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What are dental implants?
Dental implants are used to restore missing teeth. They are root-shaped posts made of biocompatible Titanium that are inserted into the jaw bones to support various types of restorations.

Advantages over other prosthetic options:
-For patients who lost some of their teeth, Dental implants negate the need to prepare any of the adjacent sound teeth to receive a bridge replacing the missing tooth or teeth. And thus dental implants preserve the integrity of the remaining teeth.
-For patients who lost most or all of their teeth, dental implants are the only option if such patients require a fixed rather than a removable restoration. Fixed restorations are much well tolerated and better looking than removable ones.

Note preparation of teeth to receive a fixed bridge

Do they really work?
Dental implants have a worldwide success rate of 99.5 %, so they do workâ€¦

How do they work?
Dental implants being made out of biocompatible Titanium undergo a process of â€œosseointegrationâ€ with the bone in which they are inserted. Simply speaking this means that the implant is rigidly anchored inside its surrounding bone and so they behave to more or less as one unit. This ensures a long lasting problem-free functioning of the dental implant if properly maintained.
Osseointegration normally requires from 3-6 months to occur depending on the type and quality of bone in which implants were inserted.

How are they placed?
It is a very simple procedure of drilling a hole through the bone and screwing the implant in place. In most cases, the procedure is straight forward and can easily be done under local anesthesia. We only opt to place dental implants under sedation or general anesthesia in the following conditions:

-Upon the patientâ€™s request.
-If multiple implants are to be placed simultaneously in both arches that such a long procedure would be tiresome to our patients.
-In the few cases where there is insufficient bone to receive dental implants and ensure a good prognosis for them, we might need to perform some bone regenerative procedures (please refer to the section below) and some of these might need to be carried out under general anesthesia.

Implant Drilling Implant Placement

Do I have to have my gums cut open to receive dental implants?
In selected cases, we can drill for implants through the mucosa so there are no cuts what so ever. This is particularly true when we use computer-guided techniques to plan for implant placement (please refer to computer-guided implant placement below)

When do I receive my final restoration?
This is variable. In some cases, you can receive your final restoration immediately after placing your implant in what is known as â€œimmediate loadingâ€, yet this depends on the bone quality and the planned type and span of the restoration.
Otherwise, normally you can receive your restoration 3-4 months after implantation in the lower jaw and 5-6 months following implantation in the upper jaw.
In the few cases where a bone regenerative procedure is needed, you might need a longer time before proper â€œosseointegrationâ€ is achieved and then you can receive your final restoration.

Does this mean I will have to remain a few months with my teeth missing?
Patients who are not candidate for â€œimmediate loadingâ€ can usually receive some kind of a temporary restoration until it is time for the final one.

What about â€œimmediate implantsâ€?
If a tooth is non-restorable, you do not have to wait until your bone heals before receiving your dental implant. In most cases, an implant can be placed at the same time that the tooth is extracted in what is known as â€œimmediate implantsâ€.

Bone regenerative procedures:
These are a group of various surgical procedures that might be needed to restore enough bone width and height to receive dental implants and ensure proper function, esthetics and longevity.
A variety of such procedures are available such as maxillary sinus lifting, guided tissue regeneration (GTR), onlay grafting and ridge splitting.
Such procedures can be carried out with simultaneous implant placement or as a separate surgery before inserting implants according to the case.
Also the choice of whether to go for local or general anesthesia depends upon the technique to be used and the size of the defect to be augmented.

Computer-guided implant placement:
In our quest to constantly update our facilities and obtain the latest technological advances, we are now able to offer you utmost precision in implant planning and insertion using computer-guided techniques.
The idea is based upon obtaining computed tomography (CT) radiographic image of the jaw bones and importing it into special software that converts it into a 3D model. On the 3D model, implants can be planned very accurately in their optimal desired positions yet avoiding any injury to vital structures such as the inferior dental nerve or the maxillary sinus. The virtual planned implant positions can be accurately replicated in the surgical setting using a computer-generated guide.
Advantages of computer-guided over conventional implant placement techniques are:

-Direct visualization of the jaw bones and the structures inside allow for very accurate implant placement for an optimally functioning and esthetically pleasing restoration, yet still avoiding any possible complications such as nerve injuries or maxillary sinus perforations.
-The patient can easily visualize and understand the proposed treatment plan and interact with us regarding his different thoughts and queries.