1. Impact of Missing Teeth on Aesthetics and Function.
2. What is a Dental Implant ?
3. Step-by-step process of getting a Dental Implant.
4. Benefits of Dental Implants over other options like Dentures or Bridges.
5. Multiple options to replace missing teeth : Single tooth, Multiple teeth, and Full Jaw restorations
6. The Surgical Skill and Experience in implantology of our Dental Implant Surgeon Dr. Varun Malhotra, at The Dental Center - PRAXIS , Mumbai India.
Missing teeth can have a significant and multiple impacts on both your oral health and overall well-being.
The effects go far beyond a simple gap in your smile and influence everything from your appearance and confidence to your ability to speak and eat properly.
Aesthetic Impact of Missing Teeth :
The most immediate and visible consequence of missing teeth is the change in your smile's appearance.
A single missing tooth can create an unsightly gap, while multiple missing teeth can dramatically change the look of your entire face.
This can lead to a loss of self-confidence and a reluctance to smile, laugh, or speak in social and professional settings.
Beyond the immediate gap, a missing tooth can also cause the surrounding teeth to shift and drift out of alignment.
This can create new gaps, overcrowding, and other orthodontic issues that further compromise the aesthetics of your smile.
Over time, the loss of tooth support can also cause the facial muscles to sag and the jawbone to shrink, leading to a sunken-in or aged appearance.
Functional Impact of Missing Teeth :
The functional consequences of missing teeth are equally serious.
Each tooth plays a vital role in the complex system of your mouth, and its absence can disrupt this delicate balance.
Difficulty with Chewing and Eating:
Your teeth are designed to work together to chew and grind food efficiently. When a tooth is missing, the remaining teeth have to take on extra stress and workload, which can lead to tooth wear, fractures, and pain.
This can make it difficult to eat certain foods, limiting your dietary choices and potentially affecting your nutrition.
Speech Difficulties:
The tongue and teeth work together to form sounds. A missing tooth, especially at the front of the mouth, can affect your ability to
pronounce certain words, leading to a lisp or other speech impediments.
Jawbone Deterioration:
One of the most critical functional impacts is the loss of jawbone density.
When a tooth is present, its root stimulates the jawbone during chewing, keeping the bone healthy and strong.
When a tooth is missing, this stimulation ceases, and the jawbone begins to resorb or shrink.
This bone loss can compromise the stability of neighboring teeth and limit future treatment options, such as dental implants.
Shifting of Remaining Teeth:
As mentioned above, the teeth on either side of a missing tooth can begin to shift and tilt into the empty space.
The tooth in the opposing jaw may also grow or "super-erupt" into the gap.
This can throw off your bite alignment (occlusion), leading to problems like temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders, headaches, and facial pain.
Addressing a missing tooth is crucial for both your appearance and your oral health.
Modern dental solutions like dental implants and bridges offer excellent ways to restore both the aesthetics and function of your smile,
preventing these long-term complications.
Dental implants are a popular and effective long-term solution for replacing missing teeth.
They are essentially artificial tooth roots that are surgically placed into your jawbone to provide a stable foundation for a dental
prosthesis, such as a crown, bridge, or denture.
Components of a Dental Implant
A dental implant typically consists of three main parts:
The Implant (Fixture): This is a small, screw-like post, usually made of biocompatible materials like titanium or zirconia, that is surgically placed into the jawbone. It acts as the anchor and functions like a natural tooth root.
The Abutment: This is a small connector post that screws into the implant. It extends slightly above the gum line and serves as the foundation for the new artificial tooth.
The Prosthesis (Restoration): This is the visible part of the tooth replacement, which can be a single crown, a dental bridge, or a full set of dentures. It is custom-made to match the color and shape of your natural teeth.
The process of getting a dental implant is a multi-stage procedurethat can take several months.
It involves:
Initial Consultation and Planning: Your dentist Dr Varun Malhotra will perform an examination, take X-rays or order a CBCT scan to assess your jawbone, and create a personalized treatment plan for you.
Implant Placement: The surgeon will make an incision in your gum to expose the jawbone and then drill a hole to place the implant post.
Integration of the Implants with Bone: This is the most crucial part of the process. Over a period of several months, the jawbone naturally grows and fuses with the surface of the implant, a process called osseointegration. This creates a strong and stable base for the new tooth.
Abutment Placement: Once the implant has fully integrated with the bone, a minor procedure is performed to attach the abutment to the implant.
Crown or Prosthesis Placement: After the gums have healed, impressions of your mouth are taken to create your custom-made crown, bridge, or denture. The final restoration is then securely attached to the abutment.
Dental implants offer several advantages over other tooth replacement options, such as dentures or bridges:
Improved Appearance and Confidence: They look and feel like natural teeth, restoring your smile.
Enhanced Chewing Function: They provide a strong and stable foundation, allowing you to eat your favorite foods with ease.
Jawbone Preservation: When a tooth is lost, the jawbone in that area can deteriorate. Implants stimulate the bone, preventing this bone loss.
Durability and Longevity: With proper care, dental implants can last a lifetime, making them a cost-effective long-term solution.
No Impact / Damage on Adjacent Teeth: Unlike a traditional bridge, which requires altering adjacent healthy teeth, an implant stands on its own.
At The Dental Center, Praxis, we offer multiple options to replace missing teeth .
These options include :
Single Tooth replacement with Dental Implant:
In this option a single implant is inserted in the jaw bone in the location where the missing tooth was earlier.
After the Dental Implant integrates with the jawbone , a single cap or crown is placed on top of the implant to replace the missing tooth .
