Tooth Replacement
A Dental Implant is a titanium screw that replaces the root of your tooth
Implants vary in design, length and width depending on the volume of bone available. Implants are made from high grade biocompatible titanium, forming a metal screw which is then surgically inserted into the jawbone.
The biological process takes place, known as ‘osseointegration’ where the implant and bone fuse together. This process was discovered 60 years ago by an orthopaedic surgeon Professor Per Ingvar Branemark, who fathered the worldwide recognised implant system we have used for the last 30 years – Nobel Biocare™.
Osseointegration allows the implant to act as an anchor and replicates the function of the natural root. The dental implant provides support for the restorative component we design to replace your missing tooth or teeth. These can be either a fixed crown for a single tooth or a bridgework prosthesis attached using two or more implants for up to a whole set of missing teeth.
Independent and Flexible
Our choice of Dental Implants and materials
As a proudly independent dental practice, we are not constrained in our choice of materials and components. We are able to do our very best for our patients to ensure a healthy long-term outcome from their implants.
We use Nobel Biocare™ dental implants, and first started using this system in the early 90’s. In this time we have continued to be impressed by their carefully researched improvements, some of which we have contributed to.
By comparison, many “low cost” implant systems and restorative protocols do not have the same degree of scientific and practical support behind their use.
We keep an extensive and comprehensive stock of implants and implant components, allowing the surgical and prosthetic parts to be carefully selected specifically for each individual patient and each individual situation.
In most cases the implants can be placed in a small surgical procedure carried out under local anaesthetic, although treatment under sedation is also available for nervous and phobic patients.
3D imaging and Cad planning
We place Dental Implants with greater precision
We were the first to introduce Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) to the UK, and to use the technology routinely to the great benefit of our patients. There are now many types of CBCT scanner available; ours is a state of the art facility, widely regarded as setting the gold standard in the field.
Our 3D imaging enhances our ‘3D-thinking’ and 3D perception, improving our ability to diagnose and treat our patients. 3D imaging and 3D printing technologies have dramatically changed our management of patients requiring complex treatments, transforming implant surgery, root canal treatment, and crown and bridgework, and contributing to more straightforward and predictable treatment for our patients.
Our extraordinary technological resources enable us to carry out extraordinary treatments – for example, final fixed implant bridgework in just one 30 minute surgical session.
On a more mundane level, being able to accurately visualise the structures of the teeth, jaws, and face facilitates the diagnosis of problems such as a subtle change in the jaw associated with an early infection from a failing root – which can cause severe pain – or the identification of bony defects – which can greatly complicate implant treatment – and may makes subsequent treatment more predictable and less invasive.