Frequently Asked Questions:

What is a Dental Implant?

A dental implant is an artificial tooth root made of titanium. It is placed in the position where the missing tooth used to be in the jaw bone and acts as an anchor for a new tooth or teeth. They behave like tooth roots by bonding to the underlying jaw bone. Dental implants should only be placed in a healthy mouth and thus it may be necessary to have other remedial treatment prior to commencing implant treatment. This may include control of gum disease and hygiene, root canal therapy and treatment of tooth decay.

Are Dental Implants safe?

Implants are made from titanium or titanium alloys and these are materials that have been thoroughly tested for many years to be inert and are easily accepted by the tissues of the body. There is no scientific evidence to suggest that titanium dental implants are not safe in any way.

There are always risks associated with surgery rather than the implants and these should be discussed with the implant surgeon prior to implant placement.

Millions of implants have been placed around the world and these people now enjoy the benefits that fixed teeth can provide including transforming a person’s confidence and improving their appearance.

Does the procedure hurt?

Placing an implant is a very gentle procedure and is usually done with local anaesthetic, much like when having a filling. If a patient is particularly nervous we offer a mild sedation to alleviate any anxiety and create drowsiness during the procedure. After implant placement most patients experience minor discomfort once the anaesthesia has worn off and this is usually controlled by simple painkillers. The level of discomfort is quite different from patient to patient, but most patients do not have significant problems.

What are the benefits of Dental Implants?

Teeth may be lost due to gum disease, injury such as a traumatic accident, previous surgery or failure of old dental treatment. If teeth are lost, implants placed in their place can help to arrest the inevitable gum and bone loss that occurs due to disuse of the residual jaw bone. Loss of the jaw bone can make people look older than they really are. Implants will help prevent these changes.

If single teeth or group of teeth are missing, implants can help replace these missing teeth without having to prepare and grind down the neighboring teeth thereby preserving natural teeth and maintaining their life.

Patients who wear removable partial dentures can have these replaced by fixed teeth using dental implants. This enables a better quality of life, confidence to smile and speak as well as an improved ability to eat a much wider range of foods. It’s like having your natural teeth back again!

Missing back teeth often cause loss of support for the facial muscles giving a ‘sagging’ effect. Back teeth can be replaced with implants thereby improving facial support to provide a more youthful appearance as well as making eating your favorite foods a pleasure again.

Patients with all their teeth missing can also benefit from dental implants. Implants can be used to support or to replace dentures altogether.

Am I a good candidate for Dental Implants?

Anyone who is in good health and has teeth missing is a suitable candidate for implant therapy. Age is not a limitation to implant treatment except that under 18s are not usually treated due to growth considerations. Patients with underlying medical conditions need to undergo a thorough medical examination with special attention paid to patients with conditions that affect the healing of bone and soft tissues.

There must be enough bone present to provide suitable anchorage for the implants. The implant surgeon can determine your suitability when he examines your mouth. A full medical history check is mandatory as are x-rays and models of the jaws. In some cases where the patient does not have enough bone density it may be necessary to perform bone grafting. The dental surgeon can advise you more fully about the suitability of implants and implant treatment options at your consultation.

How long will the treatment take?

This depends on the density of bone and the area into which the implants are placed.

Generally we wait 3-4 months before we place the permanent teeth. In some exceptional cases it is possible for us to fit the permanent teeth within two weeks. Each case is accessed thoroughly and the correct course of treatment advised.

Stage 1. At your first appointment the implants and temporary teeth will be placed and you will then need to return for a check up 2-3 days later.

Stage 2. You will return to the clinic after the advised length of time to have impressions made and your final appointment will be a minimum of 5 days later when you will have your permanent teeth fitted. It is possible for you to return for one day to have the impressions taken and return for one day at a date that is convenient for you to have the teeth fitted. This minimizes the length of time spent away from home and we even have appointments available on Saturdays if work leave is a problem.

Why have Dental Implants become so popular?

Due to the huge advances in medicine, we are living longer and longer and hence the need for permanent dental replacement becomes very important to our overall health. Dentures and removable bridges have obvious problems such as looseness, unstability and bulkiness. Implants can provide people with dental replacements that are both functional and aesthetic. Implants are not new, they have been around for many years. But within the last 20 years, they have become increasingly predictable and are now the most successful form of dentistry. Unfortunately the high costs in the UK have meant Dental Implants were not affordable for most people but now with the emergence of dental tourism first class dental treatments are now available to everybody.

What is a bone graft?

If there is insufficient bone for the placement of dental implants, it becomes necessary to ‘create’ the bone in this area prior to placing implants. This procedure of building up the bone is known as Bone Grafting. Bone grafting is a very common procedure in dentistry and it is used commonly for dental implants and in periodontal procedures around natural teeth.

In order to carry out bone grafting, we need a source of bone to place in the deficiency. A very common source of bone is bone taken from cadavers (irradiated bone). This bone is harvested under very strict supervision at several bone banks in the United States and it is used widely in many dental and medical procedures. There has never been a case of a transmitted disease with this type of bone. It is very safe and very useful in creating bone especially in the back of the upper jaw.

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Get the smile back that you deserve…

Dental Implants in Marbella – With many years experience in Dental Implant Technology our dental surgeons are able to offer our patients the convenience of Immediate Implants.

If you are about to lose a tooth, either due to trauma, decay or gum problems or you have had teeth missing for some time, our immediate implants enable you to leave the clinic with temporary teeth, allowing you to carry on with your life as normal.

There are many advantages to this technique:

  • Reduces the number of visits to the clinic
  • Re-establishes appearance, chewing function, taste and speech immediately
  • Minimally invasive surgery reduces recovery time significantly
  • Lower risk of infection as no cutting or stitches required

The minimal disruption to a patient’s life and the reduced post-surgical discomfort make this a valuable solution to anyone unfortunate enough to lose teeth.