How to Get a Great Smile

Posted on: 4 June 2021

It's going to feel so good when your dental implant procedure has finished and your smile has been restored. You would have opted for this form of permanent tooth replacement because dental implants offer the best solution — both in terms of the physical appearance of the implant, along with its functionality (which is just as good as a natural tooth). But you might be wondering if it's truly a permanent solution. Will you ever have to replace your dental implant?

Tooth and Bolt

The finished prosthetic tooth in your mouth that closed the gap in your smile is not your dental implant, although it's often referred to as an implant. The implant itself is the titanium alloy bolt that was placed inside your jaw. It then had a connective abutment attached to its tip, and the prosthetic tooth was bonded to the abutment. The implant integrated into your jaw is designed to be permanent, whereas the prosthetic tooth may not be.

Bite Pressure

Any teeth in your mouth (whether natural, prosthetic or natural teeth reinforced with dental restorations) are subjected to an enormous amount of wear and tear. This largely involves the bite pressure experienced while biting and chewing food. Natural teeth (coated in dental enamel) can experience cavities caused by the acid-producing bacterial microfilm in your mouth, although prosthetic teeth won't directly be affected by this. However, prosthetic teeth can still become scratched, cracked and chipped over the years.

Prosthetic Tooth Longevity

Although the implant safely installed in your jaw might be perfectly intact, the prosthetic tooth attached to it can still experience deterioration. If needed, this prosthetic tooth can be removed and replaced. It's quite simple — the dental implant is intended to be a permanent solution, whereas its prosthetic tooth is intended to be a long-term solution. With proper care, you can get decades of use out of your prosthetic tooth; however, it may require replacement one day. But while the implant itself is intended to be permanent, there's a potential complication that you should know about.

Implant Infections

There are two types of infection that can jeopardise the implant. Peri-mucositis is an infection of the soft tissues surrounding the implant, and peri-implantitis is an infection that has led to bone loss at the base of the implant. These can occur years after implant placement but can largely be avoided by maintaining a high level of oral hygiene. It's important to visit your dentist for regular checkups, allowing them to spot these conditions before they escalate, as neither condition is painful, and you may be unaware of their development aside from some inflammation at the base of the prosthetic tooth. They can be addressed using antibacterial and antiseptic treatment (and occasionally surgical intervention) but can lead to implant failure if untreated. 

For the majority of people, the titanium alloy bolt implanted in the jaw will last a lifetime, but the prosthetic tooth attached to it might eventually benefit from a replacement.