Dr. Gayatrhi.Shashank

Dental implants are generally identified as substitutes for tooth roots. Besides, replacing damaged or decayed teeth, implants also provide a strong foundation for both permanent as well as removable replacement teeth.

Advantages
There are loads of advantages of dental implants:

1. Better overall appearance of teeth, since they are made to fuse with the bone
2. Unlike removable dentures, implants are much more comforting as well as convenient
3. Higher self-esteem as you will feel better about yourself
4. Improved speech quality in the long run
5. Eating becomes comparatively easier with implants rather than sliding dentures, because they function like your own teeth
6. Improved oral health
7. Good durability (can even last a lifetime if taken good care of)

Success rate
Generally, dental implants have a very impressive success rate (up to 98%). This can differ, however, based on the placement of the implants.

Who can go for dental implants?

1. Patients must have healthy gums
2. Must have sufficient bone strength to hold the implants in place
3. Must be dedicated to maintaining good oral hygiene
4. Must visit dentist regularly

Procedure
There are many steps involved in getting an implant:

1. An individualized treatment plan, addressing all your specific needs and prepared by a team of professionals, well versed in oral surgery and restorative dentistry
2. Placement of the tooth root implant into the bone socket of the missing tooth
3. Attachment of a small connector post known as an abutment, which securely keeps the new tooth intact
4. Attachment of a crown (the replacement tooth) to the abutment

The operation is normally administered under a local anesthesia. The whole process is not harmful at all, to say the least, and people have reported that a normal tooth extraction cause much more pain than a dental implant operation.

Related Tip: "Why You Must Not Delay Getting Your Dental Implants?"

We all look at pictures of our favorite celebrities and long to have that perfect while smile showing off well-aligned teeth. However, due to various reasons, our teeth do not seem to be like theirs. Some of the reasons for the not-so-white teeth include:

1. Food habits like excessive cola, coffee, tea
2. Tobacco chewing and smoking
3. Fluoride deposits seen in people in which the community water has excessive fluoride content
4. Ageing
5. Side effect of medications like tetracyclines.

However, with teeth achieving major cosmetic value, a lot of developments have happened and now a set of white pearls need not just be a dream. Whether it is just one tooth which is oddly colored or the entire set has taken on a darker shade, teeth whitening procedure comes to the rescue. It is well within the reach of most people, with options that can be managed both in the office and at the convenience of your homes.

Whatever the technique, the basic chemical is the same, hydrogen peroxide, which is a well-known bleaching agent. This works very well on extrinsic stains and may take repeated visits to the dentist to whiten teeth with intrinsic stains like fluorosis.

Things to remember:

Before going ahead with teeth whitening, the dentist will inform you that:

1. Cavities need to be treated before teeth can be whitened
2. Receded gums need to be treated before teeth whitening
3. Any crown work that is pending should be done before the teeth whitening can be done.

Once all the above mentioned things have been take care of, the next step is to clean the teeth completely. This cleaning will ensure that your teeth are free of bacteria and other deposits. The patient's impressions are then taken to make customized trays.

The dentist will provide you with a kit, which contains the trays and the bleaching material. The material should be applied on to the trays, left in place in the mouth to produce the bleaching effect. This may need to be repeated for about 2 to 3 weeks.

Types:

Whitening can be done on vital teeth or on non-vital teeth-

1. Vital teeth are usually bleached in the clinic, where the bleaching agent is applied on the tooth. It is then activated by a laser light to produce the active chemical that whitens the teeth. If the staining is excessive, then in-house vital tooth whitening may be followed by a couple of home applications.
2. Non-vital teeth: Teeth which are root canal treated turn brown over a period of time. Whitening these root canal treated teeth is known as non-vital tooth whitening.

So, if you are not happy with your set of teeth, there is always a solution – get them whitened and see your smile broaden.