HOW IMPLANTS ARE PLACED
The beauty and magic of the dental implant is that cells (osteoblasts) will grow new healthy bone directly onto the surface of the implant when close to it. Thus, it is necessary to place a dental implant into the jawbone for this process of osseointegration or fusion to occur. The jawbone is not anything like as sensitive as the teeth themselves, which are renowned for causing toothache throughout history.
Local anaesthetic is administered using The Wand from Milestone Scientific in a manner so gently that patients often wonder when it will begin. Sedation can be provided for some people who are more anxious , maybe due to a bad experience in the past.
The procedure itself involves the gentle lifting of the gum in the area to allow a small hole to be made within the bone (Step 1). The implant is then screwed into place and the gum lightly sutured back into place (Step 2).
The head and neck region has a fabulous blood supply and so healing is very speedy. After a day or two, the implant site is often not noticeable and after a week or two, it is difficult to know if anything has been done at all. The use of PRGF helps this to happen even more quickly.
The dental implants begin to literally fuse with the jawbone within the first 3 weeks post-operatively. You will not be aware that this is happening. Healing takes about three months for the implant to be fully integrated. (Step 3)
We work as a team, with our technicians, to construct your new teeth. This prosthetic treatment might be anything from a single tooth replacement to a full jaw restoration. It might even be an implant retained denture. We begin by taking an impression of your jaws and implants. This impression is then made into a three dimensional model which is used to construct your new teeth. As work proceeds you will be able to try out what will eventually be your new teeth. These are fabricated from gold with either acrylic or ceramic material. Adjustments take place until everyone is completely satisfied with the result. Finally your new finished prosthesis is inserted and the work is complete. (Step 4+5)
The patient is most often not aware of the nature of the procedure at all and could be forgiven for thinking that they are having a filling. None of the force sometimes noted when a tooth is removed will be used.
Almost 100% of people who have an implant placed with a good team are amazed at the apparent simplicity of the whole procedure.
