Implant Dentistry is the next big thing in the
modern dental world. Dental implants are the ideal choice to replace a missing
adult tooth because of their exact match of the real tooth and restoring a real
tooth's functionalities like biting and chewing force, speech, etc. Besides
these, the implant teeth are firmly anchored with the underlying jaw bone.
Likewise, the implants can be used with other restoration appliances like
dentures and bridges.
Even though the teeth implants are not natural, they
are also prone to certain complications which put the real teeth at risk. The
habit of Bruxism will deteriorate the implant teeth as well as the natural
teeth.
What is Bruxism?
Bruxism is a movement disorder of the stomatognathic
system which is identified with the grinding, clenching of the teeth when a
person sleeps and wakefulness. It might occur because of excessive stress or
depression.
Whether the cause is, frequent grinding of teeth
will leave you with complications like wear down of enamel, weakening jaw bone,
etc. Similarly, it will influence the implant dentistry treatments and fake
teeth fixed with implants.
In this post, you can come to know how bruxism
affects dental implants, explained by Dr.Sendhilnathan, an eminent
implantologist in Chennai.
Problems caused by Bruxism on Teeth
Implants
1)
Affects Osseointegration
When an implant is fixed, the tissues present in the
jaw bone and gum tissues should integrate with the metal post. This process is
known as Osseointegration which will take a few months. Teeth grinding will
extend the healing period and prolong the process of implant fusing with the
jaw bone.
In such cases, the chances are higher for the tooth implants to mobilize. It obstructs the amalgamation of the implant with the
bone and leads to implant failure.
2)
Implant Fatigue Fractures
The prosthetic appliance like crowns, bridges and
dentures which mimic the shape and structure of a natural tooth have a fatigue
curve. Such curves can endure a sufficient force magnitude for a certain time.
If it encounters an intense force or force with minimum magnitude repeatedly or
a prolonged time, it will cause cracks over the prosthetic appliance or false
teeth.
3)
Loosen the implant components
The stress applied on the implant teeth for a
prolonged time will cause implant overload. This is the main reason behind the
loosening of implants, loosening of the prosthesis and abutment screw (which
adjoins the implant and tooth-like substance placed) loosening.
Effects on Treatment planning
It is quite complicated to fix dental implants to a
bruxing patient when compared to a person who does not grind his/her teeth. The
habit is effective to influence the treatment preparations as described below:
1)
Implant Design
In general, the metallic cylinder implant posts
should be wider in order to get a wider root for better contact with bone.
Likewise, the implants are fixed with minimum length. If an excess of force is
applied over the implant post due to clenching teeth, it will push the metal
post to increase the width by 1 mm or more for better placement and reduce
strain in the cordial bone.
2)
Prosthesis Design
The prosthetic appliances are designed in the manner
of distributing the stress on implants. The contact between the teeth on the
upper and lower jaw should be minimum to prevent cracks on the prosthesis.
Hence the occlusal surfaces need to be reduced.
Conclusion
It is not a new thing to reveal that bruxism also
known as teeth grinding will affect your dental health by weakening the jaw
bone, lead to gum recession, tooth loss and other dental discomforts. This
habit is powerful to wreck the teeth fixed with implants.
Wearing occlusal guards and night guards over the
teeth will help the bruxing persons to avert this habit. We recommend the
people who have the habit of grinding their teeth to consult their Dentist.
