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Dental implants St.Albans are the pinnacle of restorative dentistry, allowing us to completely replace a tooth even if it was lost many years ago.
Dental implant technology encompasses a range of procedures from single tooth implants which are similar to a crown with an artificial root. To the immobilisation of an entire set of dentures permanently anchoring them while eliminating the friction between the prosthetic and the gum.
They should be seen as a long-term investment in your dental health, as a well-maintained implant can easily last you a lifetime. They also represent a significant investment of time and money. By using a two part implantation process, we can carry out the treatment without any disruption to your daily life.
Online pre-assessment
We carry out online pre-assessments for those curious about dental implants St. Albans; any of your questions can be answered, as well as one of our clinical staff assessing your photos and making a very loose prediction on the suitability of implementation in your case. We have found this method of triage helpful in reducing unnecessary sessions at our clinic, saving everyone’s time while reducing the need to travel and we intend to continue operating like this for the foreseeable future. So, no time pressures if they aren’t needed.
Single tooth implants
An implant itself is a short titanium metal rod; it is placed below the gum line where it interacts with the jawbone. During the first session of implantation, the gum is opened and the implant is placed into the jawbone that either uses a vacant socket or a new one has to be drilled. The gum is then closed over this implant, shielding it and keeping it in place as new bone grows around its base, locking it in place.
Bone is a slow-growing tissue and it can take anywhere between 4 months and a year for the implant to become fully fixed. Once it has and this is confirmed by x-ray, we then load the implant. The gum is opened and the oral prosthetic is fixed to the top of the implant; it is held there by a semi-permanent locking mechanism called the connector. This has the advantage of allowing us to do the implantation in two stages. But also for the oral prosthetic to be swapped out with a new one if it is damaged without having to extract the titanium artificial root.
Immobilised dentures
When using dental implants St.Albans to immobilise a denture, it is not necessary to have an implant for every single tooth. Exactly how many implants are required to anchor a denture in place and where they might be placed is highly variable depending on the patient. And it would be difficult to comment on before taking note of areas of the jawbone that have low bone density that would have to be avoided. Somewhere between 5 and 8 implants is fairly normal but there are exceptions
If you think you or a family member would benefit from dental implants in St.Albans or you have further questions, please feel free to get in contact with our clinic. This can be done by calling our receptionist or via email.