Dental implants boast a high success rate of 95% and complete compliance with post-surgery care will largely affect the chances of the implants being a success.

The artificial teeth are placed in the mouth through the gums and they are available in different forms including crowns, dentures and implant-supported bridges. The procedures have proven to be the best way to ensure completely normal functionality in the mouth after the loss of natural teeth and are usually the only logical and trustworthy form of prosthetic dentistry. The price of fitting dental implants is reasonable, with high success rates and good longevity. But what makes them so effective and how do they work?

How long does the procedure take?

Placing the dental implants into the mouth will usually take around 30-45 minutes per implant while the follow up procedure that uncovers the implants will take approximately an hour. The healing process can take anything from 3 to 9 months and will largely depend on your personal health along with the quality of the bone in which the dental implants are attached. Much in the same way the time scale for fixing a broken arm varies person by person; the same principles can be applied to the healing time scale for dental implant patients.

Are they a perfect fit?

Dental implants will feel exactly like your natural teeth and are 100% functional if they are fitted by an expert. They are completely indistinguishable from natural teeth making them so appealing. Dental implants are the most successful way to restore a fully functioning mouth when one suffers from the loss of natural teeth and are completely comfortable to wear. In fact, after a few months it will be impossible to tell the difference between your natural teeth and your new prosthetic ones.

Once the healing process is complete, dental implant patients claim they can no longer tell which teeth are natural and which are prosthetic as they look and feel exactly the same; they are by far the most popular way to restore a mouth back to its natural state.

How is a dental implant fitted?

There are different ways to fit an implant from going under a general anesthetic as an outpatient through to intravenous sedation, local anesthetic, oral conscious sedation or nitrous oxide sedation. How you have your implant fitted will depend on your health and quality of your mouth as well as how many implants you require.

What are the advantages of dental implants?

1. They act as a confidence booster

2. They are reliable

3. They are comfortable and look identical to natural teeth

4. They are strong and sturdy

When you lose teeth it can mean some loss in self confidence as you may think twice about smiling, laughing or talking through fear of showing the gaps in your teeth. With dental implants you will feel a renewed confidence and you will be able to eat, speak and laugh without worrying about exposing your set of teeth. Implants can last for many years if they are maintained properly with their reliability and functionality being a motivating factor for many people. Unlike dentures, dental implants are sturdy and will not slip out of your mouth when eating harder foods such as apples.