Dental Implants
Teeth can be lost for many reasons, most commonly due to decay and gum disease, leaving a gap that can cause you problems with eating, function and smiling.
Dental implants are a revolutionary treatment allowing us to replace your missing teeth. There are many options to replace your gaps however dental implants have become the gold standard in dentistry.
Dental implants are a medical grade titanium posts that are carefully placed into your jaw bone. Your bone has a strong affinity towards the implants and a biological fusion occurs between them. Once the Implant has integrated within the jaw bone, they mimic roots of natural teeth and act as a solid foundation in which we can place a false tooth or bridges on them. Dental implants can replicate your natural teeth in both function and aesthetics.
Here at The Heathcote Dental & Implant Clinic, our expert Implantologists can provide you with the right treatment to meet your needs.
Dental implants can be used to replace single multiple gaps or complete set of teeth. They can be used also to significantly improve the retention and stability of your removable complete denture
Single Tooth Replacements
Implants can be used to replace single gaps are teeth that need to be removed. As dental implants do not rely on neighbouring teeth like normal dental bridges, they are the best way to naturally replace you tooth.
The implant can be placed in a gap that you have had for a while or placed immediately following a tooth being removed. The implant is then left buried underneath the gum for 3 months for integration to occur. As a temporarily measure you will be given a temporary prosthesis to fill the gap. This can be either a fixed bridge or removable denture depending on your preference and individual cases.
There are occasions when the implant is placed into the jaw and at the same time a temporary tooth is loaded onto the implant. This is called immediate loading. This process is used in certain scenarios and the advantages of this is the total time to complete treatment is reduced and you will have something temporary straight away which is aesthetically better. This treatment option is case specific and will be discussed with you during your consultation.
Once integration has completed, moulds will be taken of the implant in the jaw bone and a final custom-made crown will be constructed to replicate the colour and shape of your natural teeth. There are occasions however where we require to mould your gums to make the final result more natural. This is done by grafting the area or changing the size of your healing abutment. This will all be explained to you in your consultation.
Multiple Tooth Replacements
Multiple implants can be used to restore larger gaps in your mouth. Sometimes the gap is too large for a conventional bridge or there are no back teeth to bridge onto. This treatment option is often referred to as implant retained bridges. The greatest advantage of this over a conventional bridge is that your natural teeth are not drilled or damaged.
Similar to the process of placing a single implant, once integration has occurred following their placement, a new custom-made bridge used to replicate your natural shape and colour of your teeth. This bridge which consists of multiple teeth attached together are then connected to the integrated to the implants. Aesthetically the bridge replicates your natural teeth or can be made better. The bridge can be used in function similar to your own teeth, this means you can enjoy your favourite meals again.
Complete Set
Multiple implants can be used to provide you a complete set of new teeth in both jaws. This treatment is life changing and its advantages are not only physical in the mouth but psychological as well. The results are fantastic and gives you beautiful looking functional teeth. The treatment will give you back your smile and allow you to appreciate all the foods you once missed.
We are able to offer you “teeth in a day”. This is the treatment involves placing 4-6 implants and giving you a fixed set of teeth on the same day. The temporary set is then replaced 3 months later for a final stronger bridge.
Implants to Support Dentures
Conventional dentures can over time become loose, rock and make eating difficult. This can be very frustrating and at times embarrassing for a lot of patients.
We are able to provide you with dental implants to significantly improve the stability of the dentures, meaning you no longer have to worry about them rocking or falling out allowing you to enjoy your favourite meals again and speak and smile with confidence.
The implants are placed into the jaw and a component that stick through the gum is placed to locate and click into your dentures. The dentures are held tightly to his connection. This is known as the gold standard for lower dentures as they are the most difficult to wear and function with.
We have had great feedback from our patients with the majority describing it at life changing.
Bone Grafting
Over time, your natural bone in the jaw can dissolve away. This is a natural process that happens when you have a tooth removed or you have gaps in your mouth.
The foundation of implant treatment is the quantity and quality of the bone available, and if there is enough bone, we can use techniques and treatments to increase the amount of bone. This is done many ways and most commonly using bone grafts.
Bone regeneration materials are used if you do not have enough bone to adequately cover a dental implant. They are small granules that act as a scaffold for new bone, they are usually placed at the same time as your implant and over time the bone regeneration granules are broken down and eventually replaced by your own bone.
Some of the biomaterials are animal derived, others are human derived, whilst some are completely synthetic. The best option will be chosen according to your particular case. If you require any more information on these materials please do not hesitate to ask.
There are occasions are the defect or loss of bone is too large and other treatment is required in form of block grafts. This is the gold standard as we use your own bone to increase the amount of bone needed to place the implant. More information will be provided to you in your consultation where you can ask more questions.
Soft Tissue Grafting
Not only are we able to graft your bone to improve the quality and quantity of bone to place implants, we often graft your gums to improve the aesthetics of the implants. This is to make the implant appear natural and more life-like. There are multiple techniques used that are implemented before treatment, during implant placement or after implant placement.
We can use your own gums which is gold standard or use animal derived grafting material.