A common question that surfaces in the mind of people exploring modern dental restorative treatments is, “Who is eligible for same day dental implants?”.
Getting your missing teeth replaced in a single day (via same-day dental implants) sounds like a perfect deal in an era where waiting for a regular dental appointment can feel like an eternity. Given the undeniable appeal of this treatment, every person with edentulism desires to get it done, but it all boils down to whether one is eligible for it at all.
In this blog, we’ll discuss the eligibility criteria for same day dental implants, so people who fulfil the criteria may pursue this amazing treatment without any delays.
What Are Same Day Dental Implants?
Same day dental implants-also commonly referred to as ‘new teeth in a day’ or ‘teeth in a day’ a modern dental restorative treatment that are getting increasingly popular due to their exceptionally quick results and efficacy. In this treatment, missing/damaged teeth are replaced with implant-supported artificial teeth in just one day (one dental visit).
There are two core components to new teeth in a day procedure:
- Dental Implants-these are fixtures made up of biocompatible metals, such as titanium or zirconia, which are surgically placed into the toothless patient’s jawbone. Occupying the same place in the jawbone that was earlier occupied by tooth roots, these implants substitute the missing roots and imitate their functions. As such, they serve as attachment sites for artificial teeth (crowns and dentures) as well as stimulate the jawbone to keep it healthy.
- Artificial Teeth-these are the prosthetic devices that are fixed to the implants, restoring the missing teeth holistically.
The implants and the attached prosthesis substitute the missing teeth in their entirety (replacing the roots and the rest of the dental structures), offering a permanent teeth solution. The ‘permanence’ achieved with the use of dental implants is what gives implant-supported prostheses an upper edge over traditional ones.
However, more than its permanence or other benefits (which are found in regular implant procedures, too), its “exceptional speed” is what makes it so popular and sought-after.
How Are Same Day Dental Implants Placed?
The placement procedure of same day dental implants is significantly different from that of regular/traditional implant procedures.
Traditional implant procedures took a lot of time and resources to complete. Each stage of the process (including pre-surgical diagnostics, preparatory procedures, implant surgery, and prosthesis placement) required a separate dental visit to be executed, lengthening not only the time but also the financial and physical impact of the treatment.
Same day dental implants have revamped the entire process by employing such techniques that concentrate all the treatment stages in a single visit. One of these techniques is ‘immediate prosthetic loading,’ in which a temporary prosthesis (whether it’s a crown, a bridge) is immediately fixed to the implants right after implant surgery.
This means that the implants don’t need to undergo a full healing period of 6-8 weeks before they can support a prosthesis (which is what happens in traditional procedures), and the patient receives a temporary but fully functional fake tooth almost instantly.
Who is Eligible For Same Day Dental Implants
Now that you’ve built a strong foundational understanding of teeth in a day procedure, let’s finally steer back to our main topic-the eligibility criteria. The following are the age and health-related considerations for getting same day dental implants:
- Jawbone Health: One of the most important prerequisites for getting implants, particularly same day dental implants, is to have a healthy and dense jawbone. Since your jawbone is the primary support for your implants, it should be strong enough (with adequate jawbone density and volume) and healthy enough (free from infections or any atrophic conditions) to keep the implants securely in place for years to come.
- Oral Health: Apart from a healthy jawbone, the patient should also have good overall oral health. There should be no history of significant gum disease or gum infections, as these conditions can compromise the success of the implants.
- Oral Hygiene: Speaking of oral health, it’s pertinent to mention that the potential candidate must have a decent oral care regime and be committed to maintaining it throughout the treatment. This is important to keep the implants healthy.
- General Health: Besides having decent oral health, the patient receiving implants should also be generally healthy. This is to say that there should be no history of uncontrolled/untreated systemic diseases (such as diabetes, arthritis, osteoporosis, etc). The chronic inflammation brought on by these conditions could impair the implants’ ability to heal, thereby putting them at risk of failure.
- Smoking: Like uncontrolled systemic diseases, habitual smoking can also impair implant healing and pose a serious threat to their success. Hence, patients should ideally be free from smoking or any kind of substance/alcohol abuse, or if not free, they should at least be willing to discontinue the habit.
- Age: There is no strict age limit for getting same day dental implants, provided the patient is overall healthy with a fully developed jawbone that’s dense enough to support the implants. So, children and preteens are usually excluded from the eligible age group since they don’t have fully matured jawbones despite being healthy.
- Bruxism: People who have Bruxism (habitual teeth grinding, which typically happens on a subconscious level) may not be suitable candidates as the continuous and uncontrollable grinding forces put excessive pressure on the implants and the prosthesis. Such undue pressure may cause the implants to become unstable in the long run.
Conclusion
Same day dental implants are a quick, safe, cost-effective, and durable way of replacing missing teeth that may appear too good to be true but are actually the most effective way of getting your teeth permanently replaced.
For more details about Same Day Dental Implants, schedule a FREE consultation with Columbus Implant Clinic, a pretty dental practice based in Columbus, Ohio. We have a team of expert implant surgeons who will craft a customized treatment plan for you, paving your way to a healthy and beautiful smile transformation!
