01206 752500
A dental implant is an artificial tooth root used in dentistry to support restorations that resemble a tooth or group of teeth.
Most adults can be candidates for dental implants. However, smokers and those with uncontrolled chronic diseases or systemic problems may not be good candidates for this procedure. Smoking impedes healing in the mouth and can reduce the likelihood that implants will be successful. People with poorly controlled diabetes may not be good candidates for implants as well, due to healing problems of the gum tissue that can arise.
Every way you look at it, dental implants are a better solution to the problem of missing teeth.
Aesthetic: Dental implants look and feel like your own teeth! Since dental implants integrate into the structure of your bone, they prevent the bone loss and gum recession that often accompany bridgework and dentures. No one will ever know that you have a replacement tooth.
Tooth-saving: Dental implants don't sacrifice the quality of your adjacent teeth like a bridge does because neighboring teeth are not altered to support the implant. More of your own teeth are left untouched, a significant long-term benefit to your oral health!
Confidence: Dental implants will allow you to once again speak and eat with comfort and confidence! They are secure and offer freedom from the irksome clicks and wobbles of dentures. They'll allow you to say goodbye to worries about misplaced dentures and messy pastes and glues.
Reliable: The success rate of dental implants is highly predictable. They are considered an excellent option for tooth replacement.
You will be a suitable candidate for dental implant if you fulfill the following requirements:You must be medically fit to undergo ordinary surgery.Your jaw must have enough bone to support the implant. (If not, bone grafting may be required)There must be enough space to accommodate the prosthesis over the implant.You must understand what the treatment can offer. You must realize to what extent the treatment can meet your expectations.
The surgery can commence after thorough diagnosis and treatment planning. A recipient site of the same size and shape as the implant is created in the jawbone with drilling instruments. The implant is inserted into the site prepared. Usually, a healing period of 3 to 6 months is required for the jawbone to fuse with the implant. The jawbone has different densities in different areas - the denser the bone, the shorter the healing period. After this healing period, the prosthesis is constructed over the implant and the treatment is completed. Usually, a straightforward implant treatment takes about 4 to 7 months to complete. Longer periods are required for complex situation such as cases requiring bone grafting.
The operation will be performed under aseptic condition usually in a clinic with the proper facilities and conditions for dental implant surgery. Local anaesthesia is given for pain control during the operation. Intravenous can be given if necessary. Pain, which may occur after the operation, can be effectively controlled with dental medications. The prosthetic part of the implant treatment does not require anaesthesia.
Modern dental implant treatment is highly successful, as a general guideline, the five-year success rate of dental implant is over 95% with the lower jaw(mandible) and about 90% with upper jaw(maxilla). The success rates may slowly decrease as the implant stays longer in function. In difficult cases, the success rates are expected to be lower. Despite the overall high success rates with dental implant treatment, there is still the possibility of failure, which can be contributed by various factors and conditions, such as poor healing power, poor bone quality, smoking and diabetes.
The service life of a dental implant can be affected by many factors: High standards of treatment, meticulous daily cleaning by the patient, regular professional maintenance, abstinence from smoking and avoidance of overloading (like chewing bones, shells, hard nuts and candies), can contribute to the durability of the oral implant. In view of the high success of modern dental implant treatment; an dental implant can be considered a long lasting medical implant that does not need to be changed.
Whereas no medical treatment can be guaranteed 100 percent without risks and failures, implant operation can be considered very safe. The prosthetic phase of treatment is basically non-invasive and and non-surgical in nature.