Missing or badly decayed teeth can affect more than just your appearance. Losing teeth could affect how you eat or speak and can have long-term effects as the surrounding teeth, your jaw and your facial muscles lose support.
If you want to replace teeth and restore your smile, dental implants are the next best thing to natural teeth. Implants can replace a single tooth or as many teeth as you need to, including all of your upper or lower teeth as an alternative to or support for dentures.
When you book a consultation with our dentists at Perth Dental Implant Centre, we’ll explain everything you need to know about the dental implant procedure so you can make an informed decision about whether implants are the right choice for you.
A dental implant is a titanium screw that is inserted into the jawbone in place of an absent tooth root. A ceramic tooth, bridge or removable denture is then attached to dental implants to hold it securely in place.
The dental implant procedure varies depending on how many teeth you want to replace and the type of replacement teeth used.
• Single missing tooth –replacing one individual tooth with an implant covered by a crown.
• Several missing teeth –replacing two or more teeth side by side using two or more implants covered by a fixed bridge.
• Full mouth dental implants –replacing all of your upper or lower arches or both arches with a fixed (non-removable) tooth bridge supported by four or more dental implants per arch.
• Implant-retained dentures –placing two or more dental implants to support a removable full denture.
• Immediate dental implants –removing a single damaged or decayed tooth and replacing it with a dental implant and temporary crown on the same day. A permanent crown is later fitted in time.
At Perth Dental Implant Centre, we offer a choice of dental implant systems approved for use in Australia by the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA). These include MIS Implants and Nobel BioCare All-on-4® for full arch replacement using four or more implants.
Placing dental implants is a surgical treatment that involves a number of phases and several appointments with your dental surgeon. This following process is for single dental implant placement.
Dr Norcross will examine your teeth and gums, discuss your medical history and take a 3D cone beam scan and a digital impression of your bite. These records are used to produce a surgical guide that will help Dr Norcross precisely place the dental implant into in your jaw, avoiding sinuses and nerves that may be located close to teeth.
On the day of your surgery, your dental implant is placed using freehand or digitally guided keyhole surgery. 3D Guided implant surgery involves the dentist using a surgical guide to make an incision in the gum and carefully place the implant into the jaw bone. The implant is then left to heal under the gum or with a small metal cap or healing abutment. If you have chosen sleep dentistry for your surgery, you will sleep through treatment and wake with little to no recollection of the procedure.
Using 3D guided surgery offers a safer, more accurate and predictable outcome for your surgery. It also reduce treatment and healing time than procedures performed by freehand.
Dental implants need to be allowed time to fuse naturally with the jaw bone before we can place your final teeth. This can take between 3 and 6 months. We will place a temporary crown during this time. After two to three months, Dr Norcross will check that your jaw has properly healed before taking digital impressions for the dental lab to design your crown.
We arrange for your visit to the dental lab to meet our dental technician who will carefully craft and colour match your new crown to existing teeth.
Once your crown is ready, your abutment and crown are attached to the dental implant. We’ll check that it fits comfortably and make any adjustments necessary before attaching your new tooth and/or abutment securely to the implant.
We’ll show you how to care for your replacement teeth or dentures and will schedule a follow-up appointment after 6 months so we can check that your implant is performing well. Six months after your crown is fitted, you attend a follow-up appointment so Dr Norcross can check your dental implant and crown, then professionally clean and polish your teeth. It’s important to maintain good oral hygiene to prevent problems such as gum disease that may cause implants to fail.
Dental implants require a strong jaw bone for support. If your jaw is naturally smaller or the bone has deteriorated over time, a bone grafting procedure may be performed.
Bone grafting involves building up the jaw using transplanted or synthetic tissue. Like any surgical procedure, this involves clinical risks and may not be an option if you have certain health conditions.
Bone grafting may not be necessary if you are having full mouth implants such as All-on-4, as the placement of the implants require less support from the jaw.
Dental implant treatment in Australia has a high success rate (90–98% according to the Australian Dental Association), but your dentist will make sure you understand the possible risks before you agree to treatment.
Complications of implant surgery are rare, but can include infections and dental implant failure. These risks are increased if the patient continues to smoke, has a history of gum disease or peri-implantitis.
If you’re considering dental implants to restore your smile, book a consultation with Dr David Norcross at Perth Dental Implant Centre. We’ll let you know whether you’re eligible and what your options are.
Call 1300 108 133 to book at our Kelmscott or East Vic Park clinic or book online.
All of our dental implant solutions are tailor made & crafted to ensure they work in harmony with your smile and also complement your facial structure.
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