Tooth implants rely heavily on one major component: the abutment screw. This is the screw that is inserted, or screwed, into your jawbone just prior to attaching the implant crown. For those that are seriously considering dental implants, it is necessary to know and learn all you can about how dental implants work. However, for the particularly squeamish who may not want to ask these sorts of questions, the following information is for you.

How Long Are Abutment Screws?

This is usually the question patients want most to know, since their dentist is screwing these screws directly into bone. The patients are worried that the length of the screws will go straight through their jawbones, and/or be easy to spot through the skin on their faces. However, you have little to fear. You must remember that these screws are made to fit into your jaw without inhibiting the health and well-being of the surrounding teeth. 

As such, these screws are never more than 1-2 mm in diameter, which is very tiny indeed. As for the length, each abutment screw is comprised of a couple of components that fit inside each other like a set of nesting dolls. If you only want the length of the abutment screw when all of the components are nestled together, the screws are rarely more than 4 mm long,  not even a quarter of an inch. Hence, it would be nearly impossible for anyone to see the screws or for the screws to break through your jaw.

Does the Dentist Have to Cut Open Gum Tissue to the Bone?

Yes. The abutment screws have to go directly into the bone and not through gum tissue because the screws have to be secured by the bone without any gum tissue in the way. As the jawbone ossifies in and around the abutment screw in much the same way as leg or arm bone engulfs the titanium pins used to set breaks, the only opening will be the top of the gum tissue. On top of that, the  implant with its pin screw is inserted into the abutment screw. The hope is that the bone grows around the base of the screw, while the gum tissue grows up around the base of the crown to look like a very normal tooth.

Will the Screws Set off Security Gates?

Yes, it is possible for abutment screws to set off security gates. The screws are titanium, a metal that has been used in dozens of surgical ways for decades. If a titanium metal plate in your head can set off the gates, then so can the screws. However, it may be trickier to detect a single screw, if you only have one dental implant. Conversely, if your whole mouth is full of titanium dental implant abutment screws, the gate will likely go off with all of its usual bells and whistles and you would have to be pat down and run over with a sensor bar while asking various questions in the process. It just depends.

Are There Any Other Ways to Tell That You Have Implants?

There are only three other ways that anyone can tell that you have dental implants. First, you told them that you have implants. Second, you have an x-ray of your head completed, which reveals the screws in your mouth. Finally, three, your gum tissue shrinks away from the crown of the implant, revealing the head of the abutment screw. Otherwise, not even a passionate French kiss can detect the presence of dental implants, which should put your mind at ease.

For more information about the abutment screws that will be a part of your dental implants, contact offices like A Q Denture Services.