Dental Implants FAQs

• It can treat cases untreatable with conventional methods of dental bridges and dentures.
• It prevents further resorption of the jawbone following tooth loss.
• It can perfectly restore chewing function.
• It avoids cutting down and overloading the natural teeth occurring with conventional means of replacing tooth loss.
• It helps restore a patient’s self-esteem and confidence since it gives the feeling of regaining the real teeth.
• It functions better than conventional dental bridges and dentures.
• It gives superior aesthetic results.

• You do not want to have your natural teeth cut down which is required in making your conventional dental bridge.
• You cannot wear or chew well with your denture.
• You cannot tolerate a denture in your mouth.
• You do not want to damage your remaining teeth from wearing a partial denture.
• You have lost your back teeth making it possible to construct a conventional dental bridge.
• You have a long toothless span, which is not indicated for making a conventional dental bridge.
• You want superior aesthetic results with your tooth replacements.
• You want the most effective way of restoring your chewing function.

The surgery can commence after thorough diagnosis and treatment planning. A recipient site of the same size and shape as the implant is created in the jawbone with drilling instruments. The implant is inserted into the site prepared. Usually, a healing period of 3 to 6 months is required for the jawbone to fuse with the implant. The jawbone has different densities in different areas – the denser the bone, the shorter the healing period. After this healing period, the prosthesis is constructed over the implant and the treatment is completed. Usually, a straightforward implant treatment takes about 4 to 7 months to complete. Longer periods are required for complex situation such as cases requiring bone grafting.

The operation will be performed under aseptic condition usually in a clinic with the proper facilities and conditions for dental implant surgery.

Local anesthesia is given for pain control during the operation. Intravenous can be given if necessary. Pain, which may occur after the operation, can be effectively controlled with dental medications. The prosthetic part of the implant treatment does not require anesthesia.

Modern dental implant treatment is highly successful, as a general guideline, the five-year success rate of dental implant is over 95% with the lower jaw(mandible) and about 90% with upper jaw(maxilla). The success rates may slowly decrease as the implant stays longer in function. In difficult cases, the success rates are expected to be lower. Despite the overall high success rates with dental implant treatment, there is still the possibility of failure, which can be contributed by various factors and conditions, such as poor healing power, poor bone quality, smoking and diabetes.