Dental Implants – Our implant team provides a unique service for our patients where in most cases Dental on Raffles can carry out the full procedure right here in our rooms. This is in tune with the world wide trend for both the surgical side of implant dentistry and the restorative treatment is carried out by the same operator.
What is a Dental Implant?
Basically a dental implant is a titanium screw that fits into a drilled site in the jaw bone. Over a few months the jaw bone and the titanium of the implant join together to make a very strong bond.
Once this has happened all the difference variations of how we can make teeth to fit on to the implants can be carried out.
In major accident cases and jaw bone loss we may need extensive bone reconstruction before implants can be placed. If this is the case we tap into the knowledge of a Maxillofacial Surgeon for his expertise.
For many people it is a surprise to find out that dental implants are not just used to replace a tooth or a few teeth but can also be used to stabilize loose fitting dentures and to make a full set of dentures fixed naturally and functionally and fixed or removable bridgework that resembles your own teeth.
A Fixed Implant Bridge
This is a set of teeth made usually from porcelain fused to metal or all ceramic that are screw attached to between two, four or six implants. This can be either in the top or bottom jaw. This type of Implant Bridge is most successful when the patient has minimal bone shrinkage after having teeth removed.
A Fixed Removable Implant Bridge
This treatment is carried out when one has lost upper or lower teeth and there has been significant bone shrinkage of the jaws. Usually this involves placing approximately four implants and a bar fitted to the implants. The removable implant bridge fits on to the bar.
Loose Dentures (denture stabilisation)
When one can’t keep dentures in place or they have no suction and flop about implants can be used to clip them into place. The dentures still rest on gum tissues but cannot move around. I am a great fan of the Locator System. Usually there is a need for four implants for a full upper jaw case and two implants for a full lower jaw case. This is a most cost effective treatment. For more information see Denture Stabilisation [click here]
The range of implant treatments available;
A single tooth dental implant
This is when there is one tooth missing and an implant is placed and a prosthetic tooth is made to fit on to it. When several teeth are missing in a row whether it is front teeth or back teeth, implants can be placed and bridgework attached. In effect this can give a similar end result to bridgework attached to natural teeth. Multiple teeth can be attached to a few implants.
All upper or lower teeth missing
Dental implants and fixtures can be made to replace full denture wearing. There are usually two ways that this can be achieved and this choice is dependent on how much bone shrinkage has occurred in the front of the jaw bone. If you’d like to know more, visit nobelbiocare.com