The Cap or Crown prosthetic that replaces the tooth can be made of different material options , that can be selected by you in consultation with the dental surgeon at the time of planning of the dental implant based treatment .
Multiple Teeth replacement with Dental Implants.
In this option , two or more adjacent teeth can be replaced with 2 or more dental implants . The dental implants can be used as single supports or
as a bridge to support the multiple missing teeth.
The benefits of this method to replace multiple adjacent missing teeth are :
1. The natural teeth don't need to be touched for making a dental bridge to support the missing teeth.
2. The prosthetic / replaced teeth are fixed onto the dental implants . This makes the implant supported teeth a better option than the removable partial dentures.
3. Since the missing teeth are supported by dental implants which are integrated directly to the jaw bone , the dental implant supported prosthesis is suitable
for chewing hard foods with ease . This however is not easily possible with the removable options for teeth replacement .
Dental Implants to support Dentures.
Some people have their entire teeth replaced with full dentures that are removable .
However there are certain disadvantages to removable dentures, like :
1. Over a period of time, these removable dentures become loose due to changes in the jaw bone .
To resolve this issue of dentures become lose / poorly fitting , the dentures either need to re-fabricated or their fitting surface needs to be readjusted with a procedure called as relining to regain their
proper fit .
2. Inability or Difficulty to chew hard foods with removable dentures .
3. Constant need to remove and clean the dentures .
4. Loose dentures may pose an issue falling out during mid conversation which cab be an embarrassing situation in a social setting .
There can be situations in which a patient's dentures have become lose , but they don't want to change these dentures ,because they are used to wearing
these dentures since a long time.
In situations like these , Dental Implants can be used resolve the issue of loose fit of these existing dentures .
A few dental implants ranging from a minimum of 2 to a maximum of 4 can be surgically placed in the jaw bone.
The existing denture is then adjusted to fit over these dental implants with special attachments .
This specially modified denture is called as an Implant Supported Overdenture .
The support of dental implants under the removable dentures offers the following benefits :
1. Improves the fit of the existing denture to great extent.
2. Prevents the regular need to modify the denture surfaces as the dental implant support reduce the movements of the denture and changes to the jaw bone.
3. Increases the ability to chew hard foods to a certain extent as the dental implants are in the bone and they offer support to the denture , this transfers a lot of
bite pressure to the underlying bone via the implants , rather than the gum tissue.
Full Teeth Fixed Rehabilitation with Dental Implants.
With the increase in predictability and high success rate of dental implants over the years , restoring all the missing teeth ,
in either one jaw or both the jaws with dental implants has become a favourable option of most of the patients who wish to have fixed teeth .
Multiple options are available when it comes to choosing the number of implants required to replace the missing teeth in a jaw.
The number of implant being used to replace missing teeth also directly impact the cost of the dental treatment process .
A few of the options available as regards to the number of dental implants for fixed teeth are :
1. All-on-4 : the full set of teeth are restored on only 4 dental implants. Since less number of implants are used , this technique has certain restrictions
and is usually performed in specific cases , where the jaw bone is compromised . None the less , All-on-4 is an excellent option for people who wish to get fixed teeth
restorations even in situations where the jaw bone is compromised , as this technique employs the use of specialised dental implants and components .
All-on4 also has a good predictability and success rate in patients .
2. All-on-6 : The full set of teeth are restored on 6 dental implants .
In this technique 6 implants are used to restore the missing teeth in a single jaw .
This method is an optimised mix of number of implants and optimal prosthetic ( fixed teeth prosthetic ) that is used for the patient , in terms of stability , bite forces ,
and cost .
Since 6 implants are used , this method of restoring teeth , offer a higher success rate .
With more number of implants being used , this option enables the patients to use higher bite forces when chewing hard foods .
3. All-on-8 : The full set of teeth are restored on 8 dental implants . This is the best option to restore the missing teeth in a single jaw .
8 implants offer the maximum benefit for the patient when choosing the fixed option to replace missing teeth in a single jaw .
With 8 implants , the bite forces are high and the patient can chew on a varied range of hard foods .
The higher number of implants does have a higher cost of this dental treatment option , but use of 8 dental implants also provides the best support for
the fixed prosthetic in the jaw bone, and extremely high success rates and predictability of the dental treatment .
Dr. Varun Malhotra has 23 Years of experience in the field of Dentistry with special focus in Oral Implantology .
He has completed his Advanced Post Graduate Course in Oral Implantology from the internationally renowned Manipal
Academy of Higher Education, after completing his B.D.S from Nair Hospital Dental College (Mumbai) in the year 2002.
In the field of Dental Implantology , Dr. Varun Malhotra has been awarded :
- The Dr. T.M.A. Pai Gold Medal for outstanding performance in the Advanced Post Graduate Course in Oral Implantology.
- The Dr. T.M.A. Pai Trophy for outstanding performance in the Advanced Post Graduate Course in Oral Implantology.
Dr. Varun Malhotra is extensively trained in Nobel Biocare Implant Systems one of the world's most advanced dental implant systems and Nobel Biocare is a well-known company in the field of dental implantology,
tracing its roots to the pioneering work on osseointegration by Professor Per-Ingvar Brånemark.
Dr Varun Malhotra's Areas of Expertise include:
At The Dental Center - PRAXIS , Mumbai India. offer a comprehensive portfolio of dental implant systems, prosthetics, and digital solutions
Replacement of teeth with dental implants is a surgical procedure that usually requires evaluation and planning with x-rays
and or ct scans and an overall medical evaluation prior to placement of dental implants to ensure long term success and predictability
of the implant based rehabilitation.
To Schedule an appointment for Dental Implants or related treatments you may contact us at
the details provided on the contact us page of our website at:-Contact Us Page Link