What does immediate load dental implants treatment consist of?
Immediate load dental implants is the treatment by which fixed teeth are loaded on top of the implants immediately after their placement. It can be right after surgery or within 48 hours after surgery at the latest.
What is the difference between immediate loading and immediate esthetic?
Basically, they are two identical concepts. In both, we put in teeth right after surgery or within 48 hours after surgery at the latest. The main objective of immediate esthetics, as its name indicates, is to solve esthetic problems such as covering a gap when we are missing a tooth. In immediate loading, a provisional prosthesis is placed over the implants of an entire arch, which then becomes functional and allows us to be able to chew.
Which patients are candidates for immediate loading or esthetics?
Any patient is a candidate for immediate loading of implants, however, not all patients CAN have it performed. To be able to perform an immediate loading of dental implants a series of requirements are needed such as quantity and quality of bone, implants suitable for immediate loading both in size and surface. Something very important is what we call primary stability, that is to say, when we place the implant in the patient’s mouth it must be well fixed to the bone. If there is no primary stability, even if immediate loading is desired, it will not be possible because it would be synonymous with certain failure. But in general, with good health and with patient participation we can do immediate loading in most, but not all, cases.
What do we gain with immediate loading?
With immediate loading of implants we gain several things: the first factor is psychological. You can wear fixed teeth on top of the implants from the very first moment, so we can discard or abandon that removable appliance that the patient is not always happy with or that does not make him/her feel comfortable enough. Another factor that we also gain in many cases is to slightly shorten the final treatment, since the implant treatment is a long treatment, and with immediate loading we can slightly shorten the time. Also in many cases we can save a second surgery that in most cases is usually necessary.
Is immediate loading of implants a safe treatment?
Immediate implant loading is a safe, predictable and reliable treatment. But it is important that we understand that we have to comply with the requirements that we have mentioned before: to have a bone of quality and quantity, to follow an adequate surgical technique and it is also very important for the final success of the treatment the patient’s collaboration. As already mentioned, with immediate load implants it is possible to eat, but we must be very conscious that at the beginning they are indicated to eat soft foods, maintaining a soft diet during the osseointegration time, that is to say, the time it takes for the implant to hold on to the bone and become well fixed. In general, with the patient’s cooperation, the immediate loading treatment of dental implants is a great success.