What are dental implants?

A dental implant is a structure that replaces a missing tooth. With screw-like devices, the surgeon inserts an implant into the jawbone, and it acts as an anchor for an artificial tooth, called a crown.

A device called an abutment connects the artificial tooth to the dental implant.

The crown is custom-made to fit the person’s mouth and match the color of their teeth. Crowns look, feel, and function like natural teeth.

Implants have several advantagesTrusted Source over dentures, which are removable artificial teeth. Implants:

  • are more natural and comfortable
  • have a higher success rate
  • improve chewing function
  • lead to a lower risk of cavities developing in nearby teeth
  • lead to better maintenance of bone at the site of the lost tooth
  • cause decreased sensitivity in nearby teeth
  • do not need to be taken out and cleaned every night

However, dental implants are not suitable for everyone. The implanting devices must bond with the jawbone, so a person’s bones must be healthy before they can undergo implant surgery.

Benefits of Dental Implant Systems

  • Restores the ability to chew
  • Restores cosmetic appearance
  • Helps keep the jawbone from shrinking due to bone loss
  • Preserves the health of the surrounding bone and gums
  • Helps keep adjacent (nearby) teeth stable
  • Improves quality of life

Risks Associated with Dental Implant Systems

  • Damage to surrounding natural teeth during implant placement
  • Injury to the surrounding tissues during surgery, such as sinus perforation
  • Injury during surgery (for example, fracture of surrounding jawbone)
  • Inadequate function, such as feeling like the teeth do not bite together normally
  • A sensation that the tooth is loose or twisting in place resulting from an abutment screw loosening
  • Implant body failure (looseness of the implant body)
    • due to systemic infection, which may be more likely in patients with uncontrolled diabetes
    • due to local infection in bone and gums supporting the implant body
    • due to delayed healing, which may be more likely in patients who smoke
  • Difficulty cleaning the gums around the implant, resulting in poor oral hygiene
  • Untreated periodontal disease
  • Post-surgical numbness due to nerve impingement or damage
  • Always notify health care providers and imaging technicians that you have dental implants before any magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or x-ray procedures. Dental implants can distort or interfere with these images. FDA is not aware of any adverse events reported for MRI or x-ray procedures with dental implants.

Ways Dental Implants are Evaluated for Safety

Dental implants systems are typically made of materials that follow international consensus standards of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) or ASTM International. These standards have details of what makes a safe material. Most dental implant systems are made of titanium or zirconium oxide. Other materials such as gold alloys, cobalt-based alloys, titanium alloys, or ceramic materials are sometimes used. The safety profiles of these materials are well-known.

Dental implant systems are evaluated according to international consensus standards. Biocompatibility testing, to show that bodily contact with the device does not cause complications like irritation or allergic reaction, is part of the evaluation that helps ensure the materials in the dental implant system are safe and do not cause adverse effects when implanted in people.

For manufacturers to market dental implant systems in the United States, they must first show the FDA their systems are as safe and as effective as dental implant systems already on the market.