A dental implant is a medical grade titanium fixture that is placed gently into bone. When the bone has united with the implant, an impression can be taken in order to provide a crown which can then be connected to the implant. The crown is connected to the implant by means of an abutment. Dental implants are used to allow replacement of one or more missing teeth.

Implants can also be used to attach a denture and prevent any unwanted movement of the denture. The denture is removed only for cleaning.

Alternatively, up to 5 or 6 implants can be placed in an upper or lower jaw where all the teeth are missing. A fixed bridge is then attached to the implants to replace all the missing teeth. The fixed bridge remains in position and is not removed.

Remember, there is nothing as good as your own tooth, but when your own tooth cannot be restored predictably, or is missing, then the nicest option is to have an implant placed and subsequently restored with a crown. In this way the adjacent teeth do not have to be prepared or reduced, as would be the case if a bridge was being placed to replace the missing tooth.

In some cases, there will be insufficient bone to allow placement of the implant in the correct position while still having the implant surrounded by bone. In these cases we will place treated bone over the implant surface that is not covered by the patient's own bone. This treated bone acts as a scaffold which will eventually be replaced by the patient's own bone.

This is called bone augmentation or guided bone regeneration (GBR). Where a significant amount of bone is missing, GBR is provided as a single procedure and the implant is placed 6 months later when sufficient bone is present.

The fee for bone augmentation will be discussed at the initial assessment.