If you could have anything you wanted to replace your lost teeth, wouldn’t you choose more natural teeth? Of course, you would. Why is that? Is it because they look better, chew better, stay put better and are easier to take care of than prosthetic teeth? Well that might have been the case once, but not anymore. Now you can choose something that mimics your lost teeth so closely that you may forget that they are not natural. And for sure, no one else will be able to tell they are replacements. These are dental implants in Orpington.

At Orpington Dental Care, we have been using dental implants in Orpington to replace lost teeth for quite some time now, and even we are still delighted every time we put them in for one of our patients.

Eat what you like again

We know that before too long, you will be back to eating all sorts of delicious crunchy or chewy delights. The kind of thing you don’t miss until you can’t have it anymore, like being able to bite into a crisp, fresh apple without fear of leaving your teeth behind in it. Or being able to order your favourite steak in a restaurant rather than having to settle for a cottage pie.

How dental implants in Orpington work

The actual implant bit is a tapered post, often screw-shaped that we insert into a channel in your jawbone. We do this under local anaesthetic, having carefully drilled the channel to avoid all blood vessels and nerves. The implant has an internal screw.

We leave the implant to heal for a few months. During this time the titanium implant triggers the jawbone to grow new tissue all over it, which holds it firmly in place, like a natural tooth.

Once this is done, we put a connecting device called an abutment into the implant and add your custom-made replacement crowns on top. One implant can hold up to three crowns on a bridge.

If you would like to have dental implants in Orpington, please book a consultation with us. This will involve checks to see if your jawbone is strong enough.

Eating is one of life’s fundamental pleasures, and so to have to steer clear of various foods because your teeth can’t cope with them can be terribly sad. That can be the case with some methods of tooth replacement, such as dentures, which do not have the chewing power of natural teeth. There is one method of tooth replacement that allows people to continue to have complete freedom in their food choices and that is dental implants.

At Orpington Dental Practice, we can fit dental implants in Orpington to replace one, a few or an entire arch of lost teeth. The reason that they are so great at their job is because dental implants are embedded into the jawbone rather than adhering to the gum as dentures do or relying on neighbouring teeth to be used as buttresses as bridges do. Dental implants give 100% of the chewing power of natural teeth.

The science bit: how dental implants work

Dental implants are small titanium posts that are tapered to resemble tooth roots and also often screw shaped. The dentist puts them into the bone after opening up the gum and carefully drilling a channel into which to put them. Once they are in place, the gum is replaced and the implants left to integrate with the bone, which takes 2–6 months. During this time, the titanium catalyses new bone growth over its surface and this is what holds the implant in place so well. Once this process has completed, you come back to us and we fit a connecting piece into the implant and attach the replacement crown on top.

The crowns are handmade by skilled technicians to blend in with your natural teeth. Or, if you are having all your teeth replaced, to resemble the ones you have lost.

Maintenance

Looking after dental implants is easy. All it takes is a diligent oral health routine of twice-daily brushing with a fluoride toothpaste, plus careful flossing. Gum disease is the enemy of implants and it is important to keep it at bay because if gum disease gets as far as attacking the bone, it can loosen the implants and cause them to fall out.

 

At Orpington Dental Care, we want to make sure that we cover all the bases when we are preparing you for dental implants in Orpington. While you are the best source of information about your needs, we have experience in examining patients preparing to undergo this kind of treatment. Together we can ensure that you are ready to go ahead and that you will have a smooth and positive treatment experience with dental implants in Orpington.

What do they look like?

Dental implants in Orpington involves dental equipment that is going to help replace your teeth and is going to become a part of you. It’s only natural, therefore, to wonder what it looks like, feels like and what its made of. We can satisfy your curiosity and help to understand the procedure better by showing you dental implants at Orpington Dental Care.

You will be able to hold a dental implant between your thumb and first finger. It’s quite small with a base that is shaped like a screw and made from titanium. There will be an abutment on top which is the area that attaches the implant to your choice of prosthetic. If you are having a single tooth replaced, this will be a crown and, if you are having multiple teeth replaced, it could be with a bridge or denture.

