What is a dental Implant?
Dental implants are artificial roots that serve as a replacement for missing teeth.
They are screws made out of titanium which once placed will securely fuse with your jawbone.
Once that has been achieved, the crown, bridge, or whole tooth replacement can be fixed to the implant or implants to feel and function like natural teeth
Benefits of Dental Implants
- Delivering a proven, successful solution
Dental implants are widely recognized to be the most successful method of tooth replacement used today. Placed by specially, trained dentists, implants and modern prosthetics are hard to tell apart from your natural teeth. - Maintaining a youthful appearance
Dental implants maintain your natural bone. With missing teeth, the bone begins to resorb over time. Significant bone loss can shrink the contours of the jaw bone, causing wrinkled lips and a sunken mouth and chin. Dental implants can counteract that by preventing resorption of the jawbone, stimulating bone growth and stopping bone loss. - Preserving healthy teeth
With conventional dental bridges, adjacent teeth are used as anchors and must often be ground down. Dental implants eliminate this need and allow natural, healthy teeth to be preserved in their original state. - Comfortable solutions that last
The latest prosthetics and implant solutions are more durable, stable, comfortable, and functional than conventional dentures With proper care and good oral hygiene, a prosthetic solution will last for many years. A dental implant can actually last a lifetime. - Smile,eat and speak with confidence
The stable retention of prosthetic solutions and implant-supported tooth replacements offer strength, reliability and durability similar to that of natural teeth. Crowns, bridges or prosthetics are securely anchored to integrated dental implants. This eliminates some of the main problems of conventional prosthetics: poor fit, gum irritation, pressure points, speech and taste impairment. The result is an aesthetically comfortable, reliable and stress-free solution allowing you to eat and speak with confidence.
The steps involved with Dental implant procedure
In ideal cases, implants can be placed in as little as one session. Your treatment plan will, however, be dependent on your particular clinical situation. Depending on the treatment procedure, it may take between one and two hours. Afterwards, the implant often needs time to integrate so that it can fuse better with the bone. The better the quality of the bone, the better the conditions and the shorter the treatment duration. Depending on the clinical situation, a temporary tooth may be provided during the integration period. Once this integration phase has been successfully concluded, the final replacement tooth can be attached.
- Consultation: Diagnosis and treatment planning
The first step of dental implant therapy is a discussion with your dentist, followed by a thorough dental examination. The jaw is x-rayed to check the condition of the bone tissue and to determine the placement of the dental implants. An impression is made of the jaw and existing teeth, for the treatment planning.During treatment planning a CT scan may be required to accurately assessthe quantity and quality of the bone. - Placing the implant
Implant placement is done with sterile surgical techniques under local anaesthesia and is relatively pain-free.There is the option of having this done under IV sedation. - Biological integration
In the vast majority of cases, implant integration occurs quite quickly and without problems in around 4-9 months.During this phase there will be temporary replacement teeth so you are not left without teeth. - Final teeth
The implants are exposed at the end of the healing phase and an impression is taken The final teeth are individually designed and are attached to implants using cement or tiny screws. - Review and monitor. Regular care is required for implants as it would be for natural teeth.
Cost and payment
The cost of implant treatment depends on the number of implants and the complexity of treatment. After a full examination a detailed estimate of costs is always provided.
Although the cost of implant treatment is high the benefits to patients are great and this makes it worthwhile. In the long term implants will often prove to be the more cost effective solution to missing teeth and a worthwhile investment.
