An implant is usually a piece of titanium that is placed into the bone, and then you screw parts onto that to make it stick out of the gum tissue (subsurface part); then you put the crown on that part that is sticking out. It works because there is something called Osteo-intigration, where the bone fuses with the titanium. It depends on where the tooth is and how old the patient is to determine when they should get an implant. It also depends on the patient's financial circumstances. It is normally used when a tooth has been knocked out or missing. An implant can be used in the front of the mouth, where we have seen some really great results. Also, an implant can replace where someone has had a bridge in the past. It does depend on the case; you can use an implant or some other means of filling that space. I rarely use anterior bridges. The technology is improving so amazingly fast, we are getting really nice results with implants. An implant does many things. The implant not only replaces the tooth, but if you are missing a tooth, the bone where the tooth is missing starts to dissolve away over time. If you place an implant there, it stops the dissolving, and acts as if the natural tooth was still there.
