Dental Implants

Why we use different Dental Implants

Dental implants have given many of our patients a new lease of life; dentures permanently replaced with fixed crowns and bridgework, loose dentures stabilised with magnets or clips.

The shape and surface of implants has changed greatly since Neil started to place implants way back in the mid-1980s. We have worked with many different systems to overcome particular problems for individual patients. No implant system has the perfect features to cover all situations, so we use several implant systems with different features.

Routine situations
Astra implant;; The AstraTech implant is a good tried and tested  workhorse for most situations and Neil has been placing them since they were first developed in the mid-1980s. There is a great range of abutment attachments which allow for many different situations.

Immediately after extraction;

Narrow Bone; Imtec mini-implants (see mini implants webpage in the menu) and OsteoCare 'midi' implants (see midi implants webpage in the menu).

Shallow Bone; There are now several short implant systems available. We used to use Endopore implants but found them to be unreliable in the long term. AstraTech have now developed a 6mm implant (see picture below) and OsteoTi have a 7.5mm implant in a range of widths allowing a choice depending on the shape of the available bone;. These short implants allow us to place implants at the back of the mouth, safely avoiding important anatomical structures.

In all cases, planning is the key to success; x rays, models, and in some cases ct scans are used to make the placement and restoration as predictable as possible.

Placement;

After the gum has been numbed, a small hole is carefully made in the jaw and the implant is gently tapped or screwed into place. We prefer not to load the implant for 3 months whilst the bone heals around the unique titanium surface. Occasionally it is possible to make a temporary crown at the time of implant placement, but more often, a temporary denture or bridge is worn over the implant during this healing phase. After this stage, a tooth peg or abutment is attached to the implant and a temporary crown or bridge is placed to gently load the implant for a further 2-3 months.

The bone fuses with the implant becoming a rigid extension that can then have the definitive crown or bridge made to blend in with the rest of your mouth.

I'm happy with my denture if it just wasn't so LOOSE!

In some situations two implants are placed and used to retain a denture using magnets, studs or clips. The best retainers we have seen are Locator attachments which are available to fit most of the implant systems we use.This allows considerable confidence in eating, singing, talking and laughing.

This may be preferable to achieve maximum aesthetics in cases where a lot of gum shrinkage has occurred and, as less implants are required, tends to be a cheaper option than a large bridge.