The first step for anyone who wishes to have a dental implant placed is to arrange an initial consultation with our local implant dentist to assess their suitability for the treatment. A number of things will be discussed and investigated during this assessment, including a thorough oral health check for issues such as gum disease which could threaten a newly placed implant.
Any problems such as this will need to be treated before an implant is placed. Your lifestyle may also be discussed. If, for example, you are a smoker who struggles to quit, then implants are probably not for you as smoking is one of the biggest threats to an implant.
Finally, the dentist will need to take x-rays and scans to assess the health and quantity of the bone available to place the implant into. This is an essential step to take as poor quality or insufficient bone means that the implant can’t be placed securely and will very likely fail.
While there are no upper age restrictions for teeth implant placement, there is a lower end. Implants can’t be placed for anyone whose jaw is not yet fully developed. This obviously applies to children in particular. The reason for this is that if one is placed, it will become crooked and possibly painful as the jaw continues to grow. If anyone loses a tooth at this age, a denture may be used as a temporary solution until the patient is able to have a dental implant procedure.
Bone loss can occur for a number of reasons. One of these is simply old age. It can also occur even in younger people though, especially where a tooth has been lost. When the tooth falls out or is extracted, the minerals in the bone that secured the tooth in place starts to be utilised in other parts of the body. This causes bone loss in these areas.
There are a number of potential problems when this happens. Firstly, and especially if several teeth have been lost, it can cause you to look older as the shape of your face changes and the cheeks sink in. There is also a strong possibility that if you lose a tooth, or a number of teeth, that the other remaining teeth can move into that space and cause them to become crooked and uneven.
The main issue for anyone wanting dental implants though is that this means that there simply isn’t sufficient bone to place one into. In this situation, there are options available that mean that you don’t have to resort to having dentures instead. In order to provide sufficient bone, either a bone graft or a sinus lift can be used beforehand.
Both of these procedures should enable you to have a dental implant where there is initially insufficient bone available. Our Witham implant dentists will be able to advise which one would be the most appropriate for your situation. Both of these will require healing time before the implant can be placed and your dentist will be able to advise you of this.
In order to carry out a bone graft procedure, a small piece of bone may be harvested from elsewhere in your own body. Other options may be to use bone from animal or artificial sources.
To place this bone, a small incision is made in the gum in the area where it is required. The bone is then placed against the existent bone. In some instances, additional healing substances may also be added to encourage the healing. The gum will then be sown up and it is just a matter of time, and care, to allow it to heal to the extent that an implant will be secure when placed
The other possible option is a sinus lift. This can be used where an implant is to be placed in the upper jaw where there is insufficient space due to the location of the sinus cavity. The sinus membrane may be lifted away from the jawbone. As in the previous procedure, a small piece of bone will be placed in the area created by lifting the membrane. This is then closed and allowed to heal as before.
In both cases, a local anaesthetic will be given and, if required, a sedative to make the treatment more comfortable for you.
While, it should be emphasised, most people will not need to have these prior treatments, it is good news that they can help those Witham patients who may not otherwise be a suitable dental implant candidate.
If you are interested in finding out if you are a suitable candidate, why not arrange to have an initial consultation with us? If we do find that you have insufficient bone to place an implant into, we can discuss these options further with you. Naturally, there is no obligation to undergo these additional procedures and we are happy to discuss alternatives such as dentures or a bridge where applicable.
If you would like to book your consultation with us or would like to discuss any other dental related issue, you can contact Blake Dental by calling us on 01376 501688.
