It has been said that one of the most successful procedures in dentistry is the dental implant, many people may describe the process at simply making a hole in the jawbone and placing a special screw which has to be given some time to heal and finally placing a crown which finalizes the operation, simple enough isn't it?



The truth of the matter is that dental implants and the entire procedure involved in prosthetic dentistry is anything but simple, the high success rate of implants have made it look like it is a simple-everyday process, today we're going to take a look at the considerations and special evaluations that a restorative dentist along with an oral surgeon make before and during a dental implant.

What a patient schedules for consultation with a restorative dentist he or she will first evaluate the area where the tooth is missing and then he will proceed to evaluate the jawbone density because in order for an implant to work there must be enough bone to support this crew which is going to be "installed" on it -- so to speak.

When the bone density is low event that will perform a bone augmentation which is an art and a way to increase the bone density in order to enable the area to support the screw, the teeth which are located around the area where the implant is going to be placed also need to be in good standing so should the tissue around it (gum)

Once it is a data is gathered the restorative dentist must decide what type of implant should be fabricated, this decision also requires to take in consideration specific measurements of the implant such as length, diameter, thread pattern, etc. the entire procedure must be reversed engineered by the restorative dentist prior to the intervention, this includes bone graft if the density is inadequate. The oral surgeon will assist the restorative dentist will rely in computer aided tomography and CAT scans in order to determine the right treatment.

High-tech simulations done through computer software based on CAT scan data offered enough information to the specialists in order to determine the bone quality, implant characteristics and the vital anatomy of the area. As you see the extremely high success rate of dental implants is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of knowledge, careful planning and an error-free execution which can only be achieved after years of experience.