Choose a fixed, long-lasting solution:
Lost a single tooth to trauma or had an extraction because of decay or gum disease?
Target several missing adjacent teeth to anchor life-like prosthetic teeth for up to 30 years.
Have missing teeth in a row? Save money by using dental implant bridges over individual placement.
Life-changing rehabilitation (fixed & removable options) targeting total tooth loss.
Explore All-on-4 or zygomatic implants.
Full Mouth | Zygomatic | Mini Implants
Determine which will benefit your tooth loss case the best.
Have you lost a tooth due to problems like gum disease or extensive tooth decay leading to tooth extraction? Or perhaps a tooth has been knocked out in a sporting injury or accident? Single implants act as natural tooth roots and are used as an alternative to flippers and partial dentures. More.
Patients can get deals on multiple implants rather than using single implants to close each gap. However, saving money will depend if your missing teeth are in a row or not. More.
Are you looking to replace regular bridgework as your oral health has deteriorated? Or perhaps you’re searching for an alternative yet cost-effective way to replace missing teeth? More.
Are you looking to replace regular bridgework as your oral health has deteriorated? Or perhaps you’re on the search for an alternative yet cost-effective way to replace missing teeth? More.
Here at Mint Dental, we go the extra mile to ensure that we offer our patients a wide variety of recognised and accepted procedures that can help them combine traditional treatments with more innovative solutions.
For example, we can offer implant-based systems, like implant dentures or bridges, that can help you replace your missing teeth using more cost-effective approaches. See implants vs bridgework.
How do modern implant treatments compare to traditional tooth replacement methods?
Dental bridges and dentures (partial or full) have traditionally been the standard go-to for teeth replacement.
And whilst they are often successful at closing gaps in the mouth, they are not always the best recommendation to promote strong oral health in the future.
For example, dentures encourage bone loss in the jaw, as it only masks the problem of missing teeth rather than solve the issue as dental implants do.
On top of this, bridgework has been known to encourage bone loss and decay of neighbouring teeth.
They also require the neighbouring teeth, which are otherwise healthy, to have crowns placed on top, which will lead to failure of these in the future.
As restorative dentists, we encourage our patients to decide based on dental advice following a consultation. However, it never hurts to have all the information on the two tooth replacement methods and how they compare against each other.
Tooth loss is a very serious condition, and it’s not a situation you should take lightly. When you ignore gaps in the mouth for more than six months, there is a higher likelihood that you may face complications like bone loss that might interfere with receiving implant surgery.
Truthfully, when you lose a tooth, more pressure is added to the neighbouring teeth that have to bear the load. This can lead to the breakdown and failure of these teeth, therefore needing further treatment and possible replacement.
Further, when missing teeth are ignored, the mouth’s condition will become unstable, leading to facial changes and potential further tooth loss.
Sadly, the bone does not grow back; once it’s gone, it’s gone – all we can do as dentists is to place a bone graft to help increase the bone in the depleted areas.
Bone graft surgery will help to make the implant sit more securely and prevent the likelihood of failure. Facts about missing teeth.
Bone grafting and sinus lifts or augmentations might also be necessary. It will make implant surgery possible as it increases the amount of bone placed in the upper jaw, where an implant can be placed securely.
Whilst pre-implant procedures like bone grafts and sinus lifts allow patients to become good candidates again for implant surgery, they cause further delays as we have to wait for the mouth to heal sufficiently before placing your implants, which often come with a three-month healing time. More on osseointegration and healing stages.
The only process that causes some post-treatment soreness is the inserting of the actual implant.
Surgery is undertaken with anaesthetic, and the process is not painful.
However, afterwards, there is some discomfort and gum ache. This should pass after 24-48 hours and is often described as a dull ache around the implant. Most patients are at work the next day.
How painful is a dental implant?
We supply Ibuprofen which 9/10 patients report is sufficient for the pain level.
Should you be in any discomfort post-implant surgery, please telephone the practice and we will see you the same day.
Dental implants, when properly cared for, can last a very long time. That said, they will not require special care or maintenance.
All you will need to do is care for your implants like normal, regular teeth, and thus follow the standard, recommended oral hygiene routine of brushing and flossing.
The first stage of an implant procedure is often a dental consultation, where a general overview and assessment of your oral health is carried out – this might include x-rays and scans of your teeth and jaw.
During this stage, we will be able to determine whether you have a sufficient bone density in your jaw, indicating whether your jaw is strong and stable enough to support an implant.
Your second appointment with us will be your implant surgery, which is often reported to be pain-free.
However, patients should expect, with any surgery, to feel some slight discomfort following the procedure. But please note that this is soon alleviated in a few days and made manageable with over-the-counter medications.
Following the second stage, and depending on which implant treatment you opt for, you might have undergone a period of healing called osseointegration, which usually takes three or so months.
Once the implant has fused successfully with the jaw bone, we can place your crowns and complete your smile transformation.
As your local restorative implant experts, our team are often the most sought-after implant dentists in the area, which can be attributed to their high success rates, impressive reviews and years of experience within the implant dentistry field.
With 295+ Google reviews and growing, our dental practice is rated one of the best in the South East London area.
