Is your mouth a suitable candidate for dental implants?

dental implant fitting
Many people can become quite low when they lose a tooth or two, or more. Suddenly they have gaps in their mouths, and are faced with having to wear artificial teeth for the rest of their lives. This is especially true if the person is young. This is the reality for young people who have lost teeth playing sports, or in other accidents.

The good news, however, is that artificial teeth no longer have to be fixed bridges or removable bridges or dentures, and they can replace the whole tooth and not just the crown.

Welcome to dental implants, the modern successor to removable false teeth. They are being fitted by more and more dentists, such as Adams Dental in North London. Dental implants are not suitable for everyone, however, so if you want them to replace your teeth, your first step is to go to a good dentist and find out if implants can be fitted into your jaw.

A strong jawbone is the main requirement for receiving dental implants. It needs to be strong enough to take having artificial sockets sculpted into it with the drill. The bone may have lost its density if the patient has been without natural teeth for some good while.

When the bone is missing its tooth roots, it can start to lose density and reduce in size. It can also lose density if the patient is a long-term smoker. However, even if the jawbone is not dense enough, the dentist may be able to help make it strong and dense enough to receive implants by performing a sinus lift or bone graft. This can add up to a year to the treatment process.

If you are a suitable candidate, then the dental implant procedure is often relatively simple. Artificial sockets are drilled into the jawbone, and the implants, tiny titanium posts, are inserted. This procedure is usually done under local anaesthetic; however, if you are at all anxious about visits to the dentist or this procedure, many dentists offer sedation to make the whole experience more relaxing and comfortable. The gums and bones heal over several weeks, and the implants fuse with new bone tissue, becoming increasingly well-secured in the jaw.

The patient then comes back to the dentist to be fitted with custom-made porcelain teeth that blend in with their own natural teeth.