A dental implant is a manmade replacement in place of the natural teeth which enables a person to have fixed teeth. Dental implants are different from transplants taken from others. What category of dental transplant is suitable for a patient depends on the individual need and condition of the teeth. An x-ray is required to check the number of bones remaining; space available in the mouth. The dentist does an examination before finalizing which type of implant should be done.

People who are missing teeth may it be one or all are candidates for an implant. If a person is missing 1 or few teeth then dental implants along with a crown /bridge can be used to replace the missing teeth and these manmade teeth function as good as natural teeth and there is no further loss of bones and decay. If a person is missing all teeth then the implant is used to anchor a loose denture. In some cases when bones are lost; bones can be regenerated with the technique of bone expansion which further helps in implants.

The cost can be determined after a thorough examination and recording of the individual case. Moreover, personnel skill of the dentist, location of the clinic and individual requirement determine the cost of an implant.

A dental implant is an advance procedure hence it takes time of say 4-9 months or even more depending upon the individual case. The dentist does provide temporary teeth during this period and the patient is never without teeth.

There is a little discomfort at the time of the procedure but patient sedation and anaesthesia are used to reduce the discomfort. Most of the patients experience pain for 2-3 days after the implant/surgery. Dentists also give medicines to reduce pain and avoid any type of discomfort.

The body can reject soft tissue transplants i.e. kidney, lung, heart transplant but there is no rejection to the dental implant by the body. There are chances of failure because of factors such as lack of focus on implant/some other condition, misalignment or diseases the patient suffers from. Dental implants use titanium material that is biocompatible i.e. it is compatible with the tissues of the body. Titanium is widely used nowadays to replace parts of the body.

The patient experiences discomfort and swelling on the day of surgery as well a day after the surgery. The patient is advised not to do any strenuous exercise. The decision to resume work depends on an individual.

When a person loses teeth the bones of the teeth also become weak and after some time these bones disappear other problems emerge such as:-

The adjacent teeth become week and there is no support for partials, dentures and bridges. These further results in pain, mobile tissues of the gum, sore spots, painful ridges, lack of retention etc.

The tongue also enlarges as it accommodates the space of missing teeth.

The diet changes and one has to survive on soft food.

Bone loss results in numbness of lower lips and there are chances of jaw fracture.

Bone loss makes the adjacent bones weak which causes falling of nearby teeth.

Hence one should start the treatment at an early stage because the problem becomes more severe if the treatment is delayed.