Do I NEED An Abutment For My Dental Implant?
Disaster finally happens. A tooth breaks. “What can I do?”, you think to yourself. A dental implant of course! You go to your dentist and get a treatment plan, and, what is this?!?!, an implant, abutment, and a crown? Well, that doesn’t seem necessary…or…is it? It turns out, all three parts are necessary and serve specific purposes. There are good reasons why, and we’ll go over a few of those in this article. First, let’s talk about what each item actually is. I’ll attach some pictures as we go for clarification. This article is geared towards replacing a single tooth, but the information is true whether it is a single tooth, snap in denture, or full mouth implants (All on Four).
Implant
The implant is the screw-like part that is placed in your bone. A small “pilot hole” is made in your bone, and the implant is inserted. Of course, during this process you are fully numb and shouldn’t feel anything other than some light pressure. After the implant is placed, it needs 3-6 months to heal. There are a variety of scenarios that can include bone grafting, a temporary tooth made at the same time as the implant is placed, and a variety of other things, but we’ll keep it simple for this discussion.
This is what an implant looks like. Essentially just a funny looking screw.
Abutment
Your implant has healed, and now it is time to put a tooth on it. Unfortunately, we can’t attach the tooth directly to the implant. There are a couple of reasons why. First, we make teeth out of ceramic materials. They look really nice, but if you tried to make one that would screw into an implant, it would break. Ceramic materials have properties similar to glass, so they are very strong, but can be brittle. Second, the implant has a channel in the top of it, which is how you attach things to it. In order to attach a ceramic crown to it, something else has to connect the two. It has to be strong enough to screw into the implant without breaking, and it has to be the right shape to attach a crown onto it. That is where the abutment comes in.
This is the channel inside a dental implant that the abutment screws into.
The abutment is the piece that screws into the implant, and it is made in a way that a ceramic tooth can be attached to it, too. Anything that screws into the implant is considered an abutment. It doesn’t matter if the implant is for a single tooth crown, snap in denture, or all on x treatment. Every implant will get the appropriate abutment for the treatment. Different types of abutments serve different functions. It is the only way to screw something into the implant. Once it is on the implant, some type of tooth or teeth can be attached to it.
Now, you are probably wondering, “Can’t the implant have an abutment built in so you don’t need a separate one?”. Yes, there are implants like that. The issue is that they are very unforgiving. Abutments can offer angle correction if the implant isn’t perfectly in line with the tooth that will be attached to it. This can happen for multiple reasons, but it is mainly because the bone isn’t in the perfect place, and the implant has to be fully surrounded by bone. Abutments also offer different sizes for different teeth. They give the doctor and patient many advantages so the implant can last a long time and look natural as well. Many doctors will use what we call a custom abutment. This is an abutment that can be customized so that the tooth is in the best possible position.
The first two pictures are abutments. The second two are those same abutments, but screwed into implants.
Crown
It’s finally time for that beautiful new tooth. The crown, or tooth, is typically made at the same time as the abutment. It can either be screwed in or cemented onto the abutment. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, and your dentist will choose the best option for you. Overall, it is a simple process that takes a little bit of time. In the end, you get a tooth you can treat like a normal tooth that doesn’t come in and out of your mouth.
Implant models with abutments and crowns attached to them.
In Conclusion…
Every implant has three parts; the implant, the abutment, and the crown. They each serve their own purpose, and are all necessary and required. If you are thinking about getting a dental implant, make sure you know the price of all three things, not just the implant!
All advice is my opinion and you should seek professional medical advice from your physician before taking any action.
– Blake Vidrine, DDS
