There are a number of reasons why a tooth may be lost. It could be because the tooth has decayed or broken to the point that it cannot be restored. It could also be because the root support has become affected by gum disease and the tooth has become too loose to keep in place.
Whatever the reason you may find yourself with a missing tooth, there is never any need for you to accept the gap. Dental implants provide a fixed long term solution to tooth loss. Traditionally, when a tooth was missing, the options involved either leaving the gap, placing a denture (which would need to be removed and cleaned each day) or restoring the gap with a bridge. Bridges, like implants, are fixed options. However, their major drawback is that they require the teeth either side of the gap to be filed down and are therefore not particularly conservative.
Implants on the other had provide a false tooth that is as firm (if not firmer) than natural teeth and without the need to interfere with the teeth either side of the gap. They thus provide a perfect replacement with minimal damage.
So how do they work? Put simply, the titanium implants are placed in your bone and allowed to integrate. This process is known as “osseointegration” and is the biological process that allows attachments to be made in bone and forms the basis of other medical procedures such as hip replacements. Once the osseointegration process has taken place (and as a rough guide, for dental implants, this is anything between 12-20 weeks depending on the density of your bone), a false tooth (crown or bridge) can be attached to the implant. The implant is therefore acting as a new root.
If you would like to know more information about how implants can replace your missing teeth, contact the clinic on 01923 859678 and ask to speak to our treatment plan coordinator to arrange a consultation.
