Tooth Replacement

The actual procedure itself is not painful as there will be full local anaesthetic. After the procedure, you will be advised to take over-the-counter pain relief. Most people report mild discomfort but if you follow post-surgery care, don’t smoke and stick to soft foods, the recovery should be quick.

The entire process, from start to finish, takes a few months.

Here’s a step-by-step explanation of the process:

• To start the process, your dentist will examine your teeth and explain the implant procedure during a quick initial consultation.
• Next, during the implant insertion appointment, your mouth will be numbed and a small portion of gum will be removed for the surgeon to access the jawbone. The implant will be inserted and covered with a healing cap, followed by gum stitching to encourage speedy recovery. This visit will last up to two hours.
• You then need to wait a few months for the bone to fuse with the titanium post. During this time, you’ll be given a temporary restoration to ensure you don’t have any missing teeth.
• During the third visit, the healing cap will be removed and an abutment will be installed.
• Finally, the tooth will be attached to the abutment, completing the process. This visit will take between one and two hours.

In general, dental implants have a success rate of 98%. Once installed and healed, you need to ensure you continue basic oral care and then they can last up to 25 years. But this is influenced by how well you look after them. Flossing and brushing daily, having regular dentist visits, and avoiding biting on pens or using your teeth as an opening device will all help to increase their life span.

No! Special care is always taken to ensure that the teeth do not appear to be joined.

Although conventional flossing is impossible, it is still very important to clean between bridged teeth. A number of methods are available and can be tailored to each client’s individual needs.

With good home care and regular dental visits the lifespan of a porcelain, or porcelain fused to metal bridge is usually at least 15 years. Bridges are stain resistant and do not discolour at all.

A bridge can normally be completed in 2 or 3 dental visits. During the first visit the teeth are prepared and a temporary bridge is placed. The temporary bridge is made to the patient’s specifications and acts to cover the prepared teeth whilst the permanent bridge is made. The patient therefore leaves their first appointment with their missing teeth replaced.

It is possible to extract a tooth and replace it with a temporary bridge at the same appointment, therefore avoiding the embarrassment of having an unattractive ‘gap’.

The temporary bridge is left in position for approximately 3 months to allow healing of the extraction site before the permanent bridge is placed.