Dental Implants

A dental implant is often an ideal option for replacing one or more missing teeth. A dental implant is a titanium screw that is inserted into the jawbone. After placement it will integrate with your jawbone to act as an artificial tooth root. The implant may require from 2 to 6 months to integrate before it is able to be restored by your dentist with its final crown. During this healing period, a temporary tooth replacement option can be worn over the implant site if desired.

There are several advantages to placing a dental implant over other tooth replacement alternatives. These advantages include:

  • They can look and function like a normal tooth, being able to withstand much greater biting pressures than a denture
  • They can replace a single tooth without sacrificing healthy tooth structure from neighbouring teeth as may be required in the construction of a bridge.
  • They provide a greater level of comfort than alternative treatments, usually feeling indistinguishable from the natural dentition.
  • Ease of cleaning and maintenance
  • Preservation of bone levels. Dental implants integrate with the jawbone and this helps to preserve the bone height. The bone under a bridge or denture may resorb with time.

If you are missing a tooth or several teeth and would like to replace them, dental implants may be an option for you. Our dentists will be more than happy to discuss with you options and assess your mouth for suitability. In order for an implant to be placed, it is important that your gums and jawbone are healthy and able to support the implant. If your oral health is not yet at this level, we will be happy to work with you towards achieving your goal.

Implants can be aesthetically pleasing, greatly improve functioning and could truly change your life.

Read more about dental implants below.

Implant supported single crowns offer a very good option to replacing a missing front tooth.

The loss of an anterior tooth offers many challenges to the dental team with aesthetics being one of the most critical factors.

When choosing the abutment, that component that sticks out of the implant several factors are considered; visibility of the region; for example high versus low smile line, thickness or thinness of the gum, colour of the neighbouring teeth and the patient’s own aesthetic expectations.

In these aesthetically demanding situations customized white abutments made of the zirconia along with all ceramic crowns are chosen instead of the metallic titanium abutments thereby assuring a more aesthetic result at the gum line.

When disease or trauma leads to multiple missing teeth an implant supported bridge may be an excellent option to fill the space. A large gap prevents proper chewing, puts strain on adjacent teeth, the jaw joint and could potentially lead to excessive wear of the remaining teeth that must now bear the load of chewing.

With further bone recession the teeth are prone to sensitivity and decay. Before and implant can be placed the site is prepared to receive an implant. Once ready the implants can be placed in the jaw.

Healing caps are placed on top of the implants to allow for the bone and gums to heal around the implant for several months. On a return appointment the healing caps are removed and impression copings are screwed into place and an impression of the lower jaw is taken. This impression will help to create a permanent bridge for the implants.

The impression copings are removed and the healing caps replace the copings until the next appointment. The healing caps are removed and abutments inserted, the bridge is then permanently cemented into place.

The loss of teeth on the lower arch often results in the loss of support for a denture resulting in poor fitting prosthesis.

A lower implant supported denture is an excellent means to provide stability to the denture.

The first stage will be to place the actual dental implant. The second stage will be to measure four and place custom locator abutments on top of the implants. The locators are made to fit precisely to the underside of the denture.

The implant locators provide the denture stability and improved function.

Implant surgery is performed when the decision has been made to replace one or more missing teeth with dental implants.

To place an implant the implant site is prepared by first making an incision in the gums to expose the bone. The bone is then tapped to create a space for the dental implant. Using an assortment of implant drill bits the space is gradually increased and tapered.

A titanium implant fixture is then inserted into the prepared space. When completed the surgeon will place a healing cap over the implant and stitches the gum tissue back into place. Before the dentist can seat any crowns on the implants time must be given to allow bone to grow around the implants and anchor them securely.

This healing process takes about three months in the lower jaw and about six months in the upper jaw. On your next visit the crown will be ready for permanent placement in the implant fixture.

When teeth are lost, significant bone loss over time can occur in these sites.

Due to a lack of bone over top of vital structures such as nerves running through the lower jaw, the ability to place a dental implant in these areas becomes a real challenge.

When there is tooth loss in the upper jaw bone loss can occur under the sinus. This loss of bone prohibits the placement of an implant without the aid of a bone graft. Sometimes the tooth is infected before it is removed and that infection can result in a loss of bone adding a further complication when considering dental implant placement.