What to expect during your Dental Implant treatment.
Our skilled team at kingsbrook dental can help you avoid the stress of tooth loss through long lasting and easy to clean dental implants. Feel free to enquire today!
Consultation to assess patient suitability, take x-rays and send for a scan
Placement of Your Implant at Kingsbrook Dental
The formal healing period for dental implants is between 2 and 6 months
Once your gums have healed sufficiently, we will invite you back to Kingsbrook Dental to have your restoration fitted.
Although Dental Implants can be placed by any Dentist, we prefer our patients to be treated by an experienced surgeon who places Implants on a daily basis. This ensures that our patients receive the very best clinical care available. The placement and positioning of the implant is key to ensuring the best possible outcome.
Implants are a well-established, tried-and-tested treatment. Latest research indicates success rates of 98% over 25 years.
Yes. You can have any number of teeth replaced with implants –from one single tooth to a complete set.
It depends on the condition and the amount of the bone in the area where your teeth are missing. X-rays will always be required and in some circumstances a CBCT scan will be arranged to give a 3D image of the bone where the implants are proposed. If there is a lack of bone then the specialist may recommend using artificial bone to bulk out the area. This is known as a bone graft.
Placing the implants requires a small operation. This is usually carried out under local anaesthetic but if you are particularly anxious then sedation or even a general anaesthetic can be organised. You will not feel any pain at the time, but you will have some discomfort, bruising and swelling during the week following the surgery. This is usually due to having stitches in place, and the normal healing process.
There are exceptions but in most circumstances the implants need to bond (integrate) with the bone after they have been placed. This process can take between 3 and 6 months. For this reason you will usually be provided with some kind of temporary solution like a small denture. If you already wear dentures then you can wear them throughout the healing period once they have been adjusted after the surgery.
It usually takes between 6 and 12 months from the initial assessment to the time when the artificial teeth or dentures are finally attached to the implants. Much depends on how complicated your treatment is but your dentist or specialist will keep you fully informed with regard to timescales.
Cleaning around the teeth attached to the implants is no more difficult than cleaning natural teeth. There may be areas that give you problems but with regular visits to the hygienist you should quickly learn to maintain things to a good standard.
You will not get gum disease but if you don’t keep the area around the implant clean there is a risk that the surrounding tissue becomes inflamed. Bone can be lost when this happens and sometimes on rare occasions implants may need to be removed If you keep them clean, and attend the dental hygienist regularly then you should avoid any problems.
Most artificial teeth attached to implants can only be placed and removed by the dentist. However, if you have complete dentures fixed to the implants by bars, then you’ll be able to take them out for cleaning.
Every attempt will be made to make sure that the implant won’t show during all normal movements of the mouth and lips. Any potential problems will be picked up during the planning phase of the treatment and you will be fully informed of any limitations that your case may present.
Implant treatment is certainly one of the most costly dental procedures. It is however one of the most predictable forms of treatment available and is considered by many patients as an investment for life. In many situations, the cost of alternative treatment such as bridgework will only be slightly less expensive.
