Dental Implants

Option 1 – Dental Implant

What is a dental implant ?
An implant is small titanium screw that is placed into the jawbone to replace the missing tooth root. Once healed the implant acts as a base for fixing a crown , bridge or even a denture.

Advantages
• Better quality of life * ( Awad et al, J dent Res 2000)
• Natural & aesthetic appearance
• Healthy teeth are not cut down
• A long term solution
• Offers stability and reliability

Considerations
• Treatment times variable depending on the complexity of the case
• Initial costs may be higher, however in many caes implants offer a more economical solution in the long term
• Smoking or poor dental hygiene may affect the success of dental implant treatment

Option 2 – Partial dentures

Advantages
• Gives the impression of having teeth
• Can aid eating certain kinds of foods
• Easily modified

Considerations
• Less support and stability than secured / fixed options
• Food can collect under denture
• May affect speech
• Can be uncomfortable to wear

Option 3 – Bridge

A bridge is two or more ceramic teeth fused as a single section that is fixed to at least one of the adjacent teeth. Short span cantilever bridges involve two teeth, a supporting abutment tooth and the missing tooth. Often the bridge is fixed at both ends and there are two supporting or abutment teeth to replace a single missing tooth. Crown retained bridges have been used to replace missing teeth for over a hundred years and require the adjacent teeth to be shaved down. Adhesive bridges use a wing or plate top attach to the adjacent tooth which reduces the requirement to shave down the adjacent teeth.

Advantages
• Natural appearance
• Improves Function
• Permanently fixed
• Initially a cheaper alternative to dental implants

Considerations
• Lifetime maintenance costs maybe higher than dental implants
• Bone & gum deterioration may occur under the gap
• Nothing is replacing the functional support of the missing root