In general, titanium dental implants have a success rate of around 95%. But certain diseases or infections can affect their longevity. To protect your implants, you still need to take great care of your teeth. Without proper hygiene, you may experience peri-implant diseases that affect the gums surrounding your implant. Another factor that impacts gum health is the type of implant you use. Some implants are made of multiple pieces, which gives bacteria the opportunity to collect in the seams between parts. At Brockley Dental Center, we offer one-piece implants that eliminate the gaps between components, helping keep your smile healthy!
What Are One-Piece Implants?
A dental implant is a titanium screw we place in your jawbone to replace a missing tooth. A one-piece implant is a type of screw with a single-unit design that we place in just one appointment.
Single-piece implants include all the necessary parts of an implant (like the post and abutment) without the hassle of placing each component separately. Instead, they’re a solid piece of titanium with the screw on one end and the abutment on the other.
Once we embed the implant screw in your jaw, it will begin to integrate with your bone, creating a strong connection. Using this connection as a foundation, we can attach an artificial crown, bridge, or denture to the abutment sticking out above your gums, restoring your smile.
One-piece dental implants come with a variety of benefits, but protecting your smile from peri-implant disease may be the most important!
One-Piece Dental Implants and Peri-Implantitis
Periodontal health refers to the health of your gums. Peri-implant diseases, then, relate to gum infections that involve dental implants.
Even with artificial teeth in place, oral health is important. Regular brushing and flossing are essential for maintaining your smile’s health and keeping your implants in good condition. But when the design of your implant makes you more vulnerable to infections like peri-implantitis, the stability and success of your implant may be at risk!
Dental implants with multiple components are held together tightly with a little screw. However, there are still small spaces between these pieces. These spaces, or microgaps, allow bacteria to collect and hide around your implant. Without good oral hygiene, bacteria can lead to infection or the disease known as peri-implantitis.
Peri-implantitis is an infection of the gum tissue that surrounds your implant. As it advances, the disease will spread to your bone, deteriorating the tissues that support your implant. Without treatment, peri-implantitis will cause your implant to loosen or even fail, requiring us to remove the titanium screw completely.
But with one-piece implants, we significantly lower your risk of peri-implantitis! These single-unit designs don’t have micro gaps between parts, preventing bacteria from collecting on your implant. And if you keep up with routine hygiene, these implants protect your gums from infection while allowing you to chew and smile confidently.
Treating Peri-Implantitis
Similar to gum disease, peri-implantitis is treatable if caught early. The earlier we begin treatment, the more likely it is to keep your implant safe! We treat peri-implantitis using a few of the following methods.
Professional cleanings: When you begin to notice signs of infection (red or puffy gums, dental abscesses, mouth pain), visit a dental professional like us at Brockley Dental Center. We offer professional cleanings that help remove harmful bacteria in hard-to-reach places.- Rigorous at-home care: To keep the infection at bay, we recommend taking your oral hygiene at home seriously. Be sure to brush at least twice a day and floss regularly, using an electric toothbrush or water flosser when possible. These tools help keep your smile clean.
- Effective antibiotics: Before we resort to surgical tactics, we may prescribe you an antibiotic to control the infection. Make sure to take them as instructed and report any unusual issues as soon as they arise.
- Oral Surgery: Finally, we may need to use surgical procedures to repair the damage done by peri-implantitis. For example, if you’ve lost a lot of bone structure around your implant, we’ll use bone grafting to rebuild lost bone. For patients with insufficient gum tissue, we’ll use a gum graft. If your implant is failing due to bone and gum loss around it, we’ll need to remove that implant entirely.
These treatments involve keeping the area around your implant clean and removing all signs of bad bacteria. Then, if necessary, we rebuild your jawbone structure.
In most cases, it’s better to prevent peri-implantitis before it starts. We recommend taking good care of your smile and using one-piece implants whenever possible to reduce the risk of infection.
One-Piece Implants Help Keep Your Gums Healthy While Replacing Missing Teeth
Dental implants are titanium screws that replace your missing teeth. But even with artificial teeth, your oral health is important. Keeping your smile free of harmful bacteria and periodontal disease is essential, but multi-piece implants may make that more difficult to do. At Brockley Dental Center in Butler, PA, we use one-piece implants to reduce your risk of infections like peri-implantitis. Book a consultation with us to learn if you’re eligible for one-piece implants.
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram for information on the one-piece dental implant placement process!
