Dental implants is a method of replacing missing teeth. Although it is not something new, in the last few years it has become more popular. A dental implant has the shape of a screw that is made of titanium. It is placed into the jawbone and supports one or more artificial teeth.
Because none of the adjacent teeth will need to be prepared, as it is happening with bridgework. By not doing this, those teeth’s life expectancy becomes higher. Furthermore, implant teeth are fixed and you will not need to take them out at night or worry about dropping while you are eating as it is happening with dentures. Last but not least, statistics show that implants last longer from any other restoration.
Not necessarily, because a single implant can support more than one artificial tooth. In your consultation appointment and after the clinical and radiographic examination we will discuss with you the number of implants that you will need.
Usually you will not need to wait for more than 4-5 months. Yet, you don’t need to worry about your missing teeth as we can always make temporary teeth for you for as long as the treatment lasts.
Ιn only a few occasions implant treatment is contraindicated. In your consultation appointment after filling your medical questionnaire and after your clinical and radiographic examination we will be able to tell. In the occasion that your bone is not adequate for the placement of an implant bone grafting procedures might be necessary. It will all be discussed at your consultation appointment before commencement of your treatment.
You will have local anesthetic during the whole procedure, so you will not feel any pain. Before and after the treatment you will also need to take some painkillers and possible antibiotics, so the swelling and the pain afterwards will be very minimal.
Statistics till now have shown that the failure rate is less than 5%. There are many factors that can contribute to the failure of an implant. In your consultation appointment we will have an in depth discussion regarding your situation so that we can have a successful outcome.
It will feel like every other tooth of yours. You will be able to smile and eat your food without worrying about your implant tooth breaking or dropping.
In several cases it is necessary to take a CBCT scan in order to assess three dimensionaly bone quality and quantity before placing an implant.
In implant cases where the bone volume is not sufficient for the placement of a dental implant bone grafting might be needed. Bone graft is a bone substitute material which may originate from human or animal species or even be produced from artificial materials. Grafts are sterilised and processed so that they can be biocompatible and are placed at the area needed to promote bone regeneration.
Our dental surgery can provide you with computer guided implant placement. That means that implants can be placed by using special guides which are designed and manufactured by the use of a specific software.This software allows the dentist to design and generate a custom treatment plan for each patient separately. The advantages of this method are as follows:
1) No extensive surgeries are needed, since sometimes we don’t even need to use a scalpel.
2) Surgical time is less than the conventional method.
3) Implant placement is atraumatic and thus postsurgical pain and complications are less compared to the conventional method.
4) Surgical precision that is achievable with computer guided implant placement poses less risks in difficult cases compared with the conventional method.
5) Implants can be placed in an ideal position and angle and that enhances their long term success.
Osseodensification is a new method in implant placement. Special osseodensifying burs are used to densify the bone instead of drilling it. This is very useful in cases where the bone quantity or quality is not adequate.
Implant cases
