Dental implants are a great option for replacing lost teeth. They offer many benefits. Implants look beautiful–and natural. Plus, they function just like natural teeth. And they’re easy to care for. All of this contributes to making them the tooth replacement that gives the greatest improvement quality of life for people who have lost teeth, better than dental bridges or dentures.
And when it comes to placing dental implants, the procedure that gives the best quality of life is the immediate loading protocol–where you get a natural-looking dental crown or bridge placed on your implants right away. It makes us happy to see science validating the protocol that we’ve long advocated.
Immediate Loading Success
When we first started using this approach, many people and many dentists said that it would lead to more failures. However, we knew that when properly following the protocols we developed, it would work out well.
Over the years, science has come to support that position. As recently as 2018, clinical trials show that immediate loading of dental implants gives a success rate of over 97%.
Reviews of all the studies, including the Cochrane Review, show that the success rates for placing crowns right away is as good as that for waiting to place dental crowns.
This means that giving you a new dental crown right away is a highly successful approach to placing dental implants.
Improving Quality of Life
Once we know that the approach is successful, we need to know if it’s actually better. Thankfully, that’s where this new study comes in. It shows that people get a better quality of life from getting a dental crown on their implant right away, as opposed to waiting three to six months before placing it.
This study looked at 24 patients age 18-60 who got dental implants. Of these patients, 16 chose delayed implant loading, while 8 decided to get their dental crowns right away. Researchers then asked patients about their quality of life using a proven questionnaire. They found that those who had their implants loaded immediately had a higher quality of life than those who chose delayed loading.
Among the factors which contributed: most of the immediate loading implants were in the front of the mouth, where they’re highly visible. Replacing teeth in this situation can dramatically improve quality of life. Of course, this is exactly when the immediate loading protocol works best, so it’s just confirming that the procedure should be used when it’s appropriate.
Can You Get Immediate Dental Crowns?
Of course, the study doesn’t say that immediate loading is appropriate for every candidate in every situation. We still have to evaluate each situation individually and choose the most appropriate procedure. That’s how we keep our success rates high, and make sure you are satisfied with your procedure.
During your consultation, we will give you a tentative idea whether you are a good candidate to get your dental crowns placed immediately. However, we can’t be sure until the actual surgery. At that time, we’ll be able to evaluate the stability of your dental implant and decide whether an immediate dental crown is appropriate or not.
To learn whether you are a candidate for immediate dental crowns on your implants in Savannah, please call (912) 234-8282 today for an appointment with an implant dentist at Beyond Exceptional Dentistry.
