Why Dental Implants?
Natural teeth are wonderful! They feel, chew and function in a perfectly natural way. Unfortunately, people lose teeth for many reasons. Dental implants are the closest replacement option to a natural tooth that dentistry currently possesses. They are a life changing investment and give people who have lost teeth, the ability to eat, laugh, and smile as naturally as modern day technology currently permits.
Advantages
Implants are a fixed option, meaning that they do not need to be removed to be cleaned like dentures, therefore reducing the impact on your day to day life.
Implant crowns and bridges are completely stable when eating and speaking.
Unlike bridges and dentures, implants do not utilise the neighbouring teeth for support, therefore eliminating the risk of damage to these teeth.
Implants have been shown to have the best longevity when compared to bridges and dentures. The literature suggests that dental implant survival is around 90-95% at 10 years, while dental bridge survival can be as low as 70% at 10 years. It is important to understand that there are a huge amount of factors that affect these survival statistics - more on this later!
As dental implants emerge from the gum line, they look and feel the most like natural teeth.
Disadvantages
Implants can be quite a financial investment.
The ideal treatment process from start to finish is around 8-10 months. This is from the day the tooth is extracted to the day that the final implant crown is fitted. The reason for this is that bone takes at least 3 months to bond to a Titanium implant. There are techniques to reduce the time until the crown is fitted, such as same day implant and crowns (where the temporary crown is fitted at the same time as the implant). Mark will discuss which options and techniques are appropriate to your specific case during your consultation.
Implants are not indestructible. Although they look and feel like natural teeth, and you will be able to eat most normal foods, care must still be taken.
Implants, like other tooth replacement options, do not last forever. Their longevity depends on many aspects: quality of the surgery, the design of the final crown, long term maintenance and follow up care within the dental practice, and very importantly the patient's home oral hygiene routine.