Hi everybody!
Welcome to another dose of my dental tips with me, Dr Shervin from Artistic Dental Studio.
It’s a pleasure for me to be able to provide you with some information regarding the third, or restorative phase of implant treatment.
If you have read the two previous blogs, you already know that by now, the implant has been placed, and healing time has elapsed.
Now, it is time to restore the implant. Restoring the implant is the primary reason why we put the implant in the first place. It provides appearance, function, and speech for patient, depending on where the implant is located.
It could be done in different ways: a crown or artificial tooth could be attached to implant, or implants could be utilised to support a bridge, a fixed, or a removable denture.
The design of the restoration is predetermined in diagnostic phase.
In restorative phase, dentist needs to create an accurate impression/scan of the implant, adjacent, and opposing teeth for lab technician, so they can produce accurate models to begin the fabrication process.
Depending on the design of the restoration, a few sessions are needed to try what lab has made to ensure a high-quality restoration is being fabricated.
Finally, the restoration is either glued, or screwed on top of the implant(s), and the last, or maintenance phase begins.
To give you a rough idea how everything is being put together, you need to have a look at this picture:
- Implant is the screw within the jawbone (4)
- Abutment is the part connecting implant to crown or denture on the top (3)
- Crown or denture is the artificial replacement of the teeth and could be either glued or screwed on top of the abutment (1)
Depending on the extension of the restoration, and whether it is fixed, or removable (which means denture is clipped to the implants somehow, and it could be removed by patient), there is an adaptation period. The bigger the restoration, the longer the adaptation period would be. Also, getting used to removable dentures is always harder, and takes more time.
Okay guys, thanks for your attention. I will see you soon to wrap this up with the final phase and related blog.
Have a great one, Bye!
