A dental evaluation test is a must before getting the dental implantation surgery because it determines whether you are a suitable candidate for implants or not. This evaluation will usually include medical history, and other necessary tests.
The evaluation tests that are needed to prepare for the process are:
- Medical history
- Clinical examination with palpation
- Radio graphs panoramic and FMX
- ICAT
Medical history: If a person wants to replace missing teeth with dental implants then dentist will examine whether the person is suitable for implants or not. This can be done primarily by examining the medical history of that person.
- The dentist will check if there is any growth in the jaw bone, if it is still in the growing stage.
- Whether you have enough jaw bone density or not.
- Gum thickness to allow placement of implant.
- Medical history of any diseases like diabetes, tyroidism which leads to complications during surgery.
- Whether the patient has a habit of taking alcohol and tobacco or not.
- Whether the patient is undergoing any radiation therapy or pregnant.
Clinical examination with palpation: Clinical examination with palpation does not use any device. It can be examined by visualizing the site of missing tooth, adjacent tooth, jaw bone strength and gum tissue. This visualization is not sufficient to evaluate whether the candidate is suitable for implant or not.
Radio graphs panoramic and FMX: Dentists will take panoramic radio graphs where it shows the patients jaw bone and the teeth in the mouth in a single X-ray. X-rays shows the oral health under the surface of the teeth. If dentists want to visualize, then it is better to opt for CT scan or tomography. Tomography reveals the depth of the missing teeth and gingival margin.
FMX is another technique that helps in getting the accurate measurements for the placement of implant. FMX is a full mouth series of X-rays that should be taken every 3 years. This helps the dentist to know whether the person is suitable for dental implants or not.
ICAT: ICAT is a technique that provides 3D ultimate images of the mouth and accurately captures the patients anatomy of single tooth to entire arc. It collects precise data and measurements of bone height and length and width of the space created by the missing teeth.
These are the preliminary techniques to evaluate whether the person is suitable for dental implants or not. These tests reduces the failure of implants. So it is better to get the evaluation done before the implantation surgery.