What do you need to know about them?

There are plenty of nuances when it comes to a dental implant treatment. Most of what you need to know are the facts that reassure you that dental implants are secure, functional and that they look great. We can explain these to you when you have an appointment at Orpington Dental Care.

How do they feel?

Once your treatment is complete, your dental implants should feel close to natural teeth. For the most part, you won’t have to think about the fact that you have dental implants.

If you have a solution such as implant-retained dentures, you will still be able to take your teeth in and out, so you will still need to think about cleaning them in this way.

We can talk you through what your experience of dental implants will be like.

If the gaps in your smile are getting you down, dental implants in Orpington are here to save the day. They are a heroic method of tooth replacement that will have you feeling full-powered again in no time. It may seem easier to just let go of your teeth or imagine that you will never have a fully-functional set of teeth again, but the truth is that dental implants can give you that.

At Orpington Dental Care, we love getting a bit over-excited about the benefits of dental implants. In Orpington, at our clinic, they are one of our favourite methods of tooth replacement. There are ways to get some level of dental function back without implants, but not that many that offer the entire package.

Why are dental implants in Orpington so awesome?

The patient experience is paramount at Orpington Dental Care. If you are experiencing great treatment results that make you happier, we have done our job correctly. Dental implants in Orpington help us to achieve this goal readily. When you have your teeth replaced with this method you will experience these excellent qualities:

• Stability – dental implants don’t slip and slide around. They are as firm as normal teeth as long as they are well cared for. Implants offer support to any remaining teeth that are either side of the gaps as well, so they do not shift around like they can when gaps are present;
• Functionality – because of the stability of dental implants, functionality follows closely behind. They are fully integrated into the body’s structure, so they move like normal teeth without the need for any fancy techniques or concern about them not being up to the task at hand;
• Aesthetics – dental implants should be nearly indistinguishable from the surrounding teeth to the casual observer. They also support the fullness of the face in the same way that teeth do, which avoids the tendency towards a sunken appearance that is a hazard of other tooth replacement methods.

These are just a taster of the benefits available when you are using dental implants in Orpington. We look forward to giving you more details when we see you.

When you lose one or more teeth, your oral health can take a turn for the worse. There’ll be an unsightly gap in your smile, and your remaining teeth will be under more strain. Eating food can become an uncomfortable experience. In Orpington, dental implants from Orpington Dental Care are a powerful solution to the difficulties caused by missing teeth. We have years of experience in using dental implants to restore dental function and aesthetic balance.

The process of having dental implants in Orpington

Firstly, we’ll book you in for a consultation. At our friendly dental practice, we can assess your oral health and take some meticulous measurements of your teeth. You’ll need sufficient jawbone density before you can receive the implants, and some preliminary work might be necessary before we start the next stage.

You’ll then receive your Orpington dental implants in a minor surgical procedure, during which our dentist places small, screw-like posts into your jawbone. After a period of healing, you’ll come back to the practice to have your new teeth affixed to the posts.

Many advantages

Having dental implants in Orpington will bring you several oral health benefits:

• A secure mesh forms between your jawbone and the implanted posts, which means your teeth are securely anchored in your mouth. You can thus enjoy biting into and chewing your favourite foods, without worrying about the teeth falling out;
• The implants are easy to clean. They stay in your mouth like natural teeth, and you won’t need to fiddle with clips or adhesives;
• The implants help you to keep the integrity of your facial bone structure, so you won’t develop the sunken look associated with long-term tooth loss;
• Your smile will be much more visually appealing;
• You might find certain words and phrases easier to pronounce, which boosts the overall fluency of your speech.

Improved outlook

We can use dental implants in Orpington to restore any number of lost teeth. Whether you’ve had a single one knocked out while playing sports, or you’ve lost a whole set to tooth decay, we can give you back what you’ve been missing. This treatment will restore your dental function and improve your overall quality of life.

The trouble with losing your teeth is that the replacements can mean a serious change to your diet, and a lot more hassle, inconvenience and potential embarrassment.

If you are at an age when your teeth are beginning to fail, you may be wondering what steps to take to replace them. Perhaps your teeth have had so many fillings over the years and now they just can’t withstand the pressure of chewing anymore. Or perhaps gum disease is finally causing them to come loose in their sockets.

Whatever the reason, the result is the same, and the solution could be either a fixed bridge, full or partial dentures, or dental implants in Orpington.

Here at Orpington Dental Care, we have seen how dental implants, which seem new but have actually been around for more than 30 years, can help people maintain bone health, their nutritious diets and their youthful looks. Here’s how:

Bone health

Dental implants are replacement tooth roots and having something embedded in your jawbone that vibrates a tiny bit every time your teeth come together reminds your jawbone that it is still in use. These reminders stop the bone dissolving itself, shrinking in size and losing density.

Nutritious diet

Dental implants in Orpington can withstand chewing forces more powerful than the average male chew, so you can carry on eating all those great foods you love: apples, nuts, raw vegetables, steaks and so on; foods that provide essential fibre and nutrients for your overall and digestive health. Other tooth replacements, such as dentures, only offer about a quarter of the chewing power you need and mean that you will have to be confined to a soft food diet for the rest of your life.

Youthful looks

No one wants to look older than they are, but if you lose all your teeth and do not replace the roots, it’s inevitable that you will. As mentioned above, your jawbone will resorb and no longer provide the strong framework for your cheeks, which will collapse inwards. Also, you will develop a pointy chin that is nearer to your nose than it used to be. These are actually symptoms of tooth loss but are perceived as being related to age.

Are you in the market for replacement teeth? Perhaps you have lost some in an accident, or yours are beginning to fail. Whatever the reason for needing new teeth, the method of replacement that you choose can affect your quality of life for the rest of your life. If you care about having teeth that behave just like the ones you have lost, then you need dental implants in Orpington.

Here at Orpington Dental Care, we regularly see first-hand what a difference dental implants in Orpington make to the quality of life for our patients. People who have had dentures or had teeth that didn’t work very well, are amazed at how much easier eating, speaking and laughing become when they have dental implants to stabilise their crowns.

Why are dental implants different?

The major difference between dental implants in Orpington and the other two methods of tooth replacement (dentures and fixed bridgework) is that dental implants replace the roots of the teeth as well as the crowns. Dentures rely on adherence to the gums for their stability, and bridges are attached to neighbouring teeth and use their roots for stability.

Both of these other methods have disadvantages. Dentures can only provide about a quarter of the stability of natural teeth. This means there will be all sorts of foods you will no longer be able to eat, particularly chewy or crunchy foods. Bridges offer much more stability but using neighbouring teeth as buttresses means they have to be ground down to be covered by buttress crowns and can no longer operate as natural teeth in their own right. In effect, you lose two good teeth to replace one or two missing teeth.

Dental implants, on the other hand, are embedded into carefully drilled channels in your jawbone, where, over a period of several weeks, they integrate with your bone tissue to become as securely held in place as your natural teeth and are able to sustain chewing forces of up to 97kg or 200lbs, which is more than the average male chew.

To find out if you are a suitable candidate for dental implants in Orpington, come in for a consultation with our implant dentist.

Perhaps you have lost one, or a number of teeth and are wondering what the best route forward is. This can be a daunting and confusing time as there are a number of options available for replacing missing teeth. Now is the time to consider dental implants in Orpington.

Here at Orpington Dental Care, our friendly team can advise you on the best solution. With missing teeth, usually the most reliable and healthy option will be dental implants. These really are the next best thing to your own healthy, natural teeth. They are stable and strong when looked after well and your body will actually adopt the implants as if they were your own teeth.

Dental implants are a reliable solution

For patients in Orpington, dental implants are a popular and reliable solution to missing teeth that look, feel, fit and function like your own original teeth. In the long run, alternative options, for example, dentures or bridges, can lead to face-altering bone deterioration. As you can imagine, this commonly interferes with eating, smiling, speaking and other activities of everyday life.

Here in Orpington, dental implants are our first recommendation for replacing lost teeth. They allow you to enjoy your life without worrying about your teeth. What more could you ask for from a tooth replacement solution? Forget the idea of removable dentures or tooth-supported replacement teeth. These traditional alternatives can loosen and even fall out when you talk, eat or laugh. Dental implant technology today allows you to have a better standard of tooth replacement. One that can let you lead your life without fear of embarrassment.

Dental implants protect your jawbone

Did you know that some tooth replacement options have the side effect of allowing your appearance to change over time? When your natural tooth is lost, your jawbone knows and reacts. Loss of vibrations and stimulation from chewing mean that your jawbone has no work to do. The bone will gradually deteriorate and shrink without essential stimulation. Dental implants actually protect your jawbone. They stimulate your jawbone, actually helping to maintain bone growth and prevent loss. Give is a call to find out how we can help you.

We all wish for a healthy and beautiful smile, but most people experience tooth loss at some point in their life. Missing teeth not only affect the way you look, but can also leave the surrounding teeth in your mouth vulnerable to other dental problems, including further tooth loss. Luckily, dental implants are a solution if you are missing one or more teeth.

At Orpington Dental, dental implants are our preferred choice of treatment for tooth loss. This is because, unlike conventional dentures and bridges, dental implants replace the missing tooth roots and create a strong and stable foundation for replacement teeth.

How are dental implants used?

Dental implants are small, screw-shaped, titanium posts, which are surgically embedded into the jawbone. Once they are in place, they are used as anchors for artificial teeth. The restorations used with dental implants include dental crowns, dental bridges, and dentures.

Crowns are ideal for patients who wish to replace only one missing tooth. They are attached to the dental implants through an abutment, a connecting fixture that joins the implant and the crown. Crowns are commonly made of porcelain or composite materials and they are customised to match the colour of your natural teeth.

Dental bridges are used for groups of two or three missing teeth in a row. A bridge consists of two crowns, which are secured to dental implants on either side of the gap. The central piece of a dental bridge looks like your natural teeth but is made of one solid piece.

Last but not least, implant-supported dentures are securely attached to strategically placed dental implant posts through special fixtures. Implant-supported dentures are stable and do not require the use of dental adhesives. This treatment is a great and cost-effective option for patients who are missing all of their teeth.

Restore your oral health and function

If you have one or several missing teeth, do not let them compromise your health and quality of life. If you can benefit from dental implants, our experienced dentists will examine your teeth thoroughly and create a customised plan for your dental needs. To learn more about dental implants in Orpington, schedule an appointment today.

Missing teeth can have the potential of bringing down your mood, making you feel self-conscious, being afraid to smile, becoming less sociable and losing the confidence to speak in public. If any or all of these apply to you then don’t hold back any longer in turning your life around, just make yourself an appointment for dental implants in Orpington. At Orpington Dental Care, we can help you feel confident again.

Benefits of dental implants in Orpington

Dental implants are a long-lasting fixture which look, feel and function like normal teeth, so after a while you will not even realise you have had them inserted. There is no need for removal when cleaning or eating or sleeping. There is no chance of any embarrassing accidents and if you practice a continuous thorough dental hygiene routine, then your dental implants will last for many, many years.

Missing teeth can deteriorate the strength of your jawbone. It is a common condition called jawbone absorption. Dental implants are the only tooth replacement procedure thatstrengthens your jawbone over time. With all this in mind, it is no wonder dental implants are a popular choice for patients deciding on which tooth replacement procedure to go for.

How do dental implants work?

At our practice in Orpington, dental implants are inserted during a quick surgical procedure. They are basically a copy of the natural root of a tooth. Initially there will be a tiny titanium screw inserted into the jawbone which will then over time fuse with the bone causing it to strengthen. Your new tooth or teeth can either be added straight away or, depending on the assessment of your mouth and jawbone, may be added at a later date after the jawbone has been given time to heal. It is possible to insert a single new tooth, several teeth or even anupper or lower arch set of teeth. The implant treatment may sound daunting but in fact it is a straightforward procedure. We can assure you that we will endeavour to make you as relaxed and comfortable as possible during the treatment.