Dental Impalnt Procedural Details

Normally dental implants need three months to integrate before loading, and you will want to discuss the patient’s preference for temporary rehabilitation during this period. In some instances temporary restorations kept out of occlusal loading can be placed. In other cases a Rochette bridge or temporary denture is required, or the patient can continue to wear their existing denture(s).

Bone grafts need four to six months to mature, and implants placed at the same time as bone-grafting cannot be loaded for six months.

Any implants or bone-grafts that fail to integrate will be replaced at our expense providing the patient follows the prescribed protocols (see Post-operative Care for Implant Patients).

Long Term Success

To ensure long-term success it is essential that occlusal harmony is ensured when loading implants, and that the patients maintain good oral hygiene (see Implant Care for Patients). I can check the occlusal integrity of restorations using the T-scan II digital occlusal analysis system if you wish. This costs £65.00 for the analysis or £115.00 for equilibration.

Sedation

Patients requiring sedation (and most prefer it) will need to be transported home by a responsible
adult in private transport to comply with current regulations.

Communication

I do like to discuss any cases where we plan to share the work, and to do this we will need a minimum of study models and an OPT radiograph. We also need to know the level of the patient’s lip-line to make decisions about anterior aesthetics and possible bone-grafting. Where you plan to construct bridgework on implants it is necessary to make a diagnostic wax-up of the restorations and from that a surgical template (in effect a clear hard bleaching splint) to ensure the implants are placed in the correct position for eventual restoration.

If there are any aspects of treatment-planning that you would like to discuss please contact me at Smiles Better, or email me at jnsnigel5@aol.com.