The Distinctive Factors of Traditional and Mini Dental Implants

To modern dentistry, replacing missing teeth through dentures, bridges and dental implants is no tough practice. Your dentist can present two choices if you are in need of an implant: traditional and mini. The best alternative for guaranteeing a robust, natural-looking replacement tooth is conventional dental implants. Here, we look into the difference between these two kinds of implants and help you understand why the better option is usually conventional implants.

• Dental Implants

A dental implant, implanted into the jawbone that cannot be removed, is a replacement tooth. In order to place an abutment into the jawbone, the dentist will perform a surgical operation and the bone will bond around the abutment over three to six months.

A small post is connected to the implant for artificial teeth to connect to until the abutment is fused into the jawbone and the implant is exposed. You may like dental implants over dentures because they often do not move or slip like dentures.

• Mini Dental Implants

It is true that for patients in need of a tooth replacement, mini dental implants are a cheaper, faster and easier repair. However, if it seems too good to be true, like everything in life, it probably is.

Mini dental implants are smaller in size than conventional implants, as their name suggests. This is why a mini dental implant may be preferred by patients who do not have adequate bone density to accommodate a full-size implant. The surgery is less invasive for mini dental implants than what is needed for a conventional implant. There is no need for an abutment because at the end of it a mini implant has a small ball where the replacement tooth can be attached. As a consequence, it is possible to secure the new tooth without this third piece.

This is why mini implants, though, are not as structurally stable as standard implants. A mini implant gets less jawbone support than a conventional implant does. Therefore this is probably not the right option for you if you do not have ample vertical bone to support the implant.

• The Differences

Although the two choices for replacing missing teeth are implants and mini implants, there are many variations between the two:

Standard dental implants require considerable bone mass for osseointegration to occur properly. Mini implants may be used as a means of preventing dentures when you have suffered bone loss.

Mini implants are smaller than standard implants. Although mini implants are about the thickness of a toothpick, standard implants have a diameter of approximately 3.4 to 5.8 millimeters. They can be used for tiny teeth because the mini implants are so thin. Mini implants do not as normal implants do, use abutments or screws. Instead, elastic O-rings on a ball at the top of the implant keep the teeth in place.

It can be used to secure conventional dentures, helping to hold them in place safely (rather than being met with loosening the dentures and causing both humiliation and pain). The surgical procedure is much less invasive since the mini implants are so small. It also means the downtime is reduced following surgery.

Mini implants cost less than dental implants on a daily basis. Standard dental implants (they are known to be a permanent solution to tooth loss) offer more protection and a much longer-term solution. Mini implants cannot be as durable, or last as long, since they are smaller.

Two mini implants are required in some instances to provide the same support as one standard dental implant.

See us here at Oral and Facial Surgery of Oklahoma for dental treatments. Dr. Wooten here would assist you on the path of a better oral health and a good smile on your face.

**Disclaimer: This site content is not intended to be medical advice nor establishes a doctor-patient relationship.