Dental implants are artificial substitutes for lost teeth and are used in prosthetic dentistry as supports for bridges and crowns. Areas with single missing teeth as well as wider areas up to completely toothless jaws can be restored with the help of dental implants.

There are different types of dental implants. The most common implant consists of two parts the bone part (titanium screw embeddable in the bone) and superstructure (abutment). The implant abutment may also be made of titanium or aesthetic material - zirconium oxide. These aesthetic superstructures are usually used in frontal zone restorations, where high aesthetics is required. Ceramic, metal-ceramic or zirconium crowns are placed in the abutments, thus restoring the missing teeth. Depending on the number and placement of dental implants, removable prosthetic constructions can be inserted upon them. The placing of the implants usually does not take long. The surgical procedure is most often performed under local anesthesia. The placement of dental implants is followed by a period of osseointegration during which the body forms new bone around the implant. Typically, this period lasts from 8 to 16 weeks, depending on the quality of the bone and the individual characteristics of the patient. The perfect oral hygiene of the patient is crucial for the successful healing process.

The final recovery begins with disclosure of the implant and placement of healing abutment, which helps the final preparation of the gum, laying around the abutment, prior to manufacturing the prosthetics over it. After forming the gum, an impression is taken and in dental laboratory, final structures (crowns,bridges) are made to restore the missing teeth.

Failure in modern implantology treatment (implant rejection) does not exceed 2-5%. The most common reason for rejection of dental implants is periimplantitis. This is an inflammatory process, which affects the bone around the implant and leads to bone loss. The most frequent reason for its occurrence is poor oral hygiene and bad habits such as smoking. Another significant reason for the rejection of the implants is poor quality and insufficient bone volume in the toothless areas. Risk factors are also some chronic diseases - diabetes, autoimmune diseases, severe osteoporosis. In general, these are chronic diseases that impede good blood supply and recovery of the bone into which the implants are placed.