Two Main Categories of Michigan Dental Implants

Dental implants can be divided into two main categories: 1.) root-form implants and 2.) periosteal and blade implants.

Root-Form Dental Implants
The most widely used implants today are root-form implants. While they may resemble a cylinder or a screw, the screw type root form implant is the most common. These implants are manufactured in varying lengths and diameters so that most clinical situations can be accommodated. Most root-form implants have an attachment that is utilized in the final restoration process, i.e., a place for the crown to attach to the dental implant. These replacement crowns can attach to the dental implants in one of two ways: with an internal connection or an external connection.

External Connnection
The attachment rises approximately 1 mm above the implant when there is an external connection. The shape of the attachment may be a hexagon or a castle-like design depending on the type of root-form dental implant used and will have a screw hole in the center of the attachment for the abutment or crown. In cases where the abutment contains the screw in one piece, the implant attachment is non-engaging. For example, the head of the dental implant may be a hexagon but the abutment is round allowing rotation into place.

Internal Connection
If there is an internal connection, the attachment lies inside the implant and the shape of that internal space varies. Abutments might be threaded and screw-retained into the dental implant Michigan or, in systems known as "internal friction systems", abutments may be retained only by friction against the inner walls of the dental implant. Abutments might be shaped like a tooth prepared for a crown (for cemented restorations), or they may have a built-in hole for a screw (screw retained restorations). The implant platform may be flat or have beveled edges, although the beveled-edge type is becoming the most popular type of dental implant.

One-Stage vs Two-Stage Implants
Another major division of root-form dental implants is between one-stage implants and two-stage implants. On the day of surgery, a one-stage implant is exposed to the oral cavity immediately following placement while two-stage implants are covered by gingiva after surgical placement. With two-stage implants, a second surgery is necessary to expose them to the oral cavity. When surgical stability is good, two-stage implants can be purposely exposed at initial implant placement, thus eliminating the need for later re-entry. This is done by placing a healing abutment.

Periosteal and Blade Implants
A much less common type of root-form dental implant is the periosteal/blade implant. Periosteal implants are flat, mesh-like framewords that lie on the bone surface and cover a large portion of the bone, wrapping around buccally and lingually. Blade implants are small, flat plates that are inserted into a thin cut in the bone. With both of these types of root-form dental implant, the abutment is generally inseparable from the implant, but instead forms an inseparable part of the implant itself.

To learn more about root-form implants or any type of Michigan dental implants, call Joseph R. Nemeth, DDS, MaCCS & Associates at 248.357.3100 or visit us on the web at http://www.drnemeth.com/.