Implant Dentistry.
Implant dentistry is the clinical practice in which titanium screws can be implanted into the jaw bone to provide an anchor to replace a missing tooth or teeth. In some cases, implants can be strategically placed to retain a bridge or dentures. Dental implants require a good volume and quality of bone to be placed into and can provide highly aesthetic and long-lasting restorative solutions for replacing missing teeth. They require precision in planning and placement for optimal outcomes, and like teeth require good care and maintenance to ensure a healthy and serviceable life.
I have extensive experience in the surgical placement of dental implants and their restoration using crowns, bridges and dentures. Some recent cases can be found below.
Case 1.
This young lady attended wanting to have a fixed replacement of her upper left lateral incisor tooth. This lady had a diagnosis of mild hypodontia, and as such her upper left lateral incisor tooth had failed to develop. Following the failure of a number of adhesive bridges, the decision was made to replace this tooth using an implant-retained crown. Following placement of the implant, the gums were contoured and shaped to provide a favourable and natural appearance by modifying the crown shape and morphology. In all such cases, I endeavour to develop the tooth replacement site such that we achieve the best aesthetics possible for that case.
Case 2.
The lady below attended having suffered the loss of a considerable number of teeth due to wear and tear, and due to some of the teeth having fractured as they were so heavily filled. She was unhappy with her upper denture and struggled to eat with it due to mobility. She was keen to explore a fixed option which did not require removal at night. As such, following comprehensive planning, six implants were placed in her upper arch with simultaneous bone grafting. Following a period of healing an aesthetic bridge for the upper arch was constructed. The interface between the bridge and gums was also designed to allow for easy access for cleaning to ensure that any infections or complications beneath the bridge could be kept to a minimum. I always endeavour to balance optimising aesthetics with providing the patient with a cleansible, hygienic and long-lasting prosthesis.
Case 3.
This gentleman attended having suffered a road traffic accident. In addition to three fractures of his lower jaw, he lost six front teeth. Following repair of his broken jaws, he was seen for replacement of his missing teeth. He was unhappy with the resulting appearance and was troubled by compromised speech and chewing ability. Due to the extensive nature of his injuries he required bone grafting prior to placement of his implants. Following the highest standards, his implants were prosthetically placed and pre-trauma photographs were used as a guide for our desired treatment outcome. Following the placement of three dental implants, two implant retained bridges were constructed and provided to restore this gentleman back to his pre-accident appearance. A very satisfactory outcome was achieved for this gentleman who had sustained a life-altering accident.
Case 4
This gentleman attended complaining that he struggled to eat as his lower complete denture moved around so much. He reported feeling conscious when dining out, and felt limited in his ability to eat freely and have a well-retained denture. He was a long-term denture wearer, and reported no problems with his upper denture. In order to try and improve things for him, two implants were placed in the lower jaw, with clips to help retain the denture and ensure that it didn’t move around so much. He reported that this simple intervention resulted in the lower denture moving considerably less, and his ability to control it and eat were significantly improved, giving him the ability dine out with friends, with more confidence and pleasure again.
Case 5.
This lady attended complaining of difficulty in retaining her upper denture and was unhappy as it kept falling out. She had previously suffered cancer in the upper jaw resulting in a very flat jaw post surgically, and as such a poor shape of jaw remained for retaining a denture. As is best in such complex cases, this lady was assessed with an oral and maxillo-facial surgical colleague, and a multi-disciplinary team approach was adopted to enhance her treatment planning. Two zygomatic implants and two conventional implants were placed in this lady’s upper jaw. This was prosthetically driven, and a fixed bridge provided her with an aesthetic and functional reconstruction. This was opposed by a well-designed partial denture in her lower arch, and this lady was delighted with the outcome.
