Dental Implants

What Are They Made Of

A dental implant is a titanium metal rod which is placed into the jawbone. It is used to support one or more false teeth. In practice, both the false teeth and their supporting rod are known as ‘implants’.

What Are They All About

Implants are a well-established, tried-and-tested treatment. 95 per cent of modern implants should last for many years with the right care. Implants allow the patient to have any number of teeth replaced – from one single tooth to a complete set.

In certain circumstances, missing teeth can be replaced with implants but it depends on the state of the bone in your jaw. The state of the bone is judged by your dentist performing a number of tests to discover the amount and also the current health of the bone in the jaw. 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.

How Much Will It Cost Me

You are looking at it costing around £1000 to £1200 per implant used but this can very depending on the clinic in question as larger cosmetic surgery providers who offer cosmetic dentistry may cost more but offer a more comprehensive treatment and aftercare package than smaller independent dental clinics.

This price can also be affected by the materials used for the implant as more modern materials will cost more but are designed to give a greater success rate.

What Happens During Treatment

Placing the implants requires a small operation. This can be done using a simple local anaesthetic but in some circumstances the a general anaesthetic may be needed for more complex cases. You will not feel any pain at the time, but you may feel some discomfort during the week after the surgery. This is usually due to having stitches, and the normal healing process.

The implants need to bond (integrate) with the bone after they have been put in. This takes at least 3 months in the lower jaw and 6 months in the upper jaw.

Sometimes the implants may be stable enough when they are fitted for the artificial teeth to be attached much sooner than this. If you are having one, two or three teeth replaced, you will have a temporary restoration in the meantime. If you have complete dentures, then these can be worn throughout the healing period once they have been modified after the surgery.

Usually the permanent teeth are fitted 6 to 9 months after the implants are put in, but many implant systems now allow the time to be as short as 3 months. Some teeth can now even be fitted at the same time as the implants (known as immediate implants).

The Results

Any missing (assuming the bone structure allows) and replaced teeth will be ‘filled in’ with brand new implants thus creating a more natural looking smile. This may also have the effect of giving the patient more confidence as they may show off their smile more when they may have hidden it before.

Dental implant success is related to operator skill, quality and quantity of the bone available at the site, and also to the patient's oral hygiene. Various studies have found the 5 year success rate of implants to be between 75-95%. Patients who smoke experience significantly poorer success rates.

Risks & Complications

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 then the remnants are left in the bone and they may be more difficult to remove than natural teeth would be. After healing, new false teeth can then be placed alongside the fragments.

Under rare circumstances the implant may not bond and will become loose during the healing period or just after. It can then be 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’.

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