Dental implants are one way of replacing missing teeth. The way they are mounted onto posts and inserted into the jaw during surgery means that they look and feel just like ordinary teeth.
Although there are many advantages to having implants, they are not suitable for everyone. You need to have healthy gums and be in good general health. You also need enough jawbone to take the posts and support the replacement teeth. Some chronic diseases, such as diabetes, osteoporosis or chronic sinus problems could interfere with healing and make implants more likely to fail.
If you choose to have implants, you will undergo surgery twice or more over a period of several months. Because they are a complicated form of treatment, implants can also be expensive.
Your dentist will go through each stage of the treatment with you before it begins and also give you a timetable for completing treatment. You might be referred to a specialist.
The dentist will expose the bone in the jaw where the tooth is missing. Then he will drill a hole and insert a metal post into the bone. This is usually done under a local anaesthetic, but sometimes sedation or, if you are in hospital, a general anaesthetic is used. The gum is then stitched over the post and it's left to heal for several months, while the bone grows around the post, making it secure.
After this period, there will be second operation then happens, in which replacement teeth are mounted onto the metal post. This requires a small cut in the gum above the implant. The replacement teeth might be single or in a group, and possibly as a 'bridge', attached to neighbouring natural teeth. They may be fixed permanently or attached in a way that lets you remove them for cleaning.
After surgery, it's absolutely essential to maintain good mouth hygiene and visit your dentist regularly.
Click here to visit the BDA 3D Mouth website to see an animation of dental implanta
Removable dentures are one of the most common ways of replacing missing teeth. Dentures can replace either a few teeth - a partial denture - or a whole set - complete dentures. Some people are worried that others will be able to tell immediately that they have dentures, but the quality and appearance of today's dentures is far better than ever before.
If you have lost some teeth, dentures can improve the way you look, bite, chew and speak. The teeth that are left are protected from wear and tear. Without dentures, the natural teeth may move or tilt, stopping your teeth biting together properly. Dentures can be fitted immediately after teeth have been taken out so that nobody will know that you have had a tooth out. These are called 'immediate' dentures.
Dentures will never feel like your own teeth and it can take time to get used to them. If you haven't had a denture before, the dentist will want to explain the difficulties of wearing dentures, as well as the benefits and how you should look after your new dentures and the teeth you have left.
Complete dentures are best made of acrylic (plastic). Partial dentures can also be made wholly of acrylic. Alternatively, they can consist of acrylic teeth on a light metal alloy base: this type of partial denture is more secure and less bulky, but also more expensive.
To make sure that the dentures fit your mouth properly, the dentist uses a putty-like material to make moulds - called 'impressions' - of your mouth. A dental technician uses them to make models for the denture to be built on. Sometimes, second impressions are taken.
The technician makes wax blocks which fit the models. The dentist puts these in your mouth to record the position of your jaws in relation to each other. The dentist then trims and seals the wax blocks to show the technician how your teeth should bite together and the shape to make the denture.
A trial denture is made and put in your mouth. The dentist will ask you how it fits, feels and looks before they make any final changes.
The trial denture then goes back to the technician who permanently fixes the teeth. The denture is then ready to use. The dentist may want to see you again fairly soon to see how you are getting on with the denture. If there are problems, they can make small adjustments
