What Are Dental Implants Made Of?

What’s the first thing you notice about someone else?

Before a sing word is said before introductions are made before you know anything at all about that person, what do you notice?

If you’re like most people, the first thing you’ll notice is their smile (or lack of one).

That’s why a healthy, bright, and white smile is so important to so many people.

Whether you’re going for a job interview, meeting a new client, making new friends, or going out on a first date, a big, cheerful smile can go a long way to break the ice before anyone says a word.

Brushing and flossing are vital in keeping your mouth healthy and your smile white.

But what happens when something happens to your teeth, and it falls out or has to be removed?

Maybe you lost a tooth due to poor oral hygiene. Or maybe you were involved in an unfortunate accident that left you with a hole in your smile.

No matter what the reason, losing a tooth can be a very stressful and embarrassing ordeal.

How do you fix it though? Do you need to get dentures like the ones your grandmother kept on her nightstand?

Fortunately, today we have more options, and one of the most popular is dental implants.

Dental implants are the closest you can get to healthy, natural teeth.

They allow you to live life the way you did before you lost a tooth; confident while you eat, smile, laugh, talk, kiss and enjoy all of your normal daily activities without worrying about a missing tooth.

How do dentists get them to resemble your natural teeth?

It has a lot to do with the materials they use.

In the article below, we’ll discuss dental implants and the materials used to make them.

Table Of Contents

• What Are Dental Implants
• What Does The Implant Process Involve
• Caring For Your Implants
• The Most Common Types Of Dental Implant Materials
  • Titanium
  • Zirconia
• Dental Implants Are As Close To The Real Things As You Can Get
  • Hylan Dental Care

What Are Dental Implants?

Dental implants are made to take the place of missing teeth, and are made up of three parts:

• Crown: The crown is the part of the implant that resembles your tooth. They are typically made of ceramic material, designed to blend in with your natural teeth.
• Connector: Sometimes called an abutment, the connector is what secures the crown of the implant to the base, and is often hexagonal or octagonal in shape.
• Base: A screw, typically titanium, that fuses with your natural bone to provide a safe, stable base for your implant.

What Does The Implant Process Involve?

Dental implants require oral surgery, and the patient will be sedated while the surgery is performed.

During surgery, your dentist will drill a small hole into your jawbone and carefully screw the base into the bone.

The gum is then placed over the implant so it can heal.

After the base of the implant has healed, a second surgery will be done to fit the connector into the top of the implant.

And finally, the crown will be placed on top of the connector.

The crown is connected to the connector with special dental cement and a small screw.

Caring For Your Implants

Your dental implants are made out of pretty durable materials, but you should still take care of them to make sure they last.

This includes brushing and flossing at least twice a day to remove food particles from your mouth and keep your gums healthy.

You should also keep up regular dentist appointments, visiting at least once every 6 months.

Your dentist will need to see you often in order to evaluate the condition of your gums and make sure they stay healthy.

Gum disease is relatively common in people with dental implants who don’t care for them properly, and any severe issues that come of it can cause your implants to fail.

You should also avoid foods and beverages that can stain your teeth, and avoid activities that could chip or break them, like biting on pens or pencils or eating ice cubes.

With proper oral hygiene and diligent care, your implants will last for years.

The Most Common Types Of Dental Implant Materials

For many years, the majority of dental implants were made out of titanium.

With technology advancing, though, more and more dental implants are being made from different implant materials.

The materials have all seen extensive research, examining the physical and chemical properties that affect their clinical applications.

The research has included the microstructure and the surface composition of an implant.

Dental implants are preferably made out of biocompatible materials.

They also need to be resistant to corrosion and fracturing.

Dental implant materials usually consist of titanium or zirconium, two sturdy and robust materials.

Titanium. Discovered for use in 1950, titanium is the most common type of dental implant material. When titanium is placed in contact with your bone and isn’t disturbed, the bone will grow in right next to it.

This, in turn, creates a permanent fixture.

Since their discovery, titanium dental implants have been the most sought-after implants.

They provide long-lasting results at a reasonable price.

Today, nearly 70 years later, it remains one of the best dental implant materials available.

Zirconia. Unlike titanium, zirconia has only recently been discovered for use in dental implants.

Since its discovery, it has been regarded as perhaps the most promising material for the future of dental implants.

Zirconia gained popularity in the early 1990s, but titanium still reigned supreme as the go-to material for dental implants.

They continue to rise in popularity today, giving titanium a run for its money as the preferred material for dental implants.

Dental Implants Are As Close To The Real Thing As You Can Get

Although having a mouthful of natural, healthy teeth is the preference, if that’s no longer possible, dental implants are the next best thing.

Because of the high-quality materials used, dental implants will last years, and no one will even know you have dental implants instead of all natural teeth.

If you have any more questions about dental implants, or you’d like to see if dental implants are right for you, contact the team at Hylan Dental Care.

They have years of experience and expertise in dental implants, and they’d love to help you today.