If you are thinking of having a Dental Implant procedure to replace a missing tooth, it can often be daunting and confusing. Here at Carillon Dental Care, we want to make sure you know exactly what is happening and I will outline a typical implant journey below.
Tooth Implant – Quick Summary
- Preparation/Diagnostic phases
- Implant placement
- A 2-3 month healing period
- Restoration phase which takes approximately 4-6 weeks
Initial Consultation
At your initial consultation, we will sit together and discuss what it is you want to achieve, what initial questions you have and how we can help. This is simply the first step to find out what you as a patient will require to provide you with a healthy smile. We then move to the next stage.
Diagnostic Phase
Simply put, this is the part where we collect all the information we need in order to form a bespoke treatment plan that fits your needs. This is probably the most important step of the entire journey for both yourself and us.
We would assess your whole mouth to understand the status of your teeth, gums and what issues may be affecting your ability to chew, speak and smile. We want to make sure whatever treatment you have, it works in harmony with your whole mouth. We also take a full set of clinical photographs.
We will take x-rays which often involve a 3-D CBCT scan of your jaw. This allows us to plan exactly which type of implant will be best for you (there are loads!). Alongside this we will get models made of your teeth. We usually do this digitally with our Trios scanner.
With some technological wizardry, we can even merge the digital model of your teeth with the scan of your jaw to show you exactly where the implant and the tooth will be placed.
In some cases, we need more information and we will discuss this with you. With all the various elements of our planning, we can be very precise with how your implant journey will continue. By collecting all of this information we eliminate the chance of “surprises”.
We can discuss all the details with you. You can then ask as many questions as you like. If you aren’t happy with an aspect of the plan then we can work together to find an alternative. Once both of us are happy, we can move onwards in your implant journey.
Placement
So we have done all our planning, made sure you understand exactly what’s happening and discussed potential alternatives now it’s time to place the implant. In the vast majority of cases, the implant will not have a tooth attached to it at this point. The reason for this is simple, we want to make sure the implant heals. By burying the implant we give it the best chance of success.
When you come in for the surgery, we will again go through any queries and explain the process. Similar to a filling, we numb the area. Our nurses will then get you all ready for the procedure. We want to keep everything sterile so the room will look very different from what you would be used to with sterile drapes covering everything.
We will then proceed to place the implants which are broken up into lots of small steps, so you can have a break if you would like. Once we have completed the surgery, we will go through all the aftercare instructions and make sure you are feeling ok. Later on in the day, our team will call you to make sure you are ok. Usually, patients are fine to go back to work almost immediately but we will speak about this prior as every patient is different.
You will have some stitches placed for which you will come back 2 weeks later to have removed and to check the area is healing well.
Uncovering the Implant
Approximately 2-3 months after the placement we will check the implant to ensure it has healed and a healing cap will be placed to help shape the gums.
Dental Implant Scan
3 weeks after the healing cap is placed we will take a digital scan of the implant to allow our laboratory to fabricate a tooth to fit into the implant. We will then choose the shade of the tooth with you. The healing cap is put back on.
Implant crown fit
The crown takes about 2 weeks to be made, once we have it back we will show you how it looks, try it in to check how it fits and looks. Once we are both happy we will then proceed to permanently fix the crown to the implant. This is usually done by screwing the crown into the implant.
Reviews
Depending on our planning we will agree how often you need to come back to check on the dental implant, how well you are cleaning it etc. Usually, this is a minimum of twice a year but it can vary.
So there it is a whistle-stop tour of the implant journey. This can often vary depending on your individual needs. If you aren’t sure of anything then why not give us a call: 01509 219 699 or email: info@carillondentalcare.com or fill in our contact form and book in for your FREE initial consultation!
Written by Dr. Hemal Charadva, our Implant dentist & Clinical Lead.
