While nothing we make can perfectly replace a healthy natural tooth, advancements in dental implant technology in recent years has helped to close that gap.  With these advancements, as well as becoming more affordable and accessible, dental implants have quickly become the gold standard of tooth replacement.  Dental implants are as close as we can get to replacing a natural tooth in terms of aesthetics, feel and function, and they help to support surrounding teeth, rather than cutting down and overloading surrounding teeth like a bridge.

 

Dental Implants | Kedron Family Dental

While there is a lot that goes into the treatment behind the scenes, the process of having a dental implant done is fairly straightforward.

  1. Consultation and assessment of the site. This is usually done through a clinical examination, as well as a 3-D Cone Beam x-ray. This allows one of our skilled implant dentists to assess the situation and plan the best approach and discuss whether additional measures such as building up some of the bone will be necessary.
  2. Depending on your specific case, there might be some things that need to be prepared prior to the appointment where the implant is placed.  This might include a surgical guide, a temporary denture, or a medication regime.  Planning and preparation are critical to the long-term success of a dental implant.
  3. Implant placement. Once everything is planned and ready to go, the implant is placed in a relatively simple procedure under local anaesthetic.  While it may seem a little scary, most patients report that the whole process, including recovery, is far more comfortable than expected.  Once the dental implant has been placed, it is usually followed by a 3 to 6 month healing phase to let the bone grow around the implant and lock it in place.
  4. Once the implant has healed and been locked in place, we will take an impression or a digital scan and have the crown made and inserted. The crown is usually inserted with a screw, meaning it is easy to remove down the road for maintenance should that be necessary.  Alternatively, if you ever needed to use it for a different purpose, for example if adjacent teeth were lost and you wanted to make it a bridge, the crown could be removed, and the implant utilized in other ways.

If you have a missing tooth or denture that you would like to replace, or would like more information, please don’t hesitate to give us a call on (07) 3379 1328. We do offer a free consultation for dental implants.