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Implant Dentistry » Dental Implants

In depth-Dental knowledge Explained!
Dental Implants are useful in many ways, from replacing single teeth where you don't want to drill other teeth next to a gap, as well as just acting as strong anchorage to help stabilise an otherwise very loose Denture, for example. Dental Implants can also replace all your missing teeth, if there is enough bone to support Implant placement.

A bridge is what most dentist use to fill in a gap, but you have to drill away at a healthy tooth and what happens is that tooth give up in the future?


Dental Implants are better than a bridge to fill a gap! Success rates of Dental Tooth Implants

These vary tremendously between different operators, different systems and different groups of Patients. IT IS NEVER 100% though!

Crossing the road isn’t 100% for everyone each day, some people won’t get to the other side, without it being anyone’s fault.

General Medical health can complicate/fail Implant treatment such as Immuno-compromised, Steroid treatment and medications like Bi-Phosphonates and various Allergies etc.

Unfortunately there are some surgeons who will refuse to treat the more difficult cases so they can claim high success rates overall, but they may be turning away perhaps 50% of people who are requesting Implant Options - we DO NOT DO THIS, but try to treat everyone who wishes Tooth Implant options whenever possible, including Smokers or those who have had past Gum Disease but have improved !!!

If you would like a SECOND opinion from Dr. Zaman, to explore ALL the possibilities, especially if you have been told you cannot have Implants, then we may be able to still help you achieve this, fully or partly, using fixed-in implants to improve your whole mouth's function and health.

Please call 01484 714640 to make that Implant Assessment Appointment with Dr. Zaman!

Although generally Implant Surgery success rates are gradually improving over time as new developments improve the features of Implants further, they still tend to "fail" because they don't "bond" to the bone, or they are "overloaded" too early or patients don't follow-up for regular cleanings and maintenance as advised.

Although the "odds" are in your favour, there is STILL a risk of failure despite everyone's best efforts.

Many Surgeons will not treat smokers with Implants because they spoil their patient success rates. However, ever newer techniques are improving this situation and success rates for smokers, so ask your Dentist or Specialist for the latest information and find someone who will give you ALL the options.

Same day mini or midi implants can be placed with minimum Surgery and provide same day teeth too!

These "new" smaller dental implants from the USA are already revolutionising and transforming patients’ lives! Its availability and ease with which most people can access the benefits of implant retained teeth. Helping to reduce Bone Grafting needs, give patients more implant options as well as avoiding anatomically complex structures such as nerves in the bone.

As a general rule, we try to fit the largest Implant we can in the bone available, but it is of course the bone that disappears because of past disease or extractions that is the REAL challenge, thus for the larger implants one may need bone grafts and sometimes larger bone blocks grafting as a separate larger Surgical procedure, with all of it's extra risks and complications too!

With conventional implants, one has to also take into consideration the INCREASED risks of doing further Surgery such as larger bone grafts, whether using your own bone (eg. From the hip) or Animal derivatives or other Human sources, the healing times and success rates are lower for bone Implants than titanium Implants - the Healing Time (6-12 months) and inconvenient, post-operative pain and swelling etc, are all increased too.

Smaller Mini Implants or even medium-sized Midi Implants may not require the major Surgery of some Standard implant systems and can be placed in areas with less bone too, sometimes avoiding bone grafts completely.

Clearly, Dental Tooth Implants offer exciting alternatives for Patients. However, this is a Complex area of Dentistry that should be discussed personally with your Dentist or Specialist at a specific Consultation and Assessment for your personal needs and options.

Where ever you are from, in the UK or Abroad, why not visit us for a Specialist Opinion about Dental Implants, Mini, Midi Implants, and Cosmetic Dentistry, tooth bleaching or other "same-day" treatments!

Bone Grafts
Where there isn't enough bone for standard sized Implants, it may be possible that bone can be surgically added, but this adds extra complications to the procedure, with much more cost and extra visits to allow healing/waiting time. This is why the newer mini or midi or root-tapered implants may be useful in many cases, by avoiding the inconvenience, extra Surgery and Extra costs of some standard implants that must have significant bone grafts in some dental Implant cases!

Of course in some cases, there still isn't enough bone for even mini or midi Dental Tooth Implants because the bone shrinks quickly when a tooth has been lost. Also, teeth may have been experiencing gum disease where the underlying bone is destroyed and dissolved away. Trauma may also have contributed to bone loss. Overall, the longer a tooth has been missing, the more any existing bone and gum will have shrunk away. Even so, newer Implant designs such as smaller narrower Implants may help minimise the need for Bone grafts in some areas of the mouth, by either replacing teeth with less than average bone remaining, or by using several smaller Implants to support teeth.

However, if there is absolutely not enough bone even for mini-implants, then some grafting will be necessary and again we can discuss the different options for this in detail too - there are also newer grafting techniques to reduce the amount of bone/volume of graft needed too - that's why a full assessment, options and personal estimate needs to be done for you, to get ALL the info you need.

Bone grafts can be taken from minor sites (eg: extraction sockets, chin etc.) or major sites (eg: iliac crest on the hip bone). Bone from your own body helps reduce any "rejection" effects. There are also bone substitutes that act as bulking agents. These can be minerals that are chemically manufactured (eg: Calcium Triphosphate) or sourced naturally (eg: Coral). New and cheaper cost alternatives are becoming available all the time, so it is worth keeping up to date. We do NOT use any animal or human products for bone grafting, only the patient's own natural bone or pure mineral alternatives.

The advantages of Bone grafting are that if one is willing to wait 6-12 months, then significant bone volume can be added and thus improve the position, size and foundations of the Implants used, but are you willing to go through what is an addition Surgical procedure (more extensive swelling, discomfort and healing time than just for Implants) as well as the additional risks it may fail, not take, get infected, need another operation to remove and be worse off etc, etc? If not, then one has to accept there is then some compromise in placing Implants in less than full volume bone and possibly not ideal position either, necessitating different angles for the Crowns/Bridges/Attachments that will eventually go on top of the healed Implants one they have bonded/taken to your natural bone.

Surgical Considerations:

As well as VOLUME of bone, there is also the question of the QUALITY of the bone, to consider - thus we take both of these into account for your Implant Assessment. The volume and shape of ridges after shrinking/healing is important, as well as the density of the bone on the outside cortex and internal medulla. Some problems encountered can be treated surgically, such as ridge expansion (improves width of bone) and compression to increase density of softer bone. Also sinus lifts (surgically repositions sinus lining) and nerve repositioning procedures are possible too, if they are causing difficulties. Again, these add another complex stage to the procedures and should not be undertaken lightly. Like all procedures, they have their own additional risks too, so do think about these issues carefully and discuss them with the Dentist/Specialist in detail.

Here is a link to our prices page for Mini, Midi implants. Click here

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