Himesh Patel provides a guide to dental implants
Do you want to have dental implants fitted but need a bit more information from a reliable source?
At Coptfold Dental, Himesh Patel dentist Coptfold has extensive experience in restoring patients’ smiles using this method and can answer any questions you have about them.
In this short guide, Himesh Patel dentist Coptfold breaks down what you need to know about oral implants, helping you decide whether they are right for you.
What are dental implants?
Dental implants are small, titanium screws that can be fitted to your jaw and allowed to fuse, acting as a synthetic root.
Once they have fused, Himesh Patel dentist Coptfold will fit a prosthetic tooth or teeth to them, allowing you to use them as you would your natural teeth.
Assessment
Before we can fit your dental implants, we will need to assess your suitability for them.
This will involve our team assessing the condition of your mouth and some x-rays being taken of your jaw.
The x-rays allow us to ascertain whether your jaw is thick enough to support oral implants. If it isn’t, don’t panic! We will still be able to restore your smile but may need to use prosthetics such as dentures or a fitted bridge.
Fitting
Depending on how many are being fitted, our team may decide to spread the fitting of your oral implants over a few appointments.
However, a typical oral implant fitting will usually involve our team numbing your gums and making some minor incisions. After we have exposed the area of the jaw where we are going to fit the implant, we will drill a small hole, assuming that there is not an already vacant socket.
We will then gently fit the implant to the jaw and sew the surrounding gum line back together, and thus, the implant is placed!
This process can take up to 2 hours for a single implant, so as mentioned earlier, we may decide to offer gaps in between appointments for more extensive fittings.
Prosthetics
Once the implants have fused to your jaw, we will fit the prosthetic tooth or teeth.
This is a fairly straightforward procedure and should take no longer than a single appointment. Once fitted, you can use them right away to bite into and chew food whilst also showing off your new, dazzling smile.
Remember that the prosthetic teeth will need the same care as your natural teeth, so be sure to minimise sugar, avoid smoking and keep them clean with brushing!
Aftercare
Once you have had your dental implants fitted and the prosthetics are firmly in place, you now need to begin looking after them.
This will involve daily brushing, flossing and caring for your gums and teeth with mouthwash. And, of course, you will need to see our team twice a year for checkups. This will allow us to be sure that your implants stay firmly in place and also check for signs of gum disease, which can cause premature failure of the implants.
If you suspect that your implants are coming loose or have any general concerns, please feel free to contact us as soon as possible.