If you’ve experienced tooth loss due to an accident, tooth decay or gum disease you may have heard of dental implants as a potential treatment, or even as an alternative to traditional (and at times uncomfortable) dentures.
In this piece we cover who dental implants are ideally for (and equally who they’re not for), what they are exactly, their benefits and the different types of implants available.
Who is a candidate for dental implants?
The good news is that most people with a missing tooth or teeth (or soon to be missing) are candidates for dental implants. To start, if you are missing a tooth or teeth due to trauma (an adult tooth has been knocked out) your path to a dental implant should be relatively simple, providing you maintain great oral hgiene, and are a non-smoker.
Those with tooth loss due to tooth decay
If your tooth or teeth need to be removed due to unrestorable tooth decay, you may also be a suitable candidate for dental implants, providing you commit to future healthy dental habits. This means keeping six-monthly dental appointments, ensuring oral hygiene in between these appointments, and avoiding ‘unhealthy’ food or drinks.
Dental implants are a long-term missing tooth solution and a significant investment. Therefore, you should not be presenting regularly for repeat procedures.
Patients with treated gum disease
If you’ve experienced tooth or teeth loss due to gum (periodontal) disease, your gums will need to be treated before receiving the titanium dental implant/s, as part of the dental implant treatment. We can help with this, and once your gums have been restored to ‘healthy gum’ status, you are more likely to be a suitable candidate for dental implants.
Patients with treated bone loss
The dental implant surgery itself involves a titanium implant being placed into your jaw bone, whilst you’re under sedation. If you do not have enough bone density or adequate bone to place the implant within, this increases the risk of implant failure (due to minimal support for the implant).
Bone strength deteriorates without teeth, so this is quite a common occurrence if a tooth is not replaced promptly.
Rest assured we may still be able to assist, by performing a bone grafting procedure as the first preparatory step. Once the jaw bone is strong enough, you may then be a suitable candidate for dental implants.
Traditional denture wearers
If you have been wearing traditional dentures you are also likely to be an ideal candidate for dental implants - the All-on-4 type - as these are typically longer-lasting, significantly more comfortable, and present better as ‘natural teeth’. Further, they are far more convenient to look after, as the teeth bridge stays affixed in the mouth and is cared for, just as you would your original teeth.
Dental implants - the benefits
As we’ve touched on above - there are significant benefits in opting for dental implant treatment to replace missing teeth. Further benefits include:
- Aesthetics - a dental implant/s will restore your smile and confidence by ‘naturally’ filling in the gap/s
- Functionality - dental implants will allow you to eat and taste food as you would with your normal teeth, and they will also restore your ability to speak (pronunciation) as you typically do
- Dental implants will prevent further bone loss (and the jaw caving in on itself) as the titanium implant acts ‘as a tooth’ to the jaw
- Dental implants are a long-term and more comfortable investment than dentures, as fixed bridges (All-on-4) have a longer life-span, and do not move, displace or rub up against your gums.
