Dental Implants

A dental implant is a titanium post that is screwed into the jawbone and used to support one or more replacement teeth. In practice, both the new teeth and their supporting posts are known as 'implants'.

Yes, Implants are a well-established, tried-and-tested treatment.

90% of modern implants last for at least 15 years and can even last a lifetime if well cared-for.

Yes, any number of teeth can be replaced with implants – from one single tooth to a complete set.

It depends on the quality and quantity of the bone in your jaw. Your dentist will arrange for a number of special tests to assess the amount of bone still there. If there is not enough, or if it isn't healthy enough, it may not be possible to place implants without grafting bone into the area first.

You will not feel any pain during the implant procedure, but you may feel some discomfort during the week following the surgery. This is usually due to having stitches in place, and the normal healing process.

The implants need to bond (integrate) with the bone after they have been placed. This takes at least 3 months in the lower jaw and 6 months in the upper jaw, but you will have a temporary restoration in the meantime. If you have complete dentures, then you can wear them throughout the healing period once they have been adjusted after the surgery.

It takes about 12 months from the initial assessment to the time when the artificial teeth or dentures are finally attached to the implants. However, if only the lower jaw is involved, then it may only take around 5 months. A lot depends on how complicated your treatment is. Your dentist will be able to give you a timetable once the surgery has been done.

Cleaning around the teeth attached to the implants is no more difficult than cleaning natural teeth. However, there may be areas that give you problems and you'll be shown methods to help.

Yes, if you don't care for them well enough. If you keep them clean, and don't smoke, then you should not have 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.

No, unless you're only having a single tooth replaced. Normally, four, five or six implants are used to replace all the teeth in one jaw, as each implant can usually support two teeth. For a few missing teeth, two or three implants may be used.

Implants and the teeth they support can be damaged by an accident in the same way that natural teeth can. However, if the false teeth are damaged and the remnants are left in the bone then they may be more difficult to remove than natural teeth would be. After healing, new false teeth can then be placed alongside the fragments.

This happens very rarely. If the implant becomes loose during the healing period or just after, then it is easily removed and healing takes place in the normal way. Once the jaw has healed, another implant can be placed there. Or, the dentist can make a bridge, using the implanted false teeth that have 'taken'.

Unfortunately, yes. However, in many situations, the cost of the treatment is only a little more than the cost of more conventional treatment with crowns and bridges. There are advantages to it, too. An implant to replace a single tooth avoids the need to cut down the teeth either side for crowns to support a bridge. Normal dentures often mean you can't eat or speak well, due to the dentures moving about. But teeth attached to an implant don't cause this problem.