A dental implant is a small titanium screw placed in the jawbone where a tooth root used to be. Over the following months the bone grows tightly onto its surface, and once that has happened the implant can carry a crown that looks and works like a tooth. Unlike a bridge, it doesn’t need the teeth on either side to be filed down, and because it loads the bone when you chew, it slows the bone loss that follows a missing tooth.
Who it’s for
Implants suit adults who have lost one tooth, several teeth or all of them, and who have enough healthy bone to hold the implant, or can have bone added. The jaw has to have stopped growing, so the lower age limit is about 17 or 18. There is no upper limit; general health matters more than age.
Some things need to be sorted out first or raise the risk:
- Gum disease. Active infection around your other teeth is treated before an implant is placed.
- Smoking. Smokers have a noticeably higher rate of implants that fail to fuse. Stopping for a few weeks either side of surgery helps.
- Uncontrolled diabetes, radiotherapy to the jaw, and some bone medicines (bisphosphonates and similar) change the plan or rule implants out. Tell us about every medicine you take.
How it’s done
On your first day you have an examination and a panoramic X-ray at the clinic, both free. A 3D scan (CBCT) is used to plan the implant position, so the dentist can see the height and width of the bone and keep clear of the nerve in the lower jaw and the sinus in the upper jaw.
Placement is done under local anaesthesia and takes about one to two hours for one or two implants. The gum is opened, a channel is prepared in the bone and the implant is fitted, then the gum is closed with a few stitches. In some cases a temporary tooth can be attached straight away; it depends on how firmly the implant sits in the bone.
The implant then heals for three to six months, usually less in the lower jaw than in the upper. On your second visit the dentist checks that it is stable, takes a scan or impression and fits the final crown. That visit takes five to seven days because the crown is made in the lab and tried in before it is fixed.
Before you travel
Send us a panoramic X-ray if you have a recent one, and a list of your medicines and any medical conditions. If you take blood thinners, don’t stop them on your own; we agree a plan with you and, if needed, with your doctor at home. Plan the return flight for at least two days after surgery, and keep in mind that you will need a second trip three to six months later.
Afterwards
Expect swelling and soreness for two to four days. Use cold packs on the first day, eat soft food on the other side, and don’t smoke. Keep the area clean with the rinse and the brushing routine you are given. Stay out of the sea, pools and saunas until the dentist says the wound has closed.
Once the crown is fitted, you clean it like a natural tooth, plus interdental brushes or floss around the implant. Regular check-ups and professional cleaning are what keep an implant healthy for many years.
Risks and alternatives
Most implants fuse without problems, but some don’t, particularly in smokers. A failed implant is removed and, after healing, usually replaced. Other risks are infection, bleeding, and in the lower jaw a small risk of numbness in the lip or chin if the nerve is irritated, which is why the position is planned on a scan. Years later, poor cleaning can cause peri-implantitis, an infection of the gum and bone around the implant.
The alternatives are a bridge, which needs the neighbouring teeth to be prepared for crowns; a removable partial denture; or leaving the gap, which is reasonable for some back teeth. Your plan sets out the options that apply to you, with the reasons.
Which option suits your teeth?
Send photos or an X-ray and we’ll write, tooth by tooth, what we recommend and why.
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