Are Mini Implants Better?

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Dental implants are designed to function just like natural teeth. And as part of that function, they have to bear the force of biting and chewing. Many people believe that the best solution to ensure dental implant stability and success is to use larger diameter implants. Not everyone agrees, however, and some have proposed that in certain situations mini dental implants can give the best results.

Potential Benefits of Mini Implants

In some situations, mini implants definitely offer benefits. One of these potential benefits is that mini implants allow more room for your body to rebuild bone around them. This can be especially important if you have a narrow ridge where your natural teeth were positioned. A mini implant could interfere less with the recovery from surgery. This will lead to more natural results and possibly more stable ones, too.

Long-term results depend on the bone healing with its own healthy blood supply, but large dental implants might interfere with the development of blood vessels in the new bone. A lack of blood vessels in bone could lead to future complications, including peri-implantitis–gum disease that affects dental implants.

More visible than bone remodeling might be the regrowth of gum tissue around the dental implants. This can be challenging with larger implants on smaller ridges, making it difficult to achieve an attractive appearance for your dental implants.

Limitations of Mini Implants

But mini implants do have limitations. Because they are smaller, they have less area to distribute bite force over. This isn’t necessarily a problem, especially when it comes to bite force coming straight down on the implant (axial force). Where it does become a problem is when the force is coming from the side or at an angle. In this situation, the smaller area of the mini implants can definitely put them at a disadvantage, and potentially lead to mechanical failure.

The Best Implant for You

Overall, the data suggests that there’s no single best design for dental implants. All implants have very high success rates (95%+), and the best way to optimize success rates for any patient is to customize the implant selection to their individual needs. That’s why you need to work with a dentist who has extensive training and experience with dental implants. They will know better how to respond to your situation and give you the best odds for success.

Both Dr. George Sepiashvili and Dr. Wanda Mejia have received specialized training in the use of dental implants and have helped many patients in Westchester County restore their smile with dental implants. Please call (914) 526-2144 today for an appointment with one of these implant dentists at Advanced Dentistry of Mohegan Lake.

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