Single & Multiple Tooth Implants

A dental implant is a metal post that replaces the root portion of a missing tooth.

An artificial tooth, more commonly known as a crown is then placed onto an abutment and screwed into your implant, giving you the look of a real tooth.

The simple answer is “yes“.

Dental implants are a safe, well-established, tried-and-tested treatment. It’s probably true to say that implants, much like natural teeth, will last for as long as you care for them.

How well you look after your implants – and whether you go for your regular maintenance appointments – will have the biggest impact on how long they will last.

If you don’t look after your dental implants they will develop a coating similar to that found on neglected natural teeth. Left untreated, this can lead to gum infection, bleeding, soreness and general discomfort. You could get all these problems with natural teeth.

If your dental implants are well looked after, and if the bone they are fitted to is strong and healthy, you can expect them to last for many years. However, just as with other surgical implants (such as a hip replacement) there is no lifetime guarantee.

At your first appointment you will have an implant consultation with Dr Dee Patel.
At this appointment Dee will take a more in-depth look into whether or not you would be suitable for this treatment. We need to make sure you have adequate space and bone levels to be able to hold an implant in place, there are ways around this if you do not have enough bone we can place a bone graft, this will require adding artificial bone into your socket at your implant placement appointment.

You will also need a CT scan to help us determine adequate bone levels and the position of important anatomy.

The next appointment would be your implant placement. This is usually a really nice day, we dedicate the full day to placing implants so it’s usually a calm, relaxing environment, if you have decided you would like an Essix retainer to replace the gap you have would be given to you at this time.

3 weeks after your implant placement you will come back into surgery to have your sutures removed and just to have a general check to make sure everything is healing as it should be.

4-5 months after your suture removal, time depending on whether you had a bone graft, you will come back to have your implant uncovered and a small screw placed over the opening of the implant, we will then leave the gum to heal around this screw cover (healing abutment) for 3 weeks.

3 weeks later you will then come back to have a preparation appointment for your new crown.

3 weeks later you will reach the end of your implant journey and will come in to have your crown fitted.