Implants

Dental implants are one of the greatest and most revolutionary advancements in dentistry.

Dental implants are artificial roots that replace missing natural teeth. They transfer the load directly to the jaws, unlike a bridge that relies on remaining teeth to carry the forces.

When implants are used to replace missing teeth, the other natural teeth are not involved. They can be placed in most areas of the mouth where teeth are missing. Implants can work independently of each other, unlike other types of replacements which depend on several teeth for support.

The success rate for implants is in the 95-99% rate long term. Their success rate is so high that replacement with implants has become the treatment of choice in situations that used to involve complex dentistry on questionable teeth.


This lady was referred to me by a colleague, for implants. She had a fractured root on one of her teeth and two other teeth could not be restored.	I placed two implants that are supporting a three-unit bridge. She now has her smile restored and has avoided the need for a denture.


This patient had fractured the root of her upper canine. An implant was placed to replace the extracted root. This photo shows the healing abutment in place.	Once the implant had integrated, the healing abutment was replaced with a Zirconium abutment, which was shaped to support the replacement crown.	A porcelain crown was cemented over the abutment, restoring her pretty smile.

There are situations where the nearby teeth would benefit from crown treatment, and a missing tooth could easily be replaced by a bridge in this case, rather than an implant.
Certain locations can be more difficult for implant placement, like the upper back tooth replacement if the sinuses are involved, or the lower back tooth regions if the nerve is close to the surface.
Implants have a much higher failure rate in smokers. The success rate returns almost to normal in patients that have stopped smoking.