If you are interested in getting dental implants, you may be happy to hear that this procedure has very good success rates for many patients. Even so, there are several potential factors to be aware of that could cause an implant to fail, such as pre-existing medical conditions, poor oral hygiene, insufficient jawbone, or even habits like smoking. Your dentist will go over any contraindications and instructions to help you improve your chances of success.
Here are three unique treatments that could help some patients heal better after implant placement.
Platelet-Rich Plasma Placement
You may have heard of platelet-rich plasma (PRP) treatments before as this therapy is actually being used in a variety of procedures to improve healing in muscles, ligaments, tendons, etc. PRP can be used to improve recovery times in the jawbone after implant surgery. The Journal of Oral & Implantology found that PRP can be a safe, low-cost way to help bone tissue heal after dental implant surgery. PRP is centrifuged from a patient's own blood. PRP contains platelets, which play a role in clotting; platelets also have growth factor proteins that facilitate tissue repair by increasing collagen and proper circulation.
Electrical Stimulation
If a patient has jaw bone atrophy, a dentist might recommend a bone graft before proceeding with a dental implant. Dental implants need to be rooted in healthy bone tissue in order to last. However, DentistryIQ says that bone grafts can sometimes be unpredictable and cause extended healing times. A dentist may want to use electrical stimulation to strengthen the bone graft. During electrical stimulation, a dentist will place electrodes around bone tissue and pass a small current through it. The electrical stimulation isn't painful for the patient; however, the current seems to help bone cells divide more rapidly, thus accelerating healing.
Nutritional Supplementation
Your dentist may recommend that you take certain supplements before and after your surgery. You may want to get bloodwork done before your implant surgery to see if you are deficient in certain vitamins and minerals that could help with healing. For instance, a lot of people are deficient in vitamin D because they spend a lot of time indoors or may not consume a lot of dairy or fish. Vitamin D is an important nutrient because it helps the body absorb and use calcium, which is then used to build up bone tissue. Perio-Implant Advisory says that sufficient vitamin D can promote bone formation around dental implants and prevent bone resorption.
Contact a dentist in your area today for more information about dental implants.
Every time you take a bite of food, you should be grateful for your healthy teeth! A tooth can lose its health and structure quickly once decay sets in. Luckily, if you visit your dentist for regular appointments, the decay should not get too serious before your dentist notices it and can do something about it. That "something" is applying a filling. On the other hand, if the decay progresses too long before it is caught, you may need a crown or even an extraction.
We want to keep our teeth, and we know you want to keep yours. That's why we created this website to teach you more about dentists and dental care. Enjoy!