It might surprise you to know that the practice of installing a dental implant may be more than 1500 years old! It appears that the Mayans of present-day Honduras successfully used shells and animal teeth to replace broken or missing teeth.

You’ll be happy to know we have much more sophisticated and comfortable methods today. Looking into the types of dental implants and getting a bit confused?

There are three types of dental implants that are the common solution today. Keep reading to find out what they are!

The Three Common Types of Dental Implants

Before we bite into this meaty topic, we should note that it’s important to find a periodontist with experience and a good reputation. Visit TotalFreedomDentalImplants.com for great tips on finding local periodontists.

The three types of implants periodontists use often are:

• Zygomatic implants
• Endosteal implants
• Subperiosteal implants

Zygomatic Implants

Zygomatic implants are the least common type of dental implant on this list. Periodontists prefer other kinds of dental implants because of the complexity of this type of procedure.

It’s used only when there isn’t a lot of bone tissue for other implant types to get osseointegrated.

In a zygomatic procedure, the implant gets placed into the cheekbone instead of the jawbone. It’s complex, takes a longer recovery time, and more invasive than the other procedures on this list.

The anchors go deep, so it still is stable, but the longer recovery time means you’ll go longer without teeth while this heals. Once the implant heals, the abutment is added, along with the porcelain crown shortly after.

Endosteal Implants

The most common of the dental implant options, endosteal implants are also one of the least invasive. It needs healthy jawbone tissues but boasts the greatest success rates and best recovery times.

Endosteal implants get inserted into the healthy jawbone. After insertion, it’s allowed to heal, and the gum grows back over it. Once the bone integrates with the dental implant and the gum grows over, the top of the gum gets excised back to allow access to the implant.

An abutment gets fitted, and the porcelain crown attaches to that. There is some discomfort as the gum heals, but gums are one of the fastest healing tissues in the body.

Saliva and increased blood flow help mouth wounds heal faster.

Subperiosteal Implants

Subperiosteal implants are less-favored than endosteal implants by most periodontists. However, they do have their place fixed firmly in the dental implant world. They’re primarily used for those with adequate bone mass for endosteal implants, but not so bad where they need to use a zygomatic approach.

A subperiosteal implant goes under the gums and is attached directly to the bone. Small screws hold the implant in place over a wide area.

Small posts are built into the implant already, and the gum grows around them. Once the gums are adequately healed, a bridge is placed onto the posts.

Subperiosteal implants are best for lower density bone or low bone mass. It isn’t a common solution for one tooth alone, but generally three or more.

Your periodontist can tell you the best solution for your needs.

Firm Foundations

You’re happy we don’t use shells for artificial teeth anymore, right? Instead, these titanium alloy marvels of dental medicine are much better and more comfortable.

Need to take a bite out of some more info, or need more health advice? Keep browsing our articles to find the latest health and home news you can use!