Different Kinds of Dental Implants and How to Choose One
If you have missing teeth or just lost a tooth, you might already know that dental implants are the most advanced dental solution to replace gaps.
But what type of tooth implant is the best? The most affordable and the longest lasting?
Highly recognised, top implant dentist Dr Gurs Sehmi breakdowns all the different types of dental implants, their costs and which one will be most likely best for your situation.
Need help and advice? Talk to us.
An overview of types:
Here is a brief overview, but ultimately a prosthodontist will highlight which procedure will be most suitable for your condition.
Endosteal implants: Safe, effective and popular
- Procedure: Dental implants are drilled into the jawbone to insert a titanium screw which will act as an artificial tooth root. Treatment does not progress until the tissue and bone have had enough time to heal around the root. The typical treatment time is three months.
- Stability: One of the strongest and most natural.
- Cost: Good value for money
These are the most common type of implant – but mainly serve patients who have sound, healthy jawbone for the implant posts to fuse to.
Endosteal implants are often used as an alternative to dental bridges or removable dentures.
Endosteal implants use titanium posts shaped like screws, which will anchor your new, natural-looking artificial tooth to attach to.
Subperiosteal implants:
- Treatment: Completed in two appointments.
- Stability: Do not have the same level of stability as Endosteal implants as the implant does not go into the jawbone.
- Cost: Most affordable
These are often prescribed as an alternative to endosteal implants. The implant rests under the gum rather than being fixed into the jawbone.
From here, a metal frame is positioned under the gum, where the post will attach – the gum then heals around the frame and holds it in position.
This type of implant procedure is only used when patients do not have enough jawbone or prefer to opt-out of surgeries like bone grafts and sinus lifts to make more room in the area.
Please note that this implant treatment is rarely used today. Their primary use in the past was to fix dentures in place for those who had insufficient bone height.
Zygomatic implants
- Treatment: It can take five months to heal.
- Stability: A clinical performance study showed a 100% success rate and low complication rate. More.
- Cost: Most expensive
Zygomatic implants, typically, are the least common type of implant – this is because it is more of a complicated procedure that places dental implants in the cheekbone rather than jawbone.
Only prescribed in situations where there is not enough jawbone for an Endosteal implant.
Different methods and implant techniques
Immediately loaded dental implants:
Cost: From £10,000
Often referred to as Teeth in a Day, immediate load implants allow patients to leave their first appointment with a complete set of teeth with no need to delay or heal.
Your first set of teeth will temporarily give you a fully restored look before the implant is ready to support your permanent prosthetic.
Mini dental implants:
Cost: From £1,000 depending on placement and size
Smaller and narrower in diameter, these implants are placed using less invasive techniques and are great for stabilising lower dentures.
Single implants:
Cost: From £1,250 / crowns £1,200
Two-stage dental implants involve a surgical procedure to place the implant, and then a few months later, the abutment and tooth are attached.
As the name suggests, single implants do a great job of replacing individual tooth loss.
Multiple implants:
Cost: On request (depending on the number, location and type)
Following the same process above, multiple implants are a two-stage process that replaces numerous individual gaps in the mouth at a lower price than single implantation.
All-on-4/All-on-6:
Cost: From £13,000
These are single-stage implants that keep the implant healing cap exposed so the abutment and temporary restoration can be attached without the need for surgery.
Implant-retained dentures
Cost: from £4,000
Referred to as clip-in dentures, these replacement teeth are carried on an acrylic base and attached to dental implants.
It is a good solution for patients with not enough bone to support implants and who want to secure their dentures.
Implant-supported bridges
Cost: from £5,000
An alternative to traditional bridges or individual implants – where a bridge is attached to the implant once healed for extra security and stability.
Do you know which implant system will be the best for you? Consult with an implant dentist. Contact us now.