What is a dental implant?
A small screw is fixed in the jaw and a new tooth is put on top. Here is what it costs you in time, and who it suits.
An implant is three separate parts, and it helps to know what each one does.
The screw
A small titanium post placed into the jawbone where the root of the missing tooth used to be. Titanium is used because bone grows onto it and grips it — this is the part that takes three to four months.
The abutment
A connector that sits on top of the screw and pokes just above the gum line. It joins the screw to the visible tooth.
The crown
The part you actually see. It is made to match the shape and shade of the teeth around it and is fixed onto the abutment.
What decides whether it works
The bone underneath. An implant needs enough bone, of good enough quality, to hold it. When a tooth has been missing for years the bone thins, and sometimes it needs building up first. That is why we take a 3D scan before promising anything.
Gum health matters just as much. Implants can be lost to gum disease in the same way natural teeth can, so if your gums need treating we do that first.
Who it suits
Someone missing one tooth or several, with healthy gums, who does not want the teeth on either side cut down for a bridge. Smoking makes failure more likely, and we will tell you that plainly rather than after the event.
This is general information, not a diagnosis. Every mouth is different. Book a check-up so the dentist can look at yours before you decide anything.
