dental implants
Dental tourism offers amazing benefits when you visit Cancún
6-8 min read
Dental implants are able to enhance your quality of life and overall health, improving the self-confidence and comfort of having a beautiful, well-functioning smile.
So, if you’re looking into dental implants, and you’d like to replace them at a much lower price than in the United States, here is what you need to know about dental implants in Cancún.
Why Would I Need Implants?
Your teeth, in addition to helping you chew and speak clearly, serve as structural supports in your mouth. When one or more of these reference points are missing, the surrounding teeth begin to move. Eventually, we end up with bite problems because our teeth no longer line up properly.
Also, the gum tissue and bone below the gaps left by the missing teeth will begin to deteriorate, causing the surrounding teeth to weaken. This weakening can eventually lead to further tooth loss. Really, every tooth counts!
The lack of teeth can lead to a further loss of bone structure.
What Is a Dental Implant?
A dental implant is an artificial tooth root that is placed into your jawbone and covered with a porcelain crown, and it’s the option we recommend for tooth replacement. The surrounding teeth are not altered during implant placement, so there is no need to damage healthy teeth, and modern implants can last for decades.
Now, healthy and adequate bone tissue is required for dental implants, so they are not suitable for all cases, but in general, we find that dental implants are the best way to replace your teeth.
Are there Different Types?
Currently, two types of dental implants are used that respond to two different materials, both biocompatible, and to two different types of integration depending on these materials: titanium and zirconium.
Titanium in comparison to zirconia allows for better integration of the bone into the implant structure.
Zirconium is a ceramic material of extreme hardness and resistance that has historically been used for many aspects of dentistry, including the manufacture of brackets, pins, or stumps, along with the preparation of dental crowns and bridges.
Its white color is very similar to that of human teeth, and zirconium has extraordinary durability as long you stay on top of tooth hygiene, to the point that many dentists offer a lifetime guarantee with these implants.
In addition, zirconium prevents the formation of bacterial plaque around it, resists acid corrosion very well, and does not cause problems due to temperature changes.
On the other hand, titanium is a more traditionally used material for dental implants: it is a metal with a color similar to steel, but lighter, easily moldable, extremely hard, and very unlikely for your body to reject.
The main difference between these two types of implants is the different ways that they bond to your bone structure, which can either be through integrating into the bone around the implant (titanium) or adhering to existing bone through a chemical process (zirconium).
The Process | Getting Dental Implants
First, your surgeon will inspect if your jawbone is too thin or soft to hold the implant in place. If not, you’ll start the process with a bone graft procedure.
Bone Grafting
In a bone grafting procedure, the surgeon will obtain a section of bone from another area of your body or use a bone of special material for the graft and graft it into the maxillary bone. Next is a wait (up to several months), while the graft creates new bone and is strong enough to make sure that the implant is stable and secure.
It is possible that only a minor graft is needed, and the procedure can be performed at the same time as implant surgery, but the oral surgeon will make the final decision. A successful bone graft allows your jawbone to be strong enough to support the dental implant.
Bone grafting allows for an ideal setting to achieve a higher success rate of implant integration.
Placing the Implant Itself
First, holes are made in the bone where the metal pin of the dental implant will be implanted deep into the bone, acting as the “root” of the tooth.
At this point, you will still have a gap where the tooth is missing, but a temporary and partial type of denture can be placed for a better appearance and comfort if need be.
Letting Your Bones Grow
Once the metal bolt of the implant is placed in the jaw, osseointegration begins, where the jaw grows and joins the surface of the dental implant.
This process can take several months, but is vital to provide a solid foundation for the new artificial tooth, just as the roots of natural teeth do.
Placing an Abutment (If needed)
When the osseointegration (the implant fusing to your bone) is complete, you may need additional surgery to place the abutment, the part where the crown is eventually attached. This minor surgery is usually performed under local anesthesia in an outpatient setting.
To place the abutment:
- The oral surgeon opens the gum again to expose the dental implant.
- The abutment is fixed to the dental implant.
- The gum tissue is then closed around, but not over, the abutment.
After the abutment is placed, the gums must heal for two weeks before the artificial tooth can be placed.
In some cases, the abutment is attached to the metal stud of the dental implant when the stud is implanted.
This process bypasses the extra surgical step, but because the abutment barely passes the gum line, it can be seen visibly until the dentist finishes the denture, so some people prefer to have the abutment placed in another procedure.
What to Watch for After You Get the Dental Implants Procedure
Whether the patient has single-stage or multi-stage dental implant surgery, they may experience some discomfort like:
- Swelling of the gums and face
- Bruising of the skin and gums
- Pain at the implant site
- Light bleeding
These are common in any dental procedure, and can typically be handled via pain medication or antibiotics after dental implant surgery.
However, if the swelling, discomfort, or any other problem worsens during the days after surgery, it’s worth reaching back out to your dentist.
It’s also possible that you may need to eat soft foods at certain points during the recovery process, but your dentist will give you guidance if this is the case.
How to Care For and Maintain Your Implants
Most dental implants are successful. However, in some cases, the bones fail to fuse enough with the metal implant.
For example, smoking can contribute to unsatisfactory implantation and complications, and there are other reasons why a dental implant could fail as well.
As opposed to a successful implant, a failed integration will form a fibrous layer around the implant, meaning the implant needs to be removed, the bone cleaned, and in about three months the procedure can be tried again.
Here are a few tips for care to avoid these complications:
- Practice excellent oral hygiene. As with your natural teeth, you should keep implants, false teeth, and gum tissue clean. Specially designed brushes, such as interdental brushes that slide between teeth, can help clean corners and cracks around teeth, gums, and metal pins
- Consult your dentist regularly. Schedule dental checks to ensure the health and proper functioning of your implants and follow the advice of professional cleaning.
- Avoid harmful habits. Do not chew on hard items, such as ice or hard candy, which can break your crowns, or your natural teeth. Avoid caffeinated or tobacco products that can stain your teeth. Seek treatment if you grind your teeth.
Follow these tips and you’ll be in great shape!
Alternative Techniques for Dental Implants
In some cases, there are alternative techniques for dental implants. We’ll go into the specifics of what these are, and why people sometimes consider them, below.
Immediate Load Dental Implants
Immediate load dental implants are a relatively new form of implant treatment that involves placing a fixed provisional prosthesis in less than 48 hours. This is more often suggested for people who have lost one, several, or all of their teeth or are struggling with severe tooth degradation.
As its name suggests, immediate load dental implants are placed immediately, with a temporary prosthesis that can be used starting immediately after recovery. Then, once the osseointegration process is finished (which takes from 3 to 6 months), patients can return for slight adjustments and a final, more permanent prosthesis.
Most cases that request this treatment are done for aesthetics, as some individuals would like to have beautiful, functioning teeth throughout the osseointegration process.
Mini Dental Implants
Mini dental implants, as the name suggests, are a smaller version of a conventional dental implant. These small dental implants are intended to stabilize a new prosthesis so that the patient does not experience the same level of recovery for a full.
Mini dental implants are more often used as an alternative in minor surgery and can be an ample stand-in for other implants.
All-on-4 Dental Implants
All-on-four dental implants are an excellent option for people who have to replace several or all of their teeth. If this is your case, this technique offers a very good value for money and tends to be a far less invasive treatment as well.
All-on-four is a revolutionary dental implant placement system that allows us to place 4 dental implants with a complete dental arch on top of them, in a fixed way, without the need for bone grafts, in a single day and with a success rate higher than other procedures.
Think of it like a way to transform your mouth with the same functional results as traditional implants, but for a much cheaper, less painful, and quicker process. If you’d like to learn more about this process, you can read about the All-on-4 dental implant technique here.
Why Cancún?
Dentistry in the United States has become prohibitively expensive for some patients, with bills that can reach tens of thousands of dollars. Even among Americans with health insurance, many are not covered for certain treatments, only basic treatments.
That’s a big reason why a few years ago, there was a boom in dental clinics in Cancún. Now, thousands of Americans travel each year to get quality dental treatments done at a much lower price.
Saving Money Through Dental in Cancún
Dental tourism occurs when people choose to travel beyond their borders, in order to find dentists who offer high-quality dentistry at a more affordable cost. This is what is happening in Cancún because dentists in Cancún offer dental procedures for 50% to 80% less than Americans.
The cost of a single dental implant with abutment and standard crown in the United States costs an average of $4,500, and in Cancún, it starts from an average of $1,600. That’s a major difference, especially when you factor in quality, as the services available in Cancún are some of the best in Latin America.
The Meza Dental Care Opportunity!
For all this, if you’re looking to get a dental treatment, and you’d like to consider alternative options, we happily invite you to join us in Cancún. Our facilities are comfortable, beautiful, modern, and equipped with the latest technology. Both our equipment and team are certified to the absolute highest level of AAAHC accreditation for ongoing self-evaluation, peer review, and education to constantly improve our care and services.
Add in a dental team trained at top universities like UCLA, and one of the only Latin American dentists certified by the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD) as our leader, and you have a world-class practice waiting in a world-class destination.
Get Your Free Estimate Today!
And we’d love to get you started as soon as possible. In today’s dentistry, a CT Scan is mandatory for a surgical diagnostic, while x-rays, pictures, models, and videos are also helpful to create a treatment plan.
But even if you don’t have this imaging ready, we invite you to contact us to request a treatment estimate. We can help guide you to get your imaging, and once we have it, provide you with an estimate to help you find the most effective, high-quality treatment for a reasonable price.
Just click here to start your journey to a revitalized smile with our free estimate page!
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