If you decide to get dental implants, there are a number of factors that your dentist will take into account when you have your mouth assessed. Many clinics will offer a free consultation so that they can understand what to offer you and tailor the information they give you so that you have all you need to make an informed choice and consent to the procedure and all its attendant considerations.
One area in which the dentist will focus is your jaw bone. When you visit a clinic like Unidental in Stockport, the dentist will assess the density of your jaw bone to see if it can support the dental implants. This is because this is where the implantation take place and it will need to both respond effectively to the dental implