The benefits of Dental Implants from your Moonee Ponds Dentist
Dental implants are now considered the most successful form of tooth replacement available. Implants are tiny devices capable of replacing a single tooth, or supporting an entire denture appliance. Made of titanium or zirconium, the implant posts actually replace the root system of a lost tooth. This factor makes implants extremely beneficial.
A dental implant, inserted into healthy jawbone, serves as the ideal anchor for natural looking and functioning restorations. Full completion of treatment takes from three to nine months, as time is needed for bone tissue to fuse to the implants. When faster solutions are available, you may wonder why one would choose dental implants from a Moonee Ponds dentist over conventional, faster treatment such as a bridge or dentures.
Although the time dedicated to healing may seem a deterrent to treatment, this time does not involve extensive work or multiple visits to the dentist. To replace missing teeth with dental implants, we begin with a consultation. Here details of dental implants are discussed, and an evaluation is made of the patient’s medical history and the proposed implant site/s. We take impressions, make fluorescing dentures or teeth on diagnostic guides for the patient to wear while a cone beam 3D radiograph is taken. We can then load this image into implant planning software and plan implant positioning on our computer. Here we ideally position the implants so they are fully supported in the bone and avoid damage to nerves, sinuses and damage to roots of other teeth. In some cases there is inadequate bone volume or height and bone grafting may be needed as a prior procedure to implant placement.
Implants and any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. We will discuss the risks of the procedure during your consultation as well as examine your health to ensure you are a suitable candidate for implants. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.
From this data we can design a tooth supported guide or denture which can be positioned to place implants in the planned locations. This way Dental implant surgery is actually completed quickly, and the patient experiences little or no pain as the dentist carefully places the implant(s). After the placement of the implant, we need to wait for the bone to heal around the implant. While some people advocate building teeth straight away on the implants this is found to result in higher implant failure rates. I liken this to trying to build a building on concrete foundations before the concrete is set. It is smarter to wait for the concrete to set before completing the building! Typically it takes 6-12 weeks for the bone to heal fully around the implant and for it to be ready to restore. Larger full arch cases and implant bridges involving a number of implants usually lake a longer time to complete. We are gradually introducing newer scanning technologies from the CEREC world which will enable us at Smile In Style to do a lot of this work more accurately and more quickly, without the need for impression taking.
While the implant process takes longer, the benefits are far superior to any other form of tooth replacement. These benefits include:
- The same level of stability as natural teeth is achieved with implants. This means you can eat whatever you would like with no discomfort.
- Smiling, speaking, laughing, and eating can all be done without concern that your dental appliance may slip or fall out.
- No extra care is required to maintain dental implants; just keep brushing and flossing as normal and visit your dentist along with your hygienist twice a year.
- Because bone tissue fuses around implants, the jawbone structure is preserved.
Dental implants provide superior function and beauty and are viewed as the most successful form of tooth replacement. At Smile In Style, in our Moonee Ponds and Sunbury practices, we work closely with you to choose the tooth replacement option that meets your unique needs and budget.
Contact one of our offices today to discover the best option for your tooth replacement.
Moonee Ponds- 03 8400 4104 or Sunbury 03 8001 6021.
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