A single-tooth implant is the best solution to permanently fix a missing or broken tooth. A titanium implant is inserted into the jawbone to function as the root of your replacement tooth.
Dental Implant Consultation: £100 — taken off your treatment cost if you go ahead.
Dental implants are small rod-like posts that act as a base for replacement teeth. They are placed into the jawbone and act like roots to support the tooth, denture or bridge.
The dental implant screw fits into the bone and has a clip (abutment) that the tooth (dental crown) fits on. Titanium is the usual material implants are made of, because it has no ill effect on the human body and bonds readily with new bone, which penetrates the titanium surface. The implants should last a lifetime if you look after them and maintain good oral hygiene.
Dental Implant Consultation: £100 — taken off your treatment cost if you go ahead.
In this process, the implant is placed at the same time as the tooth is extracted. It is often advantageous to immediately place the dental implant. The titanium fixture would be allowed to heal under the gum for about three months or longer, as the case may be. The healing process takes longer if grafting or tissue reconstruction is necessary. Once it heals, the crown can be fitted.
In some instances it is possible to fit a replacement tooth to the titanium insert immediately. This loading of the implant is the “immediate loading” of the tooth.
The tooth replacement process is a lengthy one, wherein the tooth is first removed and the socket is cleaned. This ensures the residual socket is free from infection or debris to enable dental fixture placement.
The next step is to assess the bone integrity of the site to ascertain whether the implant can be undertaken at that time — either with or without additional tissue augmentation — or whether the titanium fixture should be placed after the socket heals.
Bone graft or gum graft may become necessary when other factors are affecting the outcome of the implant. If the outer aspect of the bone socket is fragile after extraction, or if the size of the socket is larger than the size of the titanium insert, it could require bone grafting.
The residual gap is filled with bovine bone minerals, which is also used to thicken the bone. A gum graft is necessary in case of thin, transparent or dark gums; it thickens the tissues and improves resistance. Whatever the requirement, these are usually addressed during a single visit to our South East London practice. This is important in single-tooth implants because these treatments cannot be undone easily.
Immediate loading is done with a suitable implant if sufficient stability is achieved during surgery. While attaching an immediate tooth we have to consider osseointegration — the bonding of the titanium insert to the jawbone — which takes around 2 to 3 months. Biting pressure should be low during this period. The porcelain crown is attached once the implant is bonded with the bone.
If you need to replace a single tooth that was extracted earlier, the same procedure is followed. The dentist will assess the risk factors involved and determine whether grafting is required. An immediate crown can be fitted at the same time as the new dental implant.
£100 consultation — taken off the cost of your treatment if you go ahead.
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