Dental implants are titanium or zirconia screws which are placed into your jawbone, beneath your gums, replicating lost natural tooth root. Further over which, a dental crown is placed. This whole system offers best possible replacement for a natural tooth, multiple teeth or a complete arch.
There are broadly two types of implantation procedures:-
Two-Stage Dental Implants Procedure
The two stage procedure is the most frequently performed method. The implant is placed in the jaw bone so that it lies at the same level with the bone beneath the gum (soft tissue). The soft tissue is then secured with sutures to safeguard the implant from external force while the surrounding bone heals in a certain time, mostly between 2-6 months and fuses to it. This process of implant fusing with bone is known as osseointegration. After the osseointegration gets completed (can be checked by taking radiographs), a second surgery is performed to uncover the implant in order to attach the abutment, the second part of the implant which is above soft tissue level. After attaching the abutment, the implant is ready for loading it with a dental crown.
Single-Stage Dental Implants Procedure
This technique involves a longer implant that is above the soft tissue level, once it is placed in the jaw bone. After osseointegration, the abutment and crown can be positioned without additional surgery for uncovering the implant as it is done in two stage procedure and type. The shortcoming of this method is that the implant is susceptible to external forces and additional caution must be taken to assure that the healing process is not affected.