It is important that you look after your teeth carefully to avoid irreversible damage or missing teeth. To begin with you need to maintain a good dental hygiene routine at home from an early age. Young children need to be taught how to brush their teeth correctly, especially when their adult teeth begin to erupt. Young children also need to be taken to the dentist for regular check-ups to make sure that they are brushing properly, that their teeth are free of cavities, but also to nurture a good relationship with the dentist and to make sure that this continues into their adult life. A lot of people suffer from dental health complications, because although they maintain good dental hygiene at home they avoid the dentist and are unaware that cavities, tooth decay or gum disease may be developing in their mouth until it is too late. You need to visit the dentist at least once every six months and also have your teeth regularly cleaned by the dental hygienist to maintain healthy teeth and gums. If you visit your dentist at least once every six months then any abnormalities can be detected at an early stage, and treated effectively restoring the health of your teeth and gums. If you avoid the dentist then decay or disease can progress. This can cause irreversible damage resulting in wobbly teeth that will either fall out of their own accord or need to be extracted because either the symptoms are so bad or to prevent further damage.

Replacing missing teeth

If you have lost a tooth either as a result of poor dental hygiene or because you have avoided the dentist then you need to make sure that you find out about tooth replacement. Tooth replacement can help prevent more missing teeth and it can restore the function and appearance of your mouth that will have been lost as a result of missing teeth. One of the most popular methods of replacing missing teeth are dental implants Brentwood. Implants have been used for many decades and after continued research and development they are now the gold standard for replacing missing teeth. Oral implants can replace a single tooth, multiple teeth or even all of your teeth. The number of implants that you need will depend on how many teeth you are replacing. Your dentist will put together a customised treatment plan for you by carrying out diagnostic imaging including X-rays and an intraoral scan if necessary, to plan whether or not dental implants are suitable for you.

Are dental implants suitable for you?

To replace your teeth with dental implants you need healthy gums and alveolar bone. If you are suffering from gum disease then this will need to be treated before you can undergo dental implant surgery. If you are suffering from periodontal disease which cannot be treated, but can only be managed, then dental implants may not be suitable for you. But in this case your dentist will provide you with other tooth replacement options including more traditional options such as removable dentures. If you are suffering from bone decay as a result of the missing teeth then you may need to undergo a bone graft before you can have the surgery.

Dental implant surgery

Your dentist will decide what is best for you. If the dentist is happy that you are eligible for dental implants then the diagnostic imaging will be used to plan the surgery. This will include deciding how many implants you need, what size implants you need and how they will need to be positioned in your mouth for optimal results.

Dental implant surgery is an invasive procedure. It is carried out under local anaesthetic and other types of anaesthesia and sedation are available for nervous patients. The procedure itself can take approximately two hours, but this depends on how many implants you need to replace your teeth. The procedure involves making an incision in your gum to drill a small hole into the bone socket of your missing tooth. The implant will be placed into the hole and the gum will be stitched back into place over the implant so that it can heal. This healing process takes approximately four to six months after which the gum will be cut open once more to reveal the head of the implant which should now be fixed permanently into your jaw. An abutment will be attached to the head of the implant and a customised crown or a set of dentures can be fitted onto the abutment to replace your missing tooth or teeth. This will restore the function and appearance of your smile, and look and feel like your natural teeth. Speak to your dentist today to find out more.