ok...aging causes thinning of the gum tissue around both implants and 'normal' teeth. The thinner the tissue gets the more susceptible it also becomes to bone erosion and a loss of structural support = loss of tooth/implant.
In a typical gum implant procedure:
- the periodontist ( best done by them vs a standard dentist) slices open the base of the gum at the implant site to expose the tooth/implant
-next a fairly deep section of tissue is removed from the roof of the mouth about 1" long by 1/2" wide
-that tissue, the implant, is then stitched into place around the tooth base, with dissolving interior and exterior stitches stitches
-before the procedure begins a mouth guard is created by 'casting' your upper palate where the implant donor is removed from. This mouth guard covers all the upper teeth and the roof of the mouth.
-Because the implant site cannot be stitched closed, it has to heal by filling in which takes a few weeks.
- For the first week to ten days the donor site is highly sensitive, downright burns like hell at first if not protected by the mouth guard. With the mouth guard in place the site is sensitive but doable. Typically the mouth guard is worn full time for the first few days to a week with removal several times a day to clean and let the tissue breathe.
-so diet for the first week is all soft food such as eggs, cottage cheese, yogurt, pasta, soup, protein shakes, etc, with all chewing done by the opposite side of the implant location. After the first week tender cooked fish, beans, chicken, etc can be added.
-The point of all this is to keep the transplant site completely protected from any disturbance while the graft 'takes' and roots in. At first the grafted tissue appears all white and then gradually becomes pink as the graft becomes fully vascular.
-If at the two week exam the periodontist sees normal progress the patient will be cleared to move on to solid foods, while still avoiding chewing any 'hard' foods on the implant side for another two weeks.
Being there is no dental coverage available for those on MediCare that covers gum implants, the procedure cost (this my second) is about 3K a pop.
Hope you find this helpful.