A guide to using dental implants for permanent tooth replacement

If you have lost one or more teeth, dental implants may already be on your radar. Of course, choosing implant treatment is a big decision, but at Aura Dental in North West London we believe it is one of the best you can make. We offer implant treatment to replace anything from one to all of your natural teeth.

Dental bridges and dentures have been used for many years to replace lost teeth, but the major issue with both these options is that they only replace the crown parts of the teeth. All natural teeth comprise crowns and roots, and when the root portions aren’t replaced, the jaw bone starts to resorb (shrink), making traditional dentures loose.

Traditional bridgework, meanwhile, relies on adjacent teeth to support one or two false ones. This puts more strain on these teeth and often necessitates the destruction of healthy tooth structure so that crowns can be placed.

Dental implants will fully support your new teeth, without any strain being put on your remaining teeth. Furthermore, because they are actually replacement tooth roots as opposed to replacement teeth, they will stop your jaw bone shrinking and will help to keep it healthy and strong.

Titanium is used to make dental implants, because it is highly compatible with human bodies. It is osteoconductive, meaning that it actively supports bone growth. Implants are placed directly in your jaw bone during minor oral surgery, which most patients at our North West London dental practice only require local anaesthetic for. As soon as they are in position, dental implants begin to integrate with your jaw bone in a process known as osseointegration.

It takes a few months for this process to complete, during which time you may have temporary teeth fitted. Once your teeth have integrated with your jaw bone, you will be called back to our North West London dental clinic to have your permanent teeth attached.

Aura Dental in North West London offers two options for implant treatment – a single implant and crown to replace one tooth, or a series of dental implants and a bridge to replace some to all of your teeth.