Losing a tooth can really alter your smile and affect your personal confidence. Dental implant treatments have proven to be a highly effective way of creating replacement teeth that look, feel and function just like the real thing!
Implants offer one of the most effective and long-lasting ways to replace one or more missing teeth, providing a fixed alternative to removable dentures. We can lose teeth for a number of reasons, including decay, trauma, infection or gum disease, and this loss can result in a whole host of problems. Implants can improve how you eat and speak, prevent shrinkage of the jawbone and keep existing teeth firmly in place. They also give you back your confidence and allow you to show your smile off with pride.
What are implants?
In brief, implants are titanium posts that we surgically place in the jawbone to act just like tooth roots, giving you back a good foundation to build upon once healed. As titanium is a durable metal that is very well tolerated by the body, these cylindrical posts eventually fuse with the bone, providing a firm base for a crown, bridge or, in some cases, attachment dentures.
During this healing period, we will fit a temporary solution. Once we are happy that the tooth has properly integrated, a crown or bridge or denture is fitted on the implant to provide the appearance of a new tooth. The results are stunning.
Why choose a dental implant?
- Implants are seen as a more secure alternative to dentures. Dentures can have a tendency to move around or become loose over time, making eating certain foods tricky.
- Implants help protect the jawbone by keeping it stimulated and also prevent existing teeth from moving around.
- Implants can give you full mouth function back, allowing you to chew and speak comfortably by replacing the missing teeth.
- Implants give patients confidence back in their smile, function and beyond. No more worrying how that missing tooth looks on a photograph, just smiles all round!
Treatment steps
- Call the team for a chat, so we can give you more information tailored to your needs and book you in for a consultation.
- At your consultation, we will carry out a full assessment of your general health, how your teeth fit together, your oral health and the density of your jaw bone. If we discover you have insufficient bone volume, you may need a grafting procedure to allow for the successful placement of implants, but this will all be clearly explained at your visit with us.
- Once you have decided to go ahead with the treatment – an appointment for the implant to be placed would be arranged for you. The titanium posts are placed in the bone under a local anaesthetic using a relatively simple surgical procedure.
- Your implants will then be left for around 12 weeks, depending on how they are healing, to integrate with the bone – a process known as osseo-integration.
- We will arrange a review appointment 12 weeks after your implant surgery. If we are happy everything has fully healed and integrated well we can remove your temporary restoration and fit your permanent replacement teeth.
Aftercare
As with all dental treatments and natural teeth, you need to maintain a high level of oral hygiene following on from your treatment and beyond. To ensure that your implants remain as trouble free as possible, our hygiene team will be on hand to give you the best possible advice and educate you on what needs to be done, give you a helping hand to improve all aspects of your oral hygiene routine, as well as dietary advice.
If well looked after, with regular examinations with your dentist and good oral hygiene, implants can last for over 15 years.
