What is a Dental Implant?

Dental implants are a treatment for missing teeth. Teeth have many functions apart from chewing and biting, so missing teeth should be replaced. There are many reasons to replace a missing tooth with an implant.

These include:

• Improving appearance and speech
• Preventing stress that cause damage to other teeth
• Preventing the teeth near the gap from shifting
• Maintaining the natural bite
• Improving chewing ability

The placement of an implant involves the securing of a post within the jaw bone to replace missing natural teeth. The post, usually made of titanium due to its biocompatibility with bone, is secured in the bone and once settled, a crown is attached. Implants and their crowns, closely mimic the look and function of real teeth.

Dental Implants are an attractive alternative to dentures and bridges. In order to determine whether you are suitable for the placement of implants, our dentists will take a thorough medical and dental history. We will also require a series of x-rays.

What are the benefits of dental implants?

There are many benefits to dental implants.

Some of these are listed below:

• Help to withstand greater bite pressures than dentures
• Prevent bone loss in the jaw
• May prevent gum recession
• Unlike bridges, do not require the cutting and shaping of the teeth
• Are usually more comfortable than dentures
• Are cleaned like natural teeth, with floss, brushing and regular toothpaste, unlike denture or bridges which require special, often fiddly cleaning procedures

How do I look after my dental implant?

Like real teeth, dental implants require excellent oral hygiene and regular professional cleaning to ensure their lifespan. Without appropriate cleaning, dental implants can develop plaque and calculus and are at risk of gum disease. This can eventually lead to bleeding gums, loss of bone, infection, pain and loss of the implant. It is also important to consider that smoking impairs healing and increases the risk of implant failure.

How many appointments are involved in placing an implant?

At Toorak Fine Dentistry, dental implant procedures are usually performed using local anaesthesia. In some cases, depending on the complexity of the case or whether the patient is uncomfortable being awake for the procedure we will arrange for your dental implant to be placed under general anaesthesia.

In most cases, the implant procedure involves three separate treatment stages.

These include:

• Insertion of the implant into the bone. This is followed by a healing phase, which is usually a period of three to six months.
• The second appointment involves a dental impression of your mouth so that we can design the artificial crown to replace the missing tooth or teeth. At this appointment, we will choose a shade for the crown to match your natural teeth.
• The third appointment is to attach the crown to the titanium implant.

If you would like to discuss implants or how we could help you to replace missing teeth, please call to arrange an appointment on (03) 9826 1725.