01 / 10 / 2024

Want A Permanent Fix For Tooth Loss? Choose Dental Implants

Before dental implants, tooth restoration for missing teeth was rather short-lived, patching up the issue temporarily, and certainly not restoring the tooth to a suitable standard for chewing and speaking.

Dental implants are the undisputed leader in tooth replacement, providing a tooth-like solution for lost teeth that has the potential to last for 30+ years, and for many people, the rest of their lives.

Before we discuss the lifespan of a dental implant and how to prolong it, here’s why implants still wear the crown for tooth replacement (excuse the crown pun!)

The key benefits of dental implants

• They’re the closest replacement you can get to a real tooth. Dental implants biomimick titanium tooth roots. They literally copy everything a real tooth root would do, such as allowing the jawbone to grow around it and take it on as a natural functioning part of the human anatomy – it doesn’t get more authentic than that!
• They are durable, lifelong solutions. Whilst there’s no cast-iron guarantee that your implant will be permanent, there are plenty of ways you can ensure that they stand the test of time.
• You’ll no longer experience feelings of embarrassment and self-consciousness around others because of having a visible gap in your smile.
• Implants prevent the drifting of the remaining teeth into the gap. This reduces the possibility of you needing orthodontic treatment with Invisalign to close the gap created and protects your facial structure. Leaving gaps in your teeth can alter the shape of the jawbone, creating hollowed areas across the face, which become susceptible to wrinkles and lines.
• You can carry out your normal brushing and flossing routine to take care of the implant. Unlike with dentures, you won’t have to remove your teeth to clean them or afford them any special care other than making sure you clean around the implant well with your dental floss.
• Helps you to speak normally and with clarity. Many patients find that any speech impediments they had developed as having missing teeth or loose dentures disappear when they have their new implant teeth screwed into place.
• Implants place no limitations on your diet. Whilst you will need to limit harder foods during the healing period, once your permanent implant teeth (crown, dentures or bridge) are in place, you’ll no longer have to think carefully about what you can and can’t eat – this is something our patients find most liberating about getting dental implants.
• Implants are a fully-fixed restoration in the jaw. They don’t wobble about when you’re eating or talking. This can remove a great deal of social and professional pressure in your day-to-day interactions when you’re around friends and colleagues.

How can I make sure my implants last as long as possible?

As we’ve mentioned above, there are no guarantees that implants will last a lifetime, but there are plenty of things you can do to maximise an implant’s lifespan:

Avoid gum disease

Implant teeth are still prone to gum disease, though this is a particular type of gum disease that affects only implants, known as peri-implantitis.

This inflammatory condition is the biggest reason why implants fail, and it can be easily avoided by:

• Reducing your alcohol intake.
• Quitting smoking and vaping (these dry out your mouth and limit the blood supply to the gums).
• Refraining from smoking and drinking alcohol together (the combination of the two increases your gum’s vulnerability to the carcinogens in cigarettes).
• Visiting the hygienist for regular tooth cleaning (implants accumulate plaque just like real teeth and plaque can still access the area below the gum if a periodontal pocket develops as a result of gum inflammation and erosion).
• Flossing thoroughly around your implant. If you’re struggling to use a particular type of dental floss, your dentist at Denpure can demonstrate how to use different types of flossers, such as regular dental floss, water flossers and TePe – it’s about finding the most comfortable and simple flossing method for you. Everyone is different and has varying levels of dexterity and mouth shape, which are factors that can influence which type of dental floss is easiest to use.

Having your implant dentistry performed by a reputable dentist

Implants vary in quality. Whilst there are world-respected brands with high success rates such as Straumann and Nobel Biocare, there are brands out there which do not adhere to the same high standards, and some dentists willing to use these. Travelling abroad to counties where dentistry standards are less regulated than in England and Wales places you at risk of receiving a low-quality implant that has a high likelihood of failing within years. In fact, we’ve seen several patients whose implants were fitted abroad in countries like Turkey that didn’t even make it past the healing stage.

Choosing a reputable implant dentist from the very beginning safeguards your oral health and the lifespan of your implant and saves you having to undergo re-treatment too.

Looking up ‘dental implants Uxbridge’ to make an appointment with us at Denpure

At Denpure, our dentists have performed thousands of implant cases – it’s what we do best.

Dr Santosh Makhijani has been carrying out implant cases since 2011 after, graduating with a 3 years post-graduate diploma from UCL in implant dentistry. Dr Santosh offers comprehensive implant solutions ranging from single implant to full arch implants, as well as bone regeneration for patients with very little of their own jawbone remaining. He has been working with Nobel Biocare implants, which are renowned for being the world’s most pioneering implant brand.

If you’ve been searching for ‘dental implants Uxbridge’ in Google, you’ll have seen us pop up, and we’re currently accepting new patients for implants.

We offer no-obligation consultations for implants, and our dentists will always be transparent about the limitations of treatment, and if you are the right fit for an implant.

We will only go ahead with implants once you are clinically suitable and a fully-costed treatment plan will be provided for your approval. Give our friendly reception team a call to book place for a dental implants consultation. 

We look forward to discussing the possibility of a brand new smile with you!