When you have missing teeth as an adult, you will undoubtedly be looking for a way to resolve the issue with a permanent solution that will look and feel just like your real teeth.
Thanks to advances in dental prosthetics, this is now possible and achievable at most dental surgeries across the country.
And the process is known as an oral implant
Fitted by our team at Ipswich Dental Surgery, dental implants in Ipswich have been a game-changer for many of our patients. They look and feel just like real teeth and they add back bite strength that may have been lost due to missing teeth, and, unlike other kinds of restorative dental care, oral implants do not move. Perfect!
But before you rush off to book yourself in for an appointment with our team, you may have some questions about dental implants in Ipswich. In this article, our team aims to answer 5 of the most common queries we receive about this treatment.
Who is suitable for oral implants?
You may be worried that you are not suitable to have dental implants in Ipswich. However, in our experience, most people who have a missing tooth or teeth are indeed suited for this procedure.
You need to be over the age of 18 years old, have good oral health (so no decay or gum disease) and also need to have good general health. Some conditions can make the fitting of an oral implant tricky such as osteoporosis, poorly managed diabetes or autoimmune conditions.
For more advice on contraindicated health conditions, talk to our team.
Do they hurt when they are fitted?
In short, no, oral implants do not hurt when they are fitted, primarily because our team will ensure the area is numbed with a local anaesthetic!
But once you are at home, you may have concerns that the discomfort will be excessive. However, in talking to our patients who have had this procedure, many have described the sensation as no worse than having a dental extraction, which should be easy to mitigate with over-the-counter pain relief.
If after the fitting of an implant you notice excessive discomfort, then please contact our team right away.
How do I care for them at home?
After the implant has been fitted and is fusing with your jaw, you will need to keep the site clean to reduce the chances of infection. So, until the gums have settled following surgery, we recommend keeping the area clean using salt water. Refrain from eating spicy foods or hard foods which can cause inflammation to worsen or may put pressure on the fusing implant.
Once the implants have fused and the prosthetics are fitted, you will care for them as you would your natural teeth by brushing them twice a day, flossing and attending biannual check-ups with our team.
Isn’t the process long?
The period from having an implant secured to having a prosthetic fitted varies from around 3 to 6 months depending on the patient’s age and rate of osseointegration. If 12 months after the implant has been fitted there are no signs of fusing, we will consider the treatment a failure and will look into other restoration options.
How long do they last?
With correct aftercare, oral implants can easily last up to and over 15 years, but if you have concerns that your implants are falling out prematurely, contact our team.
