During the last 20 years dental implants have become the first choice in replacing missing teeth. Excellent success rates and a variety of available options allow for new ways to restore gaps made by lost teeth.

A dental implant is a Titanium based cylinder that behaves like a tooth root. Some time after the implant is placed an abutment will be attached to it enabling a crown (cap) to be placed in the missing space.

Implants also can be used to support full or partial dentures. They dramatically improve the denture retention and stability.

Most patients with enough amount of bone can have implants, although individual decisions are often made. Usually an x-ray is done to determine if you have enough bone to place the implant and also to determine the size and kind of the implant that should be used.

Using an implant to fill a gap is better than a bridge for many reasons. Probably the most important one is the "weakest link" problem. The whole bridge will fail if any of its parts fail. If you use an implant, all of the teeth stand on their own merit. So if there is a problem, only that tooth requires attention.

The other reason is bone support and huygiene. Without a tooth present, the alveolar bone of the jaw will disappear. The implant will stimulate that bone to remain and be strong in the same way that a tooth does. In order to keep the area around the implant clean, you brush and floss the same way you do around a regular tooth. Cleaning under a bridge is far more difficult and involved.