Implants

For most people the loss of teeth is a traumatic experience which has profound effects on the quality of our lives. Dental Implants function, feel and look like natural teeth and can solve the problems associated with tooth loss.

Teeth have several major functions, most obviously they allow us to chew our food and give us an attractive smile. You may not be aware that they also play an important part in speech and help maintain our facial shape.

The loss of even one tooth can begin a process of degeneration which can lead to the need for artificial removable teeth. In the process, the gums that hold the teeth no longer have a function and begin to shrink, changing the shape of the face. This in turn leads to an appearance of premature aging.

Conventional dentistry has been successful in saving teeth, to the point where most of us now expect to keep our teeth for our whole lives. However, despite our best efforts there are situations where natural teeth cannot be saved or people have been without teeth for years. For these people, conventional dentistry is not always good enough.

Removable dentures can never be as good as the real thing and conventional bridge work involves drilling away healthy teeth to achieve the desired result.

Who can benefit?
Almost anybody who has lost one or more teeth can have dental implants . Even if you have lost all of your teeth we can now have you eating like you could never have imagined.

What is a Dental Implant?
A dental implant is a small titanium screw which is placed in the gum. A crown can then be attached to the implant which looks and feels like a real tooth. For some people where a denture is acceptable, implants can be used to anchor the denture making it much more stable and eliminating the sore gums that many denture wearers experience.

Is it safe?
There has now been over thirty years of research showing that implant treatment is both safe and reliable, even in medically compromised or elderly patients.

Does it hurt?
This is the most commonly asked question about the procedure. The placement of the implant is carried out in the dental chair with conventional dental anaesthetic as used for fillings so you do not feel anything during the procedure. There may be some discomfort afterwards depending on the number of implants placed but mild pain tablets easily control this.
With very few exceptions we find that most patients comment that the procedure was much easier than they expected.