Before carrying out any treatment, the surgeon will take a medical history, give a full assessment and then start the implant work. This involves making models of your upper and lower jaw before the titanium body is implanted. The dental surgeon will also make a temporary denture for you to wear while your gum and bone heal. The titanium body is then inserted, under a local anaesthetic, into the jaw.
Dental implants are an ideal way to transform your smile as they look and feel just like your own teeth. They are also often stronger than your own teeth and are fixed into your jaw and surrounded by gum, so there is little chance that they will slip or fall out. None of your other teeth are affected and implants actually strengthen the bone and gum tissue into which they're fixed. You can smile, laugh, talk, chew, bite and kiss with confidence.
Apart from using mouthwashes after eating sweet or acid foods, replacement teeth need the same treatment as your own teeth – just a regular flossing and brushing with a non-abrasive toothpaste.
If you have no teeth in the lower jaw, and are not yet ready for multiple implant placements, a conventional lower denture can be considerably improved with two implants placed beneath the front section - this is called an 'overdenture'. The same overdenture concept when used to treat the upper jaw, will usually require more implants as the bone is generally softer. Implant-supported overdentures, just like conventional dentures are still removed for daily cleaning, however, once back in the mouth, the implants make them much more stable.
Once the implant has bonded naturally with your bone, the dentist will make a final model of your jaws. An exact size and colour match with the surrounding teeth is then made so that the replacement tooth looks completely natural and fits perfectly with your own teeth.
Using the most advanced dental technology, dental implants not only look perfectly natural but they leave you with a secure new tooth, healthily bonded with your own bone tissue.
A dental implant is an exact replica of a natural tooth as it replaces both the crown and root. It is made of porcelain with a metal core. The secret lies in the small titanium body that is inserted as an artificial tooth root into the jaw.
Within a few months, the living bone grows around the titanium body forming a permanent secure bond, just like a healthy tooth root. Then a metal post is fixed onto the bonded titanium body and the replacement porcelain tooth, or crown, is attached to the post. The result: a perfectly natural-looking tooth.
Dental implants are suitable for anyone aged 18 to 80 depending on the strength and shape of the jawbone.
All the common forms of tooth replacement, such as bridges or dentures can be replaced by dental implants.
If you are missing just one natural tooth, then one implant is normally all that will be needed to provide a replacement. Larger spaces created by two, three or more missing teeth do not necessarily need one implant per tooth, however the exact number of implants will depend upon the quality and volume of bone at each potential implant site.
Occasionally, it is even possible to join natural teeth to implants with a conventional bridge.
In the upper jaw, bone density is generally poorer than in the lower and if you have no teeth at all, most treatment providers will want to place a minimum of 6 implants to support a complete arch of 10 or more replacement teeth.
In the lower jaw, the bone towards the front of the mouth is often very strong and as a direct result, fewer implants may be needed than are required to treat a whole upper jaw. A simple treatment plan to provide 10 or more teeth in the lower jaw might be possible with as few as 4 implants, although it is still more common to use 5 or 6.
Whilst not suitable for everyone, with proper preparation it is sometimes possible to fit new implant-supported teeth on the same day. This fast-track treatment can be applied to a number of different situations, however, you do have to balance shorter treatment times against an increased risk of implant failure.
There are many options and every case can be dealt with in a number of ways. You will therefore need to talk to someone who has examined your mouth thoroughly, before having a clear idea as to what is possible.
Dental implants have to obey simple engineering principles, in that they must be placed in strong foundations with enough of them to prevent overloading. In addition each implant must be accessible for daily cleaning so that the biology of the mouth can be used to maintain healthy surrounding bone and gum.