Dental implants: your guide to permanent tooth replacement

Dental implants are an increasingly popular method of replacing missing teeth. They are small titanium replacements for tooth roots, which are placed in direct contact with your jaw bone by an implant surgeon, under either local anaesthetic or conscious sedation, depending on your preference.

At Clacton Dental Care our implant dentist, Dr Adeel Ali, can use dental implants to replace anything from one to all of your teeth, restoring natural function as well as realistic appearance. Depending on what your clinical requirements are, implants can be combined with single crowns, bridgework, or dentures. No matter which option you choose, you can rest assured that in a few short months you will have gone from missing or failing natural teeth to fully functional replacements.

As well as holding your new teeth in place, dental implants also provide another important function. Because they are in direct contact with your jaw bone, and because they are made out of titanium, which is highly compatible with the human body and often used in surgical procedures such as knee or hip replacements, they help to stop the jaw bone shrinking, which is frequently seen in people with several or all of their natural tooth roots.

A shrinking jaw bone can lead to a prematurely aged appearance of the face. It is also the primary reason that most people who wear traditional dentures need to come back to visit their dentist on a regular basis to have their false teeth relined, adjusted, or even completely remade because of changes to the bone structure.

Dental implants will alleviate common denture worries, including:

• Being restricted to a soft food or liquid diet
• Difficulty speaking clearly
• Loss of confidence and impact on social life if dentures start to slip or fall out in public
• Denture sore mouth caused by poorly-fitting false teeth rubbing the gums

In the majority of cases, after dental implants are placed, they are left to heal for a few months. Osseointegration takes place during this time, which sees the implants form a strong bond with the jaw bone.

Once the healing period is complete, your dentist will attach your permanent new teeth.