Dental Implants – Still Not Convinced?

With this in mind, we’re taking a deep dive into the benefits of dental implants for patients. We’ll look at how the treatment plan works, how you can benefit, and how we select suitable patients. 

Not everyone is a suitable candidate for dental implants. Improved screening means that we can improve success rates by ruling out those who would be at increased risk for implant failure. This helps to reduce disappointment.

If you’re thinking about dental implant treatment, read on to learn everything you need to know to make an informed decision. 

What are dental implants?

Over the past few years, there has been a huge increase in the number of people turning to dental implants to help fill gaps caused by missing teeth. They are a safe, long-lasting restoration that is as close as possible to your natural teeth.

Dental implants are used to replace one or more missing teeth. The titanium screw is inserted into the jaw bone and is used to support a crown, bridge or denture depending on the number of teeth to be replaced.

Since the implant replicates the role of the tooth root, your jawbone continues to absorb the pressure of your bite. This keeps the bone active and alive, preventing the sunken appearance that can occur with tooth loss.

The treatment plan can take around 4 – 6 months, but once completed the implant is designed to last a lifetime. The only maintenance would be repairing and replacing your crown restoration around every 10 – 12 years. 

Still not convinced by this treatment plan? Let’s look at some of the main benefits…

Benefits of dental implants

Dental implants can change the lives of patients. This treatment offers a second chance following tooth loss. These are some of the main reasons patients turn to this plan:

1. Next best thing to natural teeth

Implants provide the closest possible replacement to your natural teeth currently available within the dental industry. They allow you to speak with ease straight away, unlike with dentures where it can take time to learn to pronounce everyday words.

2. Long-lasting and hard-wearing

Implants are strong and stable and if cared for properly should last for as long as your natural teeth would. Other restorations such as dentures or bridges should last for 5 ‑10 years – if looked after properly. After time, they will need to be replaced and so over time this may mean that they can work out more expensive than the initial outlay on an implant.

3. Enjoy life with no need to worry about your teeth

Other options such as bridges or dentures can interfere with eating, smiling, speaking and other activities but with implants you do not need to worry. Once in place, they should be indistinguishable from your natural teeth. 

4. Retain your natural teeth

Implants are totally self-supporting and this means that there will be no effect on the teeth on either side of the gap, unlike with bridges which require that the teeth on either side of the missing tooth are prepared and crowns put on them therefore damaging healthy teeth. Implants also help to prevent the remaining teeth from moving or shifting into the gap caused by the missing tooth which in the long term can lead to complications with your bite.

5. Feel full of confidence and ready to take on the world!

Dental implants can give you your confidence back. There will no longer be any need to worry about missing teeth or worry about moving dentures. You will be able to join in the fun, with dental implants you will be able to get on with life and not let your teeth rule your decisions.

6. Eat a full and varied diet

No longer will you need to worry about the food you eat. With dental implants, you will be able to eat a full and varied diet. You will not need to worry about the menu when invited to a friend’s for dinner or when you are out celebrating a special occasion, you can have your pick of the dishes.

7. Protect your healthy bone

When teeth are extracted there is a risk of loss of bone or deterioration of your jawbone. When not being used your jawbone loses its strength and firmness. Dental implants are the only restoration that help to preserve and stimulate bone growth, helping to keep your jaw in tip-top condition for many years to come. 

8. Restore your facial structure

When you have missing teeth your cheeks can sag and create additional wrinkles — Dental implants help to fill out your cheeks and support your skin. They have the ability to make you look years younger.

9. No risk of cavities

Cavities can’t occur in an implant-restored crown or replacement teeth but you will need to attend regular appointments as normal to ensure that there is not a buildup of plaque and calculus around the tooth which if left long term can cause the dental implant to fail.

10. You can get dental implants at any age

There are no age restrictions for dental implants. Whenever a tooth is extracted, knocked out or damaged, this type of restoration is an option, as long as your dentist considers your jaw healthy enough to sustain it. Even if you’ve suffered jawbone loss, you can get bone grafts beforehand to prepare your mouth.

11. High success rate

Dental implants have been tried, tested and adapted over many years and can now show a long track record of being reliable and providing long-term successful outcomes. Implants can often give more guaranteed results than bridgework, removable appliances or retreatment of root canal therapy.

The dental implant treatment process explained

Prior to any treatment, you will need to attend your dentist for a consultation. At this appointment, the dentist will perform a full assessment of your teeth and gums and will take x‑rays and/​or CT scans to assess the density of the bone in your jaw. If there is not enough bone or it is not healthy enough it may not be possible to proceed with dental implants until you have had a bone graft.

With dental implants being a large investment, you should ensure that you have a full and detailed treatment plan prior to the start of treatment. This should give complete details of the treatment to be undertaken and the expected costs. 

There is the potential for things to change as treatment progresses but if this happens you should be given all the possible options before deciding on how you proceed.

The treatment will typically take place in 3 – 4 steps.

Your dentist will create a small pocket in your jaw bone and place the implant inside. The gum is stitched closed above this and the implant is left to heal and bond with the bone.

After the bone has healed, your dentist will expose the top of the implant and attach an abutment. This sits above the gum line. The gum line will be shaped to create a more natural-looking finish. You’ll be sent home again to wait until the gum has healed.

You will return to the practice to be measured for your crown restoration. It’s vital to ensure the crown fits with your surrounding and opposing teeth so that your bite feels natural.

The final step is to place the crown on the abutment. Once this step is complete, your restoration is finalised and you’ll be able to eat, speak and smile with confidence again. 

Aftercare for your implant will include specialist cleaning advice to help prevent plaque and tartar buildup around the implant. You’ll also need to visit the dentist every 6 months following treatment to ensure everything is healing as it should. 

How much do dental implants cost?

The final cost of your treatment will vary depending on a number of factors. Therefore your quote will be unique to you. 

Here at Leigh Dental Centre, we provide 0% finance options to help our patients spread the cost of dental implant treatments if they wish, we also regularly have special offers on implant treatment.

Dental implants provide a reliable, long-term solution to replace a missing tooth or teeth. So, if you’re looking for a dentist for implants, what are you waiting for? Call Leigh Dental Centre today on 01702 472929 and book a consultation to find out if implants could be the right solution for you.