Dental Implants

A dental implant is essentially a substitute for a natural root. Commonly, it is a screw or cylinder shape. Each implant is placed into a socket and carefully drilled at the precise location of the intended tooth. If an implant has a screw-thread on its outer surface it can be screwed into position and if it does not, it is usually tapped into place.

The implant is held in place by ensuring it is in close contact with the surrounding bone. This creates the initial stability upon installation, which over time is steadily enhanced as bone tissue grows on the surface of the implant.

All the common forms of tooth replacement, such as bridges or dentures can be replaced by dental implants; if you are missing just one natural tooth, then one implant is normally all that will be needed to provide a replacement. Larger spaces created by two, three or more missing teeth do not necessarily need one implant per tooth, but the exact number of implants will depend upon the quality and volume of bone at each potential implant site.

Occasionally, it is even possible to join natural teeth to implants with a conventional bridge.

If you are in general good health, then dental implants may work for you, however habits like heavy smoking may compromise long term healing and your dentist may decline to perform this treatment if smoking cannot be reduced or given up completely.

Contact us for a consultation.

Please note that in some cases, you may need to be referred to a specialist in orthodontics or implant dentistry.