Front Tooth Dental Implants
What is a front tooth implant?
A front tooth implant looks and feels just like a natural tooth, and can be made to look beautiful. The implant is made of a screw body that is implanted in the upper jaw, and then once healed, a ceramic crown is attached to the implant to make it look and function like a real tooth. A front tooth implant is generally preferred over other types of front tooth alternatives such as a bridge or a removable partial denture, often called a flipper. Patients who want to have full function and also have a beautiful smile often choose front tooth implants over all other solutions. Front tooth implants are the ideal clinical solution for a missing front tooth as the implant helps preserve bone in the area, and prevents a bone defect which can be very visible on a patient when smiling. Front tooth implants are also durable and strong, which will mimic the same biting force and functionality as a natural tooth has. Lastly, front tooth implants tend to be the most esthetic and beautiful solution as they prevent gingival recession and additional damage to adjacent teeth such as in the case of a front tooth bridge.
Dr. May is an expert in front tooth implants, specifically using Zirconia Implants:
Front Tooth Zirconia Implants | Full Mouth Zirconia Implant Cases | Root Canal Replacement with Zirconia Implants
Zirconia implants are Dr. May’s career passion and clinical expertise, with one of the highest front tooth zirconia implants placed in the USA. More than any other implant placing dentist, Natural Dentistry Center performs front tooth zirconia implant surgery placement and restorations with extremely esthetic and natural clinical restorative results.
What is a front tooth dental implant?
Upper Front Tooth Implants: Central incisors #8, #9 | laterals incisors #7, #10 | Canines #6, #11)
Lower Front Tooth Implants: Central incisors #24, #25 | Laterals incisors #23, #26 | Canines #22, #27)
Front tooth implants placed to replace front upper or lower teeth due to infection, trauma or infected root canals are considered specifically the most difficult implants to place and restore. The reasons for extreme difficulty and expertise in front tooth implant placement include: thin bone compared to jaw bone around molars, the gingiva / gum line is very sensitive to surgery and could easily recede if not handled properly, gingiva is typically thinner than other areas of the mouth and implant show through is higher risk, dental implants in the front tooth area are more likely to fail due to bone type and bite forces. The most difficult aspect of front tooth ceramic implant expertise is the requirement for highly esthetic results are which allow the zirconia implant dentist like Dr. May barely any margin of error. Front tooth zirconia implant placement requires a highly surgically skilled and restoratively experienced biological dentist like Dr. May.
Ceramic or Titanium Implants for Front Tooth Implant?
Zirconia implants are ideal for use in the “esthetic zone” which is where the dentistry is most visible and typically refers to the front teeth. The downside of titanium implants in the front tooth is that the gingiva is thin and can become thinner over time, showing the unsightly grey of titanium implants through the gingiva. Cosmetically, this is very unappealing as patients will look like they have “dirty” or “grey” gums, and some patients have described the grey metal show-through as looking like they have an “infected tooth.” Zirconia dental implants are the color of natural teeth and the gingiva looks natural and has no transparency effect of the white implant color.
Front Tooth Dental Implants Immediate or Delayed Placement?
At Natural Dentistry, we place front tooth dental implants immediately 95% of the time. Immediate implant placement is the term for a dental implant surgery when the zirconia dental implant is surgically placed in the same surgery as when the tooth is extracted. The reason for placing ceramic implants immediately at the time of the tooth extraction is to preserve as much bone as possible in the anterior (front) part of the jaw. Saving every millimeter of bone in the esthetic zone is crucial for both cosmetic and esthetic results but also for long-term implant stability. Because the bone is naturally narrower and different around the anterior ridge than around posterior ridges, the bone is more likely to recess, or erode, or atrophy faster than the posterior bone. When front tooth dental implants are placed later, four months after the extraction and grafting of a front tooth, this is known as delayed implant placement. While it is normal to experience some bone loss after an extraction, when this happens in the anterior region, it negatively impacts both the cosmetic and restorative aspects of a front tooth implant. For this reason, Dr. May chooses to place front tooth dental implants immediately, in a single surgery, if anatomically and clinically possible, to optimize bone stability and healing immediately after the front tooth extraction by placing the front tooth ceramic implant right away as an immediate implant.
Zirconia Implants Before and After for Front Tooth Ceramic Implants:
