Dental Implants

Dental Implants are a fantastic replacement for missing teeth.

Jas, our master implantologist, is a magician with implant placement and is fully committed to our philosophy of dentistry for those that dont like dentists. This means everything is carried out in the most pleasant way possible with minimal to zero complication.

If you are unfortunate enough to lose any teeth there are 4 options available to you:

1. Do nothing and accept the space.
2. Dentures or false teeth and sometimes called a plate.
3. Bridges
4. Implants

Pros and Cons of each:

1. Do nothing

Pros:

Cheapest option

If you have lost a small number of teeth at the back of the mouth there may be no need to replace them as long as you don’t miss them. 

Cons:

If teeth are lost at the front of the mouth this can look unsightly.

If you have fewer than 10 teeth in the top meeting 10 teeth in the bottom the excess pressure put on the teeth makes them more likely to chip, fracture or wear down.

2. Dentures

Pros: 

The cheapest method for replacing teeth.

None to exceptionally minimal  preparation (damage) to the existing teeth.

Metal framework dentures can “click” in quite nicely and be a good, relatively secure option with minimal movement when eating.

Cons:

Dentures alone can be loose and uncomfortable. 

Eating certain foods can be a real challenge for some.

For some people there is a psychological issue of having “loose teeth” or having to take the teeth out at all.

3. Bridges

Pros:

They are the cheapest solution for replacing teeth. Bridges don’t need to be removed and are fixed in place.

They are often made in porcelain so the teeth are more hard wearing than standard dentures. 

Cons:

Conventional bridges require drilling away sound tooth to make room for the bridge to slot over the supporting teeth either side of the gap. In other words bridges are cheaper financially than implants but have a greater ‘biologic’ cost i.e. taking away sound tooth which could lead to further treatment such as root canal or extraction of the supporting teeth later on down the line.

There are minimal preparation bridges that can be good for replacing just one or two teeth but they can, in some cases, fall out.

4. Implants

You can think of an implant like a false tooth root or rawl plug you may use to secure something in a wall.

On top of this root you can 

1. cement a single crown to replace one tooth.
2. Have 2 implants placed and have a bridge spanning between the 2, to replace several teeth. 
3. Have magnets or clips to help hold a removable denture in place to stop it from moving about.
4. Have 4-6 implants with a full arch bridge to replace all the teeth in a jaw which are not removed and are fixed in place.

Pros:

They are fixed in place and so are not loose like dentures.

They don’t require any damage to teeth or apply pressure to natural teeth so they are much more tooth friendly.

They can be used to make dentures much more secure.

They can be used to replace all teeth.

They can often be placed at the same time as the extraction to save a surgical appointment.

Cons:

They can be more expensive than other options but for many are the best solution.

A surgical procedure can be necessary.

Not everyone is clinically suitable for them.