Dental Implants: First of Five Things You Need To Know

August 22, 2013 at 3:28 PM

Dental implants are the best long-term solution to missing teeth. The implant remains permanently in place and requires very little maintenance and oral care. Most dentists now recommend oral implants as replacements for single or multiple missing teeth. However, the procedure is not as simple as it seems.  If you have missing teeth and want to get implants, there are five things should know about the procedure.

1. Find a good oral and maxillofacial surgeon

All dentists are surgeons as they are trained to remove teeth and carry out minor surgical procedures. However, dental implants are in a different category – all by themselves. The dental implant procedure requires cutting into gum tissues, exposing the underlying bone and then drilling into bone correctly to seat the implant. These steps are critical to the procedure as they form the base on which the artificial tooth is placed.

Oral and maxillofacial surgeons know the basic geography of the oral cavity and they know the locations of critical nerves, arteries and veins in the area. As a result, they do know how to select areas for implant placement, how deep to drill and just how to place the implant. Dentists that are not specially trained oral and maxillofacial surgeons may have some experience | knowledge | specialization in oral implantology; and, they may have a completed a degree or a diploma in the field. However, that is not the equivalent of a specially trained oral and maxillofacial surgeon to carry out the procedure for you.

It is safer for the patient that the procedure is done by an expert oral and maxillofacial surgeon.

Dr. Paul Metz has completed his Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery specialty training in at the University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSC) and has an outstanding reputation as an Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon.

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