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As a provider of dental implants St. Albans, you could call us a little biased; we have carried out many implants and seen the work of others on X-rays and in publications. The truth of the matter is that implants are almost always worth your time and effort to investigate and we are here to highlight why.
Dental implants St Albans are the most advanced type of restorative dentistry a local dental clinic can provide and require additional training for a dentist to perform. A key part of the implant is the oral prosthetic, and although it may sound similar to a bridge or a crown, each prosthetic tooth or set of teeth have implants which work as their artificial roots, which anchor them to the jawbone. This root can take 4-6 months for new bone to grow around it ‘fixing’ it in place.
Time factors and contraindications
Before we talk any more about the nuts and bolts of implants, let’s look and see why it is not a cure-all. The elephant in the room is the invasiveness; the act of drilling into the bone to place the titanium root and the time for it to ‘set’ is substantial. In comparison, if a lesser treatment like a filling or an extraction were performed, the treatment time is a single session in one day.
The next is the need for good health to support bone growth; an implant can fail to set and this risk increases with poor general health lifestyle choices like smoking. Medical conditions which impact on bone density, the most common of which is osteoporosis, can also influence the success of an implant.
What is an oral implant?
Dental implants St Albans are the closest thing you can get to an actual tooth; they have three components- a rigid titanium peg which acts as a root and sits in the jawbone. A connector and the top of the peg, which locks on to the base of an artificial tooth, which is made from polymers and porcelain
The connector allows the implant to be inserted in two sessions, with the first one placing the titanium peg and allowing it to set beneath the gum line and the second only performed after the new bone has bonded to the peg.
This comes with the added benefit that if the prosthetic tooth was ever to be damaged or require replacing, it can be unlocked from the connector and a new prosthetic placed on the same ‘root’.
Long-term care
Assuming the implantation goes without complications, the long- term care is comparable to natural teeth, with the same routine check-ups and twice-daily brushing.
The colour-matching (which will be performed before the prosthetic tooth is fabricated) will result in an artificial tooth which will blend in with the rest of your mouth. Due to the glazed porcelain being more stain-resistant than natural enamel, there may be a divergence in shade over time depending on your lifestyle. This can be addressed with a scale and polish by a dental hygienist.