DENTAL IMPLANTS

Dental implants

A dental implant is used to support one or more false teeth. It is a titanium screw that can replace the root of a tooth when it fails. Just like a tooth root, it is located within the jawbone.

Implants are a safe, well-established treatment. It’s probably true to say that implants, much like natural teeth, will last for as long as you care for them. How well you look after your implants – and whether you go for your regular maintenance appointments – will have the biggest impact on how long they will last. If you don’t look after your implants they will develop a coating similar to what you get on neglected natural teeth. Left untreated, this can lead to gum infection, bleeding, soreness and general discomfort. You could get all these problems with natural teeth. If your implants are well looked after, and if the bone they are fitted to is strong and healthy, you can expect them to last for many years. However, just as with other surgical implants (such as a hip replacement) there is no lifetime guarantee.

Dental implants can be used to replace a single tooth, or the complete set. 

Six reasons why you should consider implants instead of other solutions: 
1. They look, feel and function like your natural teeth.
2. Healthy teeth do not need to be ground down to support the dental implants.
3. Anchoring dental implants in the jawbone stimulates bone tissue and gums, ensuring an attractive, aesthetic result while helping to maintain facial structures. 
4. Dental implants do not require any adhesives to hold the new teeth in place.
5. They eliminate the discomfort and insecurity of loose, ill-fitting dentures.
6. You have a secure, permanent tooth replacement.

There are three parts of a dental implant: implant, abutment and crown

Implant

A small titanium screw is inserted into your jawbone. Titanium is a metal accepted by the body and heals together with the bone tissue to form a new, stable tooth root.

Abutment

An abutment is a ceramic or titanium component that ensures a secure fit between the dental implant and the crown.

Crown

Once the dental implant and the abutment are in place, your dentist fits the crown, the bridge or the denture. 

Treatment steps

Examination and discussion

Your dentist will advise you all treatment options for a missing tooth including an implant. If you decide after discussion with your dentist that an implant is the best option for you then an appointment will be made with our dentist who places implants. This appointment is free of charge and no obligation. At this appointment our implant dentist will discuss in detail the process, how suitable an implant is for you and answer all your questions. At the end if you are interested then we will provide you an estimate of cost and some information to read.

Assessment

After receiving the estimate and reading material, if you think implant is the option for you then we will make another appointment with the implant dentist. At this appointment we will take necessary diagnostic records and may refer you for specialised X-rays to another dental practice.

Implant placement

Following your thorough assessment by the implant dentist, we will book a longer appointment for the implant placement. You should have all the information about this appointment in advance provided by our dedicated implant coordinator.

Review appointments and healing phase

The reviews will normally be with your dentist one week and two months after the implant placement. These appointments are for us to monitor the healing process and make sure you are comfortable. We normally recommend leaving the implant in the jaw bone for at least 3 months before placing the replacement tooth to allow proper integration with the bone.

Exposure of implant

After three months we will make a small cut in the gum under local anaesthesia to check  enough bone has grown around the implant. If there is sufficient bone, we will place a specialised cap on top of implant on this appointment and stich the gums back. This specialised cap
heals the gum and give a shape which enhances the final appearance of the crown and make it look like more natural.

Impression

At this appointment , we remove the healing cap and take an impression of implant inside the bone and surrounding structure. This impression is sent to a qualified dental implant technician for fabrication of the abutment and the  crown.

Crown fit

At this appointment, we remove the healing cap and fix the abutment and crown according to specifics of that particular implant system. We make sure it is accurate, comfortable and fits into your bite

Review

This appointment is to make sure you are still happy with your new tooth!