When there are one or more teeth missing, or if the patient is completely without teeth, or when a fixed denture is desired, or when the missing tooth is the last tooth in the jaw, or when the adjacent teeth are not to be disturbed or weak, tooth implants are advised.

It is like a tooth extraction. There is very minimal pain and just a mild swelling after implant placement.

The precautions are like extractions. Avoidance of hot foods, and having soft diet instead is advised. Rest or minimal physical activity is advised. Cold fomentation is to be given, and no gargling should be done for a day. Do not wear your dentures for a few days.

Implants are metal screws placed inside the bone which would serve the purpose of roots over which a crown is fixed. In fixed dentures, the adjacent two teeth are reduced, and crowns placed over them for retaining the missing teeth. This can be done only if the adjacent teeth are healthy. Also, the neighboring healthy teeth must be ground to place fixed dentures; this is not needed in implants.

Implants can be placed by immediate loading or delayed loading. Immediate loading is done when there is good quality and quantity of bone in the anterior. Posteriors are usually fixed with delayed loading. The implants are placed submerged inside the bone and allowed to heal. After 3 to 6 months (depending on the type of bone) when the bone has healed, new teeth are placed.

Uncontrolled diabetes and smoking are the main contraindications for implant placement. Implants can be placed at any age if the patient is healthy.