Dental Implants

Immediate Load Dental Implants

Immediate load dental implants are a fantastic advance in implant dentistry. The advantage of immediate load implants is that you don’t have to wear a removable temporary tooth replacement while the implants are bonding with the bone. Dr. Scharf is a recognized expert in the field of immediate load dental implants. In 2007 he was invited to lecture in Korea of the topic of immediate load dental implants.

Dr. Scharf and Dental Implants

Dr. Scharf, Implant Specialist in Long Island NY, is experienced in Immediate Load Dental Implants

Dr. Scharf has been placing dental implants since 1988. When implants were in their infancy, the protocol for placing dental implants involved placing the implant and waiting for a period of 3 to 6 months before making the crown or “loading” the implant. It was thought at the time that the implant must be unloaded in order for it to bond with the bone.

Research has shown that under the right conditions, implants can be loaded right away and achieve the same high rate of success as unloaded dental implants. We now know for a fact that it is not the load on the implant that determines whether or not it will bond with the bone, but the degree of “micromotion” of the implant within the bone. Bone is somewhat elastic. Micromotion is the amount of movement of an implant within the elastic bone. We know that the micromotion needs to be under 100 microns for the implant to bond properly to the bone. Micromotion is a function of how “tight” the implant is in the bone ( we call this initial stability), and how much force is applied to the implant. The greater the initial stability, the more force can be applied to an implant and keep the amount of micromotion under the critical threshold.

Think of the implant like a beach umbrella in the sand. If you dig a hole and put the umbrella in the hole, the umbrella will be stable but move a little. How much it moves is like the micromotion. The deeper you dig the hole, the less the umbrella will move. If the umbrella is placed in cement, the amount of movement will be much less than if the umbrella is in loose sand. If the breeze is gentle the umbrella will not move very much. If the winds are very strong the umbrella will move more and may even blow away. Consider the direction of the wind on the umbrella. If the wind is blowing straight down, the umbrella will move less that if the wind is blowing violently side to side. Imagine that beach umbrella poles came in different configurations. Some could be designed to grip the sand better than others. A tight grip is important on a windy day.

Lets take this analogy to dental implants. When evaluating a patient to see if they are a good candidate for immediate load implants Dr. Scharf will consider a number of factors. All things being equal, when considering immediate load implants:

  1. The ability to place a longer implant is better than a shorter one. The more bone there is to stabilize the implant the less micromotion it will have in the bone.
  2. More dense bone is better than less dense bone. Think of the umbrella in sand versus cement.
  3. The less force there is on the implants the better. Teeth in the front of the mouth have less force on them than teeth in the back of the mouth. Think about how much the umbrella will move if there is a gentle breeze versus a strong wind.
  4. The ability to control the direction and the magnitude of the forces is important. A full arch of implants immediately loaded is very stable. When a number of implants arranged in an arch form are connected together with a stable bridge, all the force on those implant is directed along the long axis of the implants (think of the wind blowing straight down on the beach umbrella.) Implants in the front of the mouth tend to do very well too. Many times the biting forces can be absorbed by neighboring teeth until the implants have bonded with the bone.

Dr. Scharf has the skill, training and experience to know if your case is a good candidate for immediate load implants. Patients considering dental implants will have a dentascan taken by an i-CAT scanner. This will give Dr. Scharf a clear picture of how much bone is available and how dense it is. Dr. Scharf will analyze your bite to determine if the forces are conducive to successful immediate load dental implants.

Immediate Load Dental Implant allow Patients to walk out of the office with a full smile. See Implant Specialist in Logn Island NY

At the time of implant placement Dr. Scharf will employ a number of advanced strategies to maximize your success. Some implant designs are better suited to immediate load than others. Dr. Scharf will choose an implant design based on your particular situation. He places the implants of many different companies. By not being locked into only one company, Dr. Scharf can pick the implant that will give the best initial stability in for your case. When preparing the site for implant placement Dr. Scharf will measure the density of the bone and plan accordingly. By “underpreparing” less dense bone and “overpreparing” very dense bone, Dr. Scharf can achieve the proper initial stability for your immediate load implant. This ability comes with years of experience and THOUSANDS of implants placed and can’t be learned by some “Johnny-come-lately” implant surgeon who took a weekend course and is ready to practice on you. After the implant is placed Dr. Scharf uses a special gauge to measure how tight the implant is in the bone. By measuring the “initial stability” he can predict the success of your immediate load implant.

Once the implant is placed it is time to make the temporary teeth on top. Sometimes this is done Dr. Scharf, and sometimes it is done by the patient’s dentist. This will all be worked out in advance. Before any treatment begins you will know who is doing what. The treatment will be carefully coordinated by Dr. Scharf and his staff.

Patients love immediate load implants! If feels great to walk out of the office and smile, laugh and eat with your new teeth the day they go in. Dr. Scharf has tremendous expertise with immediate load implants. He will carefully evaluate your individual needs and help you determine if immediate load implants are right for you.

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