Are Mini Dental Implants Better Than Traditional Dental Implants?

What exactly are mini dental implants?

If you know what dental implants are, you can guess what mini dental implants are. Dental implants are titanium structures that are made to fit into your jawbone with a crown fitted on top, to resemble your natural teeth. The dimensions of the root and the crown of dental implants are nearly the same as your natural tooth.

As you may imagine, mini dental implants are just smaller versions of them. They are made to serve the same purpose as dental implants but are around half the diameter of traditional dental implants. The roots do not go as deep as traditional implants either. They are less expensive and are best suited for patients having a lower budget for the dental procedure.

Since the concept of mini dental implants is new in the market, it is important to understand the pros and cons of mini dental implants. Before you jump into them, do not believe in the myth that mini dental implants are not durable, or do not feel natural inside the mouth. These implants too have a high a long life if properly taken care of and feel just like your natural teeth.

Having said that, the following are the pros and cons of mini dental implants:

Pros

• Mini dental implants do not require complex surgery. This is because the root of the implant does not have to be as deep as traditional implants. The surgeon will just seek to make a socket that would be enough to implant the small root of the implant.
• A mini dental implant can be done in one single sitting. This owes to the simplicity of the surgery.
• Since the procedure is so much less invasive, the healing time in the case of a mini dental implant is also much faster. You can expect to be healed completely with a week or two, if not within days!
• Unlike dentures, mini implants do not fall off. This keeps you away from all the worries about your teeth falling off!
• For patients who have lost their teeth for long, chances are that their bone has receded and this does not provide enough support for the dentures on the lower jaw. Getting a few mini implants are a perfect way to bring back that support and stability back to the lower jaw to support the dentures.
• Last but not least, mini dental implants cost about half the price of getting traditional dental implants. This owes both to the smaller size of the implants and the lesser complexity in the surgery process.

Cons

• Mini dental implants are not as strong and durable as traditional dental implants.
• If you grind your teeth or put too much pressure on your teeth, you might wear them off.
• These implants would still require to wear your dentures.
• They are required to be replaced sooner than traditional implants.

Now that you know what the advantages and disadvantages are, you also know what upper hand mini implants have over the traditional ones and where they cannot possibly overpower traditional implants. Depending upon the aspects that you value, it is up to you on which kind of an implant you would need for yourself!