and making it easier to chew like normal.