implants, or dentures. No matter the material being used, there are many items to consider.
- What you can see is important, but so is the amount and quality of bone.
- Best possible scenario for implants or a bridge is a patient who has teeth present but no bone loss.
- Braces (or orthodontics) can help to enhance the bone levels.
- If teeth have been missing for a long time, implants can be tricky because of difficulty managing the papilla.
- All those factors can help the dentist decide if a tooth supported fixed bridge or an implant supported fixed bridge or a traditional denture or a implant supported removable prosthesis may be the ideal choice.
- Braces, or orthodontics, as well as bone grafting can also be involved
- The facial profile is also important when evaluating the smile.
- The bone always had to be present prior to placing the implant in terms of height.
- Several different types of restorations can be used at the same time, including implants, veneers, crowns, and bridges.
- The biologic width on an implant is subcrestal, so resorbs bone.
- 3mm of space between implants is ideal.
- The most bone loss occurs after placing the final abutment.
- If bone is still present on a natural tooth next to a single tooth implant, there will typically be 4.5mm to 5mm of papilla above the bone.
- If the implants are 3mm apart on adjacent implants, the bone height (of approximately 3mm) will likely stay, but the papilla will shrink by at least 1mm
- If you cannot get enough papilla, consider using a pontic, which will allow you to graft significant amounts of bone.
- A supracrestal implant placement may also help.
- Placing a permanent abutment at the time of implant surgery, it may preserve more soft tissue height.
