Implant Dentistry

Implant Dentistry

Dental implants are used when a person has lost a tooth. Dental implants are typically made from titanium alloys that are anchored directly into the jawbone and topped with realistic replacement teeth (often called a crown) that look, feel, and perform like  their own.

Dental implants are a vast improvement over conventional dentures. They're more stable and user-friendly than many other teeth replacement options, they also help prevent bone loss and gum recession (because the pressure of chewing on the implant’s crown stimulates the underlying bone and prevents it from deteriorating from disuse.

To have an implant placed a patient must have healthy gums and sufficient bone in the implant site for the implant to bond into. If gum disease is present a course of gum treatment may be required before implant treatment commences. If insufficient bone in present in the implant site then bone augmentation may be required.

Step One
A cast is taken of the patient’s mouth a wax model is made showing the proposed implant in situ. This gives the patient an indication of how the completed treatment willlook. The patient will have to signoff the appearance of the tooth.

Step Two
A dental Surgeon surgically places a titanium screw or ‘implant’ in the patient's jaw.

Bone augmentation may be carried out in conjunction with this step or it may need to be carried out separately in advance if bone loss is severe. If done in advance it will take approximately 12 weeks to heal and bond to the rest of the jaw. Healing must be complete before the implant is placed.

Once the implant has been placed it will take approximately 3 month to heal and bond into the jaw.

Step Three
After the gums have healed around the implant and the implant has fully bonded into the jaw, a replacement tooth is attached to the top of it.