When missing teeth, dental implants are often the first suggestion that friends, doctors, or strangers on the internet offer. These titanium screws secure directly in your jawbone to support artificial restorations that replace your missing teeth! However, to find out if you’re eligible for dental implants, you must first visit an implant dentist. Once you have a trusted dentist, schedule a consultation to discuss your issues and find a solution. There, the doctor will perform a thorough dental exam of your smile and take comprehensive X-rays to assess your needs. Then, after all that work, your dentist may tell you, “I’m sorry, you do not have enough bone for dental implants.”
But how is that possible? And what do you do next? If your experience is similar to the one above, you may benefit from mini dental implants! At the Mini Dental Implant Center of America in Springfield, MO, we offer these innovative implants that require less bone structure to replace your missing teeth.
How Is There Not Enough Bone for Implants?
Most patients are under the impression that missing teeth only affect their ability to eat and speak. Unfortunately, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
Natural teeth do more than just chew your food. Your teeth have hidden roots underneath the gums that stimulate your jawbone to keep it healthy and full. When you lose teeth, you lose out on this stimulation!
A lack of bone stimulation leads to a loss of bone mass and volume over time, or bone resorption. As your jaw resorbs, shrinking gradually, it has a profound effect on your appearance and function.
Bone resorption leads to problems like:
- Changes in face shape
- Jaw pain or other TMJ symptoms
- Reduced ability to house dental implants
Because dental implants are large in diameter, typically around 5 mm, they require ample bone structure for support. Without the necessary bone, your implants won’t stabilize and may fail inside your jaw.
Can Bone Grow Back if There Isn’t Enough?
You may be wondering, is there a solution to bone loss? The answer is both yes and no.
Dental implants act as artificial tooth roots, effectively stimulating your jaw to prevent further bone loss. But with minimal bone, you can’t fit these titanium posts in your jaw! Fortunately, we have a way to restore some of the bone you have lost due to bone resorption.
While bone material cannot grow back on its own, we may be able to aid its regrowth process! Using a procedure called a bone graft, we rebuild your bone using synthetic materials, donor material, or your own bone structure from elsewhere on your person.
But this bone grafting process adds to both the cost of your implants and the length of your healing time. For patients who are frail or immunocompromised, they may want to avoid this additional procedure if possible.
During your initial consultation, your dentist will assess your bone health and your eligibility for implants using X-rays. If you don’t have enough bone for a conventional implant and want to avoid procedures like a bone graft, the Mini Dental Implant Center of America in Springfield, MO, can help!
Try Mini Implant Solutions With Minimal Bone
When you have a smaller jawbone, you need a smaller implant. Mini dental implants are just that: a smaller, sleeker version of the conventional implant!
These titanium posts are less than 3 mm in diameter but just as secure as conventional dental implants. Additionally, they feature a unique one-piece design that allows for a much simpler placement process.
During your free mini implant consultation with us, we will assess your jawbone as usual. However, we use state-of-the-art 3D technology that provides an incredibly detailed view of your smile. From these X-rays, we’re able to determine if you’re eligible for mini implants. Fortunately, we find that most patients are, even without a bone graft!
Mini implants require a minimally invasive procedure that preserves most of your gum and bone tissue. Thanks to this gentle process, patients often find their healing to be relatively quick and comfortable. In fact, after placing your implants, we can typically secure a temporary, or even final, restoration at that very same appointment!
With fewer appointments, fewer components, and a much faster healing period, mini implants are much less expensive than their conventional counterparts.
Not Enough Bone for Dental Implants? Use Mini Implants in Springfield, MO!
Not everyone has enough bone for dental implants. Thankfully, at the Mini Dental Implant Center of America in Springfield, MO, we have a solution that helps patients with minimal bone structure restore their smile! These small titanium posts require less bone for support, allowing more people than ever to replace missing teeth.
If you’ve been told you don’t have enough bone for an implant, book a free implant consultation in Springfield to learn if mini implants are an option for you!
Follow us on Instagram and Facebook to learn more about the mini implant procedure.
