cosmetic dentistry - dental implants

Dental Implants by AURA
dental implant	dental implant xray

Dental Implants are the next best thing to natural teeth. They are an effective and natural solution to replace missing teeth. A dental implant is a small titanium screw placed into the jawbone to create a permanent fixture mimicking a new root. The screw supports one or more naturally coloured, lab fabricated teeth. Both the artificial tooth and its supporting screw are called an implant. Implants are a well tried-and tested treatment giving strong and lasting results, with over a 95% success rate. Any number of teeth can be replaced with implants – from one single tooth, to full mouth rehabilitation.

Placement of the implant requires a small operation, which is usually carried out under local anaesthetic, possibly complemented with oral sedation. The placement is painless but some discomfort post treatment may be felt during the week following the surgery. This is mostly due to your body’s natural healing process. An artificial tooth/teeth is fabricated in the interim to replace those missing in the aesthetic zone, as new teeth cannot be placed on the implant immediately. Implants need to bond (integrate) with the bone after they have been placed. This takes anywhere from 3-6 months.

Timing and length of treatment depends on many factors. An initial consultation to assess the quantity and quality of bone is essential for the formulation of an individual customised treatment plan as it may not be possible to place implants without grafting bone into the area first. Any implant that does not integrate (fuse) with the bone after placement and becomes loose during the healing period, will be removed and reattempted at a later date. This is very rare and usually due to underlying systemic medical conditions. Implants and the teeth they support can be damaged by an accident in the same way that natural teeth can.

Oral Hygiene is equally as important as cleaning natural teeth. Although the implant will not decay, gum disease ‘implantitis’ can become associated with the implant, causing it to fail.

Implants are not expensive in the long term. It is less than the cost of more conventional treatment with crowns and bridges over a lifetime. There are advantages to implants – absence of preparation of adjacent teeth beside the gap (as for bridges) and implants are fixed in the bone unlike dentures which are removable, can affect speech and taste as well as move about in the mouth, creating sore spots. Teeth attached to an implant don’t cause any of these problems and are practical alternative to bridges and dentures. The implant screw also helps preserve bone and prevent future collapse of oral facial contours.