Dental Implant Journey
Dental implant Journey at Camden Place Dental
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Your dental implant journey begins with our complimentary clinical examination, which includes x-rays of the mouth and a discussion with your dentist to determine the best possible implant option for you and how you are going to proceed on your dental implant journey.
Dental Implant placement
Implant placement is a relatively simple, minor surgical procedure that is performed under sterile conditions within our custom-built dental implant theatre at our clinic in Preston. The treatment is performed under local anaesthesia with sedation, if required, to make the procedure more comfortable for the patient to alleviate any stress or anxiety regarding the procedure.
Integration period
Dental implants usually take between 2 and 4 months to fuse with the patient’s bone. During this integration period, temporary dentures or bridgework can be worn as appropriate to help the patient. In some cases, temporary teeth can be fixed to the implants while they integrate in a process known as ‘immediate loading’.
The restorative phase
Once integrated, the dental implants can be brought into function with a variety of new teeth options (definitive restorations) ranging from a single crown, small or large bridge, or a removable over-denture.
Our experienced implant dental technician, who works closely with our Preston practice, working to form individualised implant prosthesis.
Frequently Asked Questions About Implants
A dental implant, or dental implants, are artificial tooth roots that mimic a natural root. They are surgically anchored into your jaw to support a tooth or multiple teeth.
The implant can be placed to replace any missing tooth or teeth within the mouth. This final result is a long-lasting, fixed and permanent replacement of tooth/teeth.
Mr Hughes, a leading implant surgeon from our Preston practice says: ‘It is much easier to put things in than to take things out.’ This is to imply that removing teeth – something that has naturally grown within your jawbone – is sometimes more difficult and painful than placing dental implants.
With our formal implant training and experience – given that we place hundreds year after year – we at Camden Place, Preston, adopt conservative and minimally-invasive surgical techniques to make the dental implant journey as pain-free as possible. It is why most of our patients report little or no discomfort post-operatively from their implant placements.
It is important to replace missing or failing teeth as with fewer teeth on which to chew, the stresses on the remaining teeth increase and reduce their lifespan. Unopposed teeth can change position and interfere with the way you bite and chew, so causing further damage to your mouth and it’s overall appearance.
Your failing/bad teeth – due to tooth decay of gum disease – can eventually lead to severe toothache, infections and continued bone loss, making future prosthetic work, including dental implants, dentures and other treatments more surgically demanding.
This is one of the most important features of dental implants. Once in place and supporting teeth, everyday functional forces (eating, smiling, talking) stimulate the surrounding bone, which responds by becoming stronger and denser. Like all things there are limits as to how much work a dental implant can do. Your treatment provider at Camden Place, Preston, will be able to discuss this in more detail as it relates to your individual case.
- Accepting the gaps that have appeared between your teeth and having continued difficulty chewing your food. Also, accepting the potential gap in your smile depending on where the lost tooth/teeth have originated from.
- You can opt to wear a denture. However, wearing a denture can have problems with retention due to the on-going shrinkage of the gums and bones under the denture. Dentures will be able help the issue, but will seldom resolve it. To add, dentures are no less socially acceptable now as they were years ago! Therefore, you may want to reconsider their use.
- Bridgework is attached to adjacent teeth to replace the missing teeth by drilling them down, which in turn risks their long-term prognosis. The supporting teeth will then have to bear extra biting forces. Loss of the supporting teeth can lead to a wider gap within the teeth and the potential to cause other teeth to fail!
Once the dental implants and surrounding soft tissues are seen to be healthy and the new implant-retained teeth are comfortable and correctly placed, it is the quality of your personal attention to your oral hygiene and willingness to attend regular maintenance reviews/check-ups that will have most influence on how long they will last.
When poorly cared for, implants will develop a covering of hard and soft deposits (calculus and plaque), which is very similar to that found on neglected natural teeth. Untreated, these deposits can lead to gum infection, bleeding, soreness and general discomfort for the patient. For this reason, it is crucial for patients also to visit our Dental Hygienist, Mrs Justine Eastwood, at the time of their check-up appointments to allow implant teeth – as well as you natural teeth – to be professionally cleaned and maintained. We would also recommend taking your dentists advice and visiting Camden Place, Preston, on a regular basis to ensure teeth are being well maintained.
It could probably be said that with good maintenance dental implants will last just as long as natural teeth.
Usually, most of our patients become practice members. This entitles them to regular check-ups with the dentist, x-rays and hygienist appointments included within the ‘Practice Plan Membership’ at our Preston location.