Quite a strange question from a clinic that provides dental implantation services. But our task is not to install as many implants as possible, but to solve the problem with which you come to us, prepare you and honestly tell you about all the nuances, including the unpleasant ones.
So, there is an empty space in the dentition. Are you sure that implantation is what you need? And no wonder: in transport, newspapers, and on the Internet there are full of advertisements about the advanced method - dental implantation. Painless, long lasting, “set it and forget it”
,
“the tooth is like a native one”
and so on. Is it so?
Yes, yes. Nothing better has yet been invented in world dentistry. As a result, you will get a fixed tooth that will serve you without creating a load on the neighboring ones, which you will stop thinking about, just as you don’t constantly think about the rest of your teeth. But advertising remains advertising. They show you the end result - a beautiful smile, happy eyes, a healthy appearance. What will you have to go through to get the picture you want?
Let's ask patients who have already installed implants:
Nikolay, the operation took place in 2010: “What will you have to go through? Frankly speaking, a couple of circles of hell. Once you decide to get an implant, forget about long trips for a year - you will be tied to the clinic and the doctor who monitors the implant healing process. But I’ll be honest – the result is worth it...”
Preparation
First - stop smoking! Even if the implant takes root, it will not last long - for a smoker, if he does not want to give up his habit, it is better to forget about implantation - do not torture yourself in vain!
Second, you need to have time and patience. The implant takes root in different ways: for some it takes 2-3 months, for others it takes six months or more.
Zhanna, the operation took place in 2011:
“If you are a woman and are planning a child, choose one thing: dental implantation or pregnancy.
It is very difficult to combine both without harming yourself or your unborn child. The doctor forbade me to breastfeed after the operation...” Get ready to donate blood and have a CT scan of your jaw. Ideally, you should come to a consultation with an implantologist with a disk on which your 3D image is recorded - this will speed up the decision-making process and bring the surgery time closer.
So which is better? Implantation or prosthetics?
It is wrong to answer this question remotely. It may happen that you have absolute contraindications for implantation, which you do not know about and which can be identified during diagnostics, which are always carried out in a clinic. Therefore, in order to make a choice between prosthetics and implantation, you must consult two specialists at once - an orthopedist and an implantologist.
If you are thinking about restoring your teeth with implantation or prosthetics and don’t know which technology will be better in your case, make an appointment with the specialists of our clinic in Moscow - “Aesthetica”! One of the main principles of our work is honesty with patients. We recommend only those dental restoration technologies that are fully capable of solving the patient’s problem and at the same time are absolutely safe for his health!
Surgery and postoperative period
The process itself will be painless and short-lived - you will be given good local anesthesia and the implant will be quickly installed. But even here there is a pitfall: you may need an operation called a sinus lift.
— implantation of artificial bone if yours has atrophied. The procedure is short but expensive. It is usually carried out during implantation in the area of the upper front teeth.
Gennady, the operation took place in 2011:
“Immediately after the operation they will not let you go home - they will give you ice and force you to hold it against your cheek for 20-30 minutes.
Be prepared to take antibiotics. To prevent infection, the doctor will prescribe you a whole course. Talk to your gastroenterologist about restorative therapy in advance. In any case, I simply needed a gastroenterologist for my pancreas.” Elena, the operation took place in 2012:
“Don’t wait until the anesthesia starts to wear off—take a painkiller.
Otherwise, you will have to experience severe pain that will not go away within 2-3 days. During this time, take any pain medication your doctor prescribes or that usually works for you. Don’t torture yourself - your pain is not needed by anyone, and, above all, by yourself. I had to take a long sick leave to come to my senses...” Temperature, weakness, swelling, numbness, inflammation are your possible companions. The best thing you can do for your body after surgery is to establish bed rest, at least for 1-2 days, and preferably for 3-5. Do not go to crowded places, do not play sports or lift heavy objects, do not sunbathe.
In the first week, establish a diet - exclude salty, spicy, sour, and hard foods. Forget about alcohol!
The next day, a week, a month later - control x-rays to monitor the process of implant healing and the absence of complications. Here you can expect: suture dehiscence, reimplantitis (inflammation of the bone tissue around the implant), implant rejection. Then the process will last for several more weeks - in the worst case, the implant will have to be reinstalled. Be prepared for this situation as well.
Anna, both operations took place in 2013:
“Honestly, there were several moments when I wanted to give up everything.
It seemed to me that doctors were playing it safe, and without any reason. I was afraid to go to the appointment and take a picture, because I didn’t want to hear the phrase “Come back in 2 weeks, it’s too early.” I had the implant installed again, and I was ready to give up my idea. But I was well supported by my husband, parents, nurses and the doctor himself - and when, finally, everything was left behind, I was happy. Previously, it seemed to me that I would never dare to do this again, but now, after 2 years, I am beginning to understand that nothing could be better than an implant...” Follow all the doctor’s recommendations, then the risk will be minimal. Do not hesitate to arrive before your appointment, or call the clinic if your condition worries you.
Approximate costs at this stage:
- Operation to install an implant (possibly repeated) – from 25 thousand rubles
- Sinus lifting (possibly) – from 20 thousand rubles
- Control x-rays – from 1000 rubles, depending on the required quantity.
- Necessary medications – from 2 thousand rubles
Pros and cons of two-stage implantation and immediately after removal
Each implantation method has its own advantages and disadvantages. No specialist can guarantee 100% absence of complications depending on the individual characteristics of the body. When choosing a method for restoring teeth, specialists primarily take into account the reasons for removal, the condition of the tissues and the presence of possible limitations to the procedure.
One-stage implantation
Advantages of implantation immediately after tooth extraction:
- quick results;
- performing all manipulations in just one procedure;
- shortening the period of osseointegration.
Disadvantages of the one-stage method of implant installation:
- impossibility of carrying out during inflammatory processes;
- the need to reduce the load on the tooth until the implant is healed.
Also limiting the immediate restoration of a tooth is an infectious process in the oral cavity and a deficiency of bone tissue, requiring bone augmentation.
One-stage implantation is not possible in case of emergency tooth extraction. Despite the fact that implantation and crown installation are performed in one visit, preparation for the procedure is required in advance.
Two-stage implantation
This implantation involves a two-stage procedure. At the first stage, the pin is directly installed, and at the second stage, the crown/prosthesis is installed. The interval between procedures can last from 3 to 6 months. During this period, the implant takes root in the bone.
Advantages of two-stage implantation:
- minimal risk of implant rejection;
- possibility of preliminary preparation;
- carrying out in complex clinical cases;
- wide selection of implant models;
- availability of prosthetics for one tooth, the entire dentition and installation of a prosthesis.
- accessibility to restoration of one tooth or even the entire dentition.
The disadvantage of two-stage implantation is the duration of the process. The total recovery period can be from 4 to 8 months. Despite the longer implantation period, dentists recommend the classic method as safer and more reliable.
Installation of the healing abutment
When the doctor is sure that the implant has taken root, he will install a gum former for you. The name speaks for itself: the former is needed to prepare the gums for future prosthetics: installation of an abutment and crown.
Oleg, the operation took place in 2013:
“You know, after the operation and recovery, installing the shaper is just kindergarten, easy. It felt like a filling had been placed, at least in terms of time it was approximately like that. I spent 2 weeks with the former, and then they took impressions and put a crown on me within a month. Beauty!"
Approximate costs at this stage:
- Installation of a gum former: 5 thousand rubles
- X-rays (possibly) from 300 to 1200 rubles
Prosthetics on an implant
If everything else went well before this stage, then installing the abutment and the crown on top takes from a week to a month. Prosthetics on an implant is similar to conventional prosthetics, only the support is not your own tooth root, but a titanium one.
Irina, the operation took place in 2014
“Prosthetics began at the peak of my nerves. I am a suspicious person, and it seemed to me that they were deliberately dragging out deadlines for me (of course, nothing like that happened, but I later realized this), they were not telling me something. I was hysterical, cursing - it’s a shame to remember. Now, taking this opportunity, I would like to thank the doctors and other staff for their patience and care. And give advice to patients: be patient, and everything will work out! The prosthetics ended unexpectedly quickly (and I was determined to walk for a long time). One fine day I smiled in the mirror and burst into tears of happiness right in the doctor’s chair...”
Approximate costs at this stage:
- Temporary abutment (possibly) – 1850 rubles
- Temporary crown (possibly) – 1050 rubles
- Abutment: from 5 thousand rubles
- Crown: 18 thousand rubles
- Casts, models, fixation: from 2 to 3 thousand rubles
Is it painful to have implants installed?
Maria
I don’t think I was as afraid of giving birth as I was of getting implants. But still, the first process is longer and more painful. My implantologist got it done quite quickly (I timed it) - installation in about 20 minutes and another 15 minutes for preparation, talking about care, etc. During the procedure I did not feel anything other than pressure. After the anesthesia wore off, I took painkillers, tablet after tablet, for about 3 hours. After that, the discomfort could be easily tolerated.
Anton
It so happened that while I was about to place an implant on the chewing tooth on the right, a cyst formed under the root of the upper three, and the doctor said that I urgently needed to do a resection while there was a chance to save the tooth. This operation was performed under local anesthesia, and during it I understood what to expect from implantation. Everything is tolerable, it just starts to hurt - they add anesthetic. Therefore, I cannot say that it was painful.
Implant aftercare
You are happy about your new teeth, but do you remember the first conversation with the doctor, even before the whole procedure began? He told you about mandatory oral hygiene, using special means:
- Toothbrush: at least 2 times a day and after every meal. Brush your teeth using massaging movements, alternating circular and sweeping movements.
- Dental floss (floss, superfloss). The spaces between teeth must be cleaned, otherwise plaque that is harmful to implants will accumulate there.
- Irrigator. Be sure to purchase it, because the irrigator is the savior and friend of your implants. A needle-thin stream of water will clean plaque from the area where the crown adheres to the gum, get rid of the unpleasant odor and prevent the destruction of the crown.
- Professional hygiene. Now you are a regular client of the dental hygienist. Once every six months you definitely (required!!!) need to do professional hygienic cleaning: ultrasonic plaque removal and AirFlow treatment
Alena and Konstantin, operations took place in 2015:
“We placed implants together, supported each other. Everything went well, and we understood that now we are more responsible for our teeth than before. After all, once we didn’t save them - we lost them, so now, having spent so much money and effort on implantation, I would like to observe the result for as long as possible. In general, a lot depends on the person himself: whether he smokes, whether he drinks often, whether he cares about his health... Previously, brushing your teeth took 2-3 minutes, now it takes 10-15, because you need to go through everything with an irrigator and floss..."
