Zirconia Dental Implants

What Are The Steps In The Zirconia Dental Implants Procedure?

Medical And Dental Examination

Before we start placing zirconia dental implants in Toronto, your dentist must do a thorough new patient exam to see if you are a good candidate. The dentist examines your medical and dental history, looks inside your mouth and takes a 2D x-ray image of the pre-surgical site. You may require a special 3D x-ray image called a Cone Beam CT scan to assess the amount and quality of bone at the proposed site. Insufficient bony foundation and support will require a grafting procedure called guided bone regeneration. Your implant dentist can decide to perform the dental implant surgery using computer-guided or free-hand methods.

Dental Implant Surgery

Before your visit, please read and follow our pre-operative instructions.

At the next appointment, the dentist or dental specialist such as oral surgeon or periodontist will numb the area with local anesthetic. If you require sedation, oral medications, nitrous oxide or IV sedation may be given. The dentist will check to make sure you feel no pain before the tooth extraction and performing the dental implant surgery. Successive drills are used to make the osteotomy gradually wider. After the final drill, the zirconia implant is placed, a healing cap is screwed on top, and the gums are sutured together. Three to six months may be required for healing and osseointegration with the surrounding bone. Sometimes, you need bone grafting to augment the bony foundation or gum grafting to improve the look of the gum line around the zirconia implant. In smile makeover cases involving the front teeth, the dentist may place a temporary crown at the time of the first surgery to make it appear like there is a tooth when you smile. The dentist may choose to bury the zirconia implant under the gum to allow for maximal healing, after which a second uncovering surgery would be required after four to six months. After receiving your dental implant, please read and follow our post-operative instructions to ensure proper healing.

Dental Implant Prosthesis

The next step is to make the final tooth prosthesis that sits on the dental implant called a crown or bridge. For this, the dentist or prosthodontist will take a 3D scan to capture the position of the implant in the periodontium. When the final crown returns from the dental lab approximately two to three weeks later, the dentist will secure it on top of the implant.

Maintenance Phase

Once you have finished your treatment, it is important to keep the implants and surrounding periodontal tissues clean and healthy. After the dental implant crown is placed, your dentist will provide post-insertion instructions on caring for your new restoration. This means regular hygiene cleanings and checkups with your dentist. The dentist will periodically take a dental x-ray to check on the health of the gum and bone. Without regular maintenance, you risk getting peri-implantitis, a condition where the implant is infected by bacteria that could lead to the failure and loss of the implant. Implant maintenance is a lifelong effort.