Dental implants may
be thought of as artificial tooth roots which allow the fabricated teeth
to be firmly attached to the mouth. They may be used to replace all
teeth missing in a jaw or just to replace one or several missing teeth.
The treatment choices can vary tremendously.
Most dental implants
are made from pure titanium, a very biocompatible metal. This
metal is so biocompatible it is used with heart pacemakers. Titanium is
so biocompatible that it is rarely, if ever, rejected by the body. An
implant could, however, develop an infection around it similar to a
tooth, and this could lead to a need to remove it. Titanium is also
strong.
One may consider the
jaw bone as a piece of wood and a dental implant as a screw. There
needs to be enough length, width and depth of wood to contain a screw of
a given size without the wood fracturing during insertion. In
addition, a longer and wider screw in dense wood will hold better than a
shorter, narrower screw in soft wood. The anatomy of the individual
patient determines the amount of bone (length, width and depth) that is
available for dental implants. This can vary greatly in different areas
in the same jaw or in the opposing jaw. This anatomical variation may
be due to osteoporosis, traumatic loss of a tooth or teeth, infection
around a tooth destroying jaw bone, prolonged cigarette smoking, and the
presence of normal anatomic landmarks like nasal sinuses and facial
nerves that inundate the areas involved. Lastly, the upper jaw may be
generally be consider to be like a soft wood like balsa while the lower
jaw may be considered like a hard wood like oak. Therefore, with all
other things being equal, the prognosis of implants in the lower jaw
should exceed that in the upper jaw.
The most common type
of implant technique involves a dental implant screw that is made in two
pieces: 1) The first piece is about 10 millimeters long and at its top
there is an internal female screw threading. 2) The second piece is
about 5 millimeters long and at its bottom there is a male external
screw threading. The first piece of the dental implant screw is placed
and left to heal under the gum, unseen and undisturbed, for 3 to 6
months. After that the gum is minimally opened and the second piece is
screwed into the first piece. The gum is sewn back and this part now
protrudes through the gum and a cap (crown) can now be made to cement to
the implant.
All surgery, tooth
fabrication and other specialty work are performed in our office. We
also offer an exceptional variety of different implant techniques. This
allows us to customize a course of treatment specifically for you.
The treatment options
available for patients are frequently quite varied and are better
discussed in the office on an individualized basis.
Prices:
£ 600 -£ 800
