Mini Dental Implants vs. Traditional Implants: Which Is Right for You?
From social interactions to avoiding your favorite foods, tooth loss impacts every part of your day-to-day life. Dental implants, however, allow you to replace missing teeth permanently so that you can reclaim your health and life.
If you’re ready to enhance your oral health and boost your confidence, contact Whiteman Dental Associates. With years of experience and advanced technology on our side, we can help patients in Brookline and Boston, MA, address tooth loss to improve the look and function of their smiles.
Today, patients have several dental implant options available to them. Here, our team discusses the differences between mini dental implants vs. traditional implants so that you can make a fully-informed decision about your care.
What Are Dental Implants?
Whether they are traditional or miniature, dental implants are strong, titanium posts that Dr. Whiteman inserts directly into the bone underneath the gum tissue. These posts function similarly to a tooth’s natural root, as they encourage bone regeneration, healthy blood flow, and proper bite function.
They also provide a sturdy foundation upon which a dental restoration (like dentures or a dental crown) rests. As a result, dentists largely regard dental implants as the best tooth-replacement option on the market today.
Exploring Traditional Implants
With modern technology and gentle techniques, traditional titanium implants are a wildly successful tooth-replacement option. They are strong and biocompatible, which experts attribute to their remarkable survival rate of 97% over a ten-year period.
However, traditional implants have one shortcoming: patients must have sufficient jaw bone density to support the implant. Patients with insufficient jawbone density may not be ideal candidates for traditional implants.
Fortunately, a preparatory procedure (known as bone grafting) can help patients rebuild and fortify their jawbones for implant surgery.
Exploring Mini Dental Implants
Miniature dental implants function similarly to traditional implants, but they are not as wide. The average width of a traditional implant is 3.75mm, whereas mini implants can measure less than 3mm across. This seemingly tiny difference in implant width can add up to major savings for patients.
Mini dental implants require less tissue to secure them into place. This means that patients with minimal bone loss may be able to bypass a preparatory bone graft. As a result, patients can replace missing teeth faster and at a lower cost with mini dental implants.
Mini Dental Implants vs. Traditional Implants: Assessment
A thorough dental exam allows our team to assess the health and density of a patient’s jawbone.
If the patient has minimal-to-no jawbone loss, then miniature dental implants may be a faster, more cost-effective way to replace missing teeth. However, patients with significant bone loss should pursue bone grafting and traditional implants instead.
Schedule a Dental Implant Consultation
Don’t let tooth loss continue to impact your quality of life–contact Whiteman Dental Associates today. Our knowledgeable team can help you assess the pros and cons of mini dental implants vs. traditional implants, as well as help you prepare for oral surgery.
New and existing patients can conveniently request a dental implant consultation by sending our team a message or by calling our Brookline dental office at (617) 731-4746.
