Dental implants are categorized into endosteal and subperiosteal ones.
Endosteal dental implants are the most common type. They are screwed into the jawbone. Then, during the process called osseointegration, implants merge with it permanently. This is a good option for patients who have a lot of jawbone volume or are candidates for bone grafting.
The second kind is placed in the gums but above the bone. Subperiosteal implants are no longer a popular solution. There are many other alternatives for patients with bone loss such as mini dental implants or the Ao4 solution.
Single-tooth implant
Single dental implants, as the name suggests, replace singular teeth, usually at the front. Dental implant parts include three main components. Those are the dental implant post, abutment, and crown.
The first, the dental implant fixture, also referred to as a rod or screw, goes inside the hole left behind by the tooth. This is the part that fuses with the jawbone. It acts as an artificial root, providing the implant with a lot of stability.
The dental implant abutment connects the rod and crown. You may get a healing abutment before the permanent one is attached to make sure your gums are forming around it. Its design plays an important role in what the tooth looks like in the end and how stable it is.
Crowns may be screw-retained or cemented into place. The choice is made by the dentist based on the situation in your mouth and materials available. A screw-retained implant crown is more retrievable, which makes cleaning the fixture easier.
Full-mouth dental implants
Advances in implant technology make it possible to support a whole mouth of dentition on 2, 4, or 6 rods. This is a great solution for patients who are edentulous or missing so many teeth, it just makes sense to replace a whole arch. Full-mouth implants are more affordable than getting multiple single dental implants.
Removable
Snap-in or dental implant dentures are removable restorations. When out of the mouth, they leave behind implant screws which act as clips. Patients should treat these bridges like regular prostheses. This means taking them out at night and cleaning them regularly.
Fixed
Prostheses can be mounted on dental implants in a permanent way, too. In this case, only a dental professional can remove them for cleaning. Patients should brush and floss as if those were their natural dentition. The All-on-4 solution belongs in this category.