Many people can become quite down when they lose a tooth or several, and are faced with either having gaps in their mouths or with wearing removable artificial teeth for the rest of their lives. This is especially true when the person is young, perhaps having lost a tooth in an accident or due to a sports injury. Dental implants could be the perfect solution to avoid decades of wearing false teeth.
Dental implants are the 21st century successor to removable false teeth, and are being offered by more and more dentists, such as at Centre for Aesthetic Periodontics and Implantology Limited in Kent. It is important that patients go to a good dentist to find out if dental implants will work for them.
A strong jawbone is the main requirement for receiving dental implants, which are inserted directly into the jawbone. Many dentists use x-rays to check if the jaw is in good enough condition for implants. This may not be the case if you have been without natural teeth for some time. When the jawbone is missing its tooth roots, it can start to weaken and reduce in size. There are some things that dentists can do to overcome this and make the jawbone strong again. These include procedures such as sinus lifts in the upper jaw and bone grafting.
The implant procedure
If you a suitable candidate, then the dental implant procedure is often a relatively simple one. Holes are drilled into the jawbone to create space for the implants, which are tiny posts made of titanium. Generally speaking this procedure is less painful than having teeth drilled and a local anaesthetic will always be used. Over several weeks, the gums and bones heal, and the implants fuse with new bone tissue, becoming well-anchored into the jaw.
You can then return to have your custom-made porcelain teeth fitted on top. They will blend in seamlessly with your own natural teeth or if you are replacing all your teeth, they can be made to resemble the ones your used to have.
Implants aren’t cheap, but most dentists offer payment plans and they can work out cheaper than removable false teeth, which have to be replaced every few years.
