What happens during a dental implant treatment?
For over twenty years, Smile More Dental Care has been providing cosmetic dental treatments to our patients in and around London. Our dentists are committed to designing dental implant treatments that best suit you.
Dental implant treatment is an excellent treatment for those with missing teeth. It helps to restore both the aesthetics of a mouth and the functioning or chewing ability of the teeth. Read more benefits.
The most important consideration before any implant treatment is whether the person is appropriate for the surgical placement of the implants.
The dentist will need to fully understand the medical and dental foundation and implications beforehand. Thereafter the dentist will plan how the implants are to be placed and how the patient’s concerns can be addressed. Discover more about cosmetic dentistry.
Steps in the Dental Implant Treatment Procedure:
-
Examination, Diagnosis and Treatment Planning.
The first stage before any treatment is to assess and analyze exactly what the problems in the mouth are. Various radiographs and CBCT scans will be taken to facilitate the diagnosis. The dentist will need to diagnose the exact issues before constructing a Treatment Plan of action.
Alternative treatment choices will also need to be considered. The dentist will be looking for the most conservative way of achieving your dental goals.
Once implants have been decided upon then the dentist will treatment plan for the right type of implant system, the number of implants and how the teeth are going to be restored.
-
Placement of the dental implant.
The implants are then surgically placed in the jawbone as required and set out in the planned treatment procedure. This procedure is carried out under intravenous (IV) sedation in most instances.
In some instances, there may be additional procedures such as integration of bone and gum grafts. These processes may be done either on the day of surgically placing the implant or beforehand (like bone augmentation) or afterwards (like gum grafting).
The area of treatment is then left to heal for a few months (between 3-6 months). This healing period is important because it is when the bone around the implant integrates around the structure of the implant.
This process is called osseointegration. If this does not occur then the implant treatment will not work.
-
Restoration of the dental implant.
Once the dentist is satisfied through a series of review appointments, that indeed osseointegration has occurred with the dental implants, then the dentist will continue with the Treatment Plan.
They will subsequently carry out the treatment for the restoration of the teeth. This process can involve crowns, bridges or dentures.
A single implant is restored with a single porcelain crown (artificial tooth); multiple implants can be restored with bridges (fixed) or dentures (removable).
The part of the treatment that is permanently fixed in the mouth is always the dental implant.
-
Review
It is important that regular review appointments are maintained to check for proper functioning of the new implant supported teeth.
Your oral hygiene is also just as important as any neglect can affect the implant.
It is also important for the dental to check radiographs (x-rays) subsequent to implant placement and on annual review appointments to make sure that the osseointegration is being maintained.
If you have any further questions for us, we’d be happy to help. Call us on 02075861210 or visit us at our London clinic by booking an appointment with us today.
