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Dental Implants
Our teeth often are something we take for granted — until
we lose them. Rear Adm. Joyce Johnson, D.O., reviews dental
implants as an option to treat missing teeth.
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Important Facts About Implants
■ Dental implants are be- coming a more common solution to tooth loss. Patients should be aware the implant process can take nine months or more. Complying with cleaning and other direc- tions is key.
ental care — beginning with the
first tooth that erupts in infancy — is critical to keeping teeth through-
out our life. Most people in the U.S. have lost an average of 12 permanent teeth by the time they reach age 50. Teeth might be lost in accidents; to gum disease, decay, or neglect; or sometimes through orthodon- tic work that necessitates removing teeth. Missing teeth can limit your ability to chew and eat various foods. If nothing is done to treat missing teeth, other teeth can move, causing an impaired bite and dental pain. A bridge — a false tooth placed across two stable natural teeth — is one treatment option; dental implants have become another common treatment for missing teeth. Dental implants are more often used
to replace teeth missing in the lower jaw, because the jawbone is larger and can bet- ter support an implant. Endosteal implants are inserted into the jawbone in a process requiring two surgical procedures. The first surgery, which can take a few
hours, places an anchor into the jawbone. This anchor looks like the bottom of a screw, a shape that encourages bone to grow around it and makes it very stable. (Another type of implant, called a blade implant, is used when the jawbone isn’t wide enough to accept the usual implant. The process is similar, but the implant it- self looks something like a razor blade.) It can take up to six months for the bone to grow around the anchor (osseo- integrate, from oss- for bone). The bone
4 8 MI L I T A R Y O F F I C E R MAY 2 0 1 0
will grow faster if you are gentle with your jaw and eat mainly soft foods. Exceptional dental hygiene, to ensure your mouth remains clean, is essential. Smoking can interfere with healing. A second surgery, which generally takes
less than an hour, attaches an abutment. It usually takes the gums a few weeks to heal after this surgery. The abutment is a metal piece that extends above the gumline. A tooth-like prosthesis, similar to a crown, is placed over the abutment and attaches to it. Your dentist will try to match your pros-
thesis to the shape, color, and other charac- teristics of your other teeth so it will look like a natural tooth. Frequently an oral sur- geon will perform the two surgeries, while your general dentist will make and attach the prosthesis. The entire process can take six to nine months or more. If you are only missing a single tooth,
you likely will receive a fixed prosthesis (one that is permanently attached). If you are missing many or all of your teeth, you’ll probably receive a prosthesis that can be removed at night and also so you can clean it and the abutment. Whether your prosthesis is fixed or removable, keeping it clean is critical. Brushing and flossing remain as important as they are for your natural teeth.
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— Rear Adm. Joyce Johnson, USPHS-Ret.,
D.O., M.A., is vice president, Health Sciences, Battelle Memorial Institute, Arlington, Va. Find more health and wellness resources at www
.moaa.org/wellness. For submission information, see page 18.
PHOTO: STEVE BARRETT
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