A A dental implant is a titanium metal artificial root which is placed into the jawbone. It is used to support one or more false teeth. One of our clients aptly described it as a dental 'rawlpug' and essentially he was right as once in place within the jawbone a tooth or series of teeth can be secured to the implant with screws or adhesives. In practice, both the false teeth and their supporting titanium root are known as ‘implants’.

A Implants are a well-established, tried-and-tested treatment. More than 90 per cent of modern implants last for at least 15 years. The very first implants were placed in the late 1960's and the first human to have received dental implants in 1968, a Swedish gentleman and regular face on the dental conference circuit, kept them until the day he died early in 2006. Therefore it could be said Implants can last a lifetime if well looked after.

A Yes. You can have any number of teeth replaced with implants – from one single tooth to a complete set.

A It depends on the state of the bone in your jaw. We may arrange for a number of special tests to assess the amount of bone still present. If there is not enough, or if it isn’t healthy enough, it may not be possible to place implants without grafting bone into the area first.

A Placing implants requires a small operation. This can usually be carried out under local anaesthetic. Some discomfort may be felt during the week following the surgery. This is usually due to having stitches in place, and the normal healing process. But take a look at Robin above naturally smiling and happy just 24 hours after his surgery.

A Typically the answer would be no as implants need to bond (integrate) with the bone after they have been placed. This takes typically up to 3 months in the lower jaw and 6 months in the upper jaw. If you are having one, two or three teeth replaced, you will usually have a temporary restoration in the meantime. If you have complete dentures, then you can wear them throughout the healing period once they have been adjusted after the surgery. Modern techniques are suggesting that in some cases it may be possible to place teeth directly onto the implants when they are placed but only in exceptional and very case specific circumstances. In 'R's case above, as he was travelling by plane from Guernsey to see us, we discussed these issues and elected to make a high quality metal framed temporary bridge with adjustable light cured plastic teeth. In David's case in the video clip above all the factors were very favourable in that he had only just cracked his root and the socket was undamaged. The implant was very rigid and tight within the tooth's original socket from the outset and we had a 3D CEREC scan of his original tooth to use as a template to manufacture a brand new crown which was finally fitted within three hours of the extraction. David's case was even more exceptional and satisfying in that he was leaving for a holiday in the Caribbean that same evening and we were able to save his holiday smile.

A It can take very little time if all factors are favourable but if there is uncertainty regarding the healing it is best to wait and be sure. Treatments can be extended also dependant on how much of your mouth needs to be reconstructed and may take up to 12 months from the initial assessment to the time when the artificial teeth, bridgework or dentures are finally attached to the implants.

Much depends on how complicated your treatment is. We will be able to give you a timetable after all the examinations, tests and treatment planning has been done.

A Cleaning around the teeth attached to the implants is no more difficult than cleaning natural teeth. However, there may be areas that give you problems and we’ll endeavour to show you methods to help.

A Possibly, if you don’t care for them well enough. If you keep them clean, and don’t smoke, then you should not have any problems. We would hope after losing your real teeth to gum disease you'll attend regularly to our hygienist for maintainance and do better with your new implant teeth.

A Most artificial teeth attached to implants can only be placed and removed by a dentist. However, if you have complete dentures fixed to the implants by special attachments, then you’ll be able to take them out for cleaning.

A We will do our very best to ensure the implant metalwork won’t show during all normal movements of the mouth and lips whilst talking, eating, smiling etc. You may however in some areas need to be able to see them, so that you can clean them properly.

A Not necessarily, unless you’re only having a single tooth replaced. Sometimes, five or six implants are enough to replace all the teeth in one jaw, as each implant can usually support two teeth. For a few missing teeth, two or three implants may be used.

A Implants and the teeth they support can be damaged by an accident in the same way that natural teeth can. However, if the false teeth are damaged and the remnants are left in the bone then they may be more difficult to remove than natural teeth would be. After healing, new false teeth can then be placed alongside the fragments.

A This happens very rarely, statistically less than 5% of implants fail to integrate. If the implant becomes loose during the healing period or just after, then it is easily removed and healing takes place in the normal way. Once the jaw has healed, another implant can be placed there. Or, where possible we can make a bridge, using the implanted roots that have integrated.

A In many situations, the cost of implant treatment is only a little more than the cost of more conventional treatment with dentures and bridges. However the alternatives treatments have many disadvantages. Implants are recognised by the General Dental Council as the first choice treatment for optimal replacement of lost teeth. All things are of course relative, how much do you value having a complete smile and limiting the damage to your remaining teeth for the sake of another?

The advantages of implants are clear. An implant to replace a tooth avoids the need to cut down teeth either side to support a bridge. Wearing dentures often means you can’t eat or speak well, due to the dentures moving, plus you need to put dentures in a glass of water at night. Teeth attached to an implant don’t cause these problems. A further advantage of implants is that if placed into an extracted root socket the bone that would ordinarily rapidly dissolve away can mostly be preserved to support the implant and facial architecture and thereby reduce the impact of one of the dental signs of aging; the lips and cheeks caving in where teeth are missing.

In fact some implantology experts have been bold enough to speculate that having implants can actually make you live longer! Why? Because implants improve the ability to eat and help preserve the jaw bone and facial architecture. In old age then a normal diet can be maintained as food can be chewed just as efficiently as it was in youth. One can maintain a normal range of food throughout a lifetime without restriction to just soft foods and soups through loss of teeth.

Cheaper implant treatment is available abroad but unlike some Eastern European or Asian countries we only use implants that meet American and EU standards of sterile manufacture and quality control using only the finest pure Australian Titanium. Plus, if anything goes wrong you don't have additional flights and hotel arrangements to make to get things put right and most significantly we don't compromise our standards to try and rush everything into one big surgery for complex cases. We can take our time and stage large proceedures.

And besides, would you shop around for the cheapest brain or heart surgery? Why then would you consider doing that for an oral surgical procedure?

As treatment is extended over multiple visits across a lengthy period of time it is often far more convenient to be in the same country as your implantologist, a country where you are fully protected by UK and EU standards of training and quality control.

If you have further questions do not hesitate to contact us on 08000 431 421 or e-mail to info@thechrysalis.co.uk