Medical Illustration Copyright © 2006 Nucleus Medical Art, All rights reserved www.nucleusinc.com Above is a cross section of the lower jaw(mandible). Notice at the bottom of the jaw the circular area enclosing the mandibluar nerve(colored in yellow). The implant must stay away from this nerve. If the implant damages this nerve the patient can have permanent nerve damage. Careful pre-operative planning can prevent this from happening. Medical Illustration Copyright © 2006 Nucleus his Medical Art, All rights reserved www.nucleusinc.com Above you see the drill creating the hole for the implant. Notice how the drill does not go to the depth of the nerve. Medical Illustration Copyright © 2006 Nucleus Medical Art, All rights reserved www.nucleusinc.com Above is a second, larger diameter drill completing the hole for the future implant. Medical Illustration Copyright © 2006 Nucleus Medical Art, All rights reserved www.nucleusinc.com Now the implant is screwed into the bone. Medical Illustration Copyright © 2006 Nucleus Medical Art, All rights reserved www.nucleusinc.com Pictured above is the implant in the bone. During the next few months bone will be deposited around the threads of the implant. Eventually there will be a solid bone framework around the implant. Trouble can develop if the implant has forces on it too prematurely. Functioning on an implant before it is fully integrated with the bone is not advised. The “practice of early loading of an implant” is becoming popular. This trend has to be looked at more carefully. Patients want to have their teeth quickly, but patience is very important to assure a successful outcome. As of now, there is no method to speed up the process of bone deposition around an implant. Companies are trying to develop coatings on the threads of the implants to speed up the process. Medical Illustration Copyright © 2006 Nucleus Medical Art, All rights reserved www.nucleusinc.com Finally the tooth is attached to the implant and the patient can function on his new tooth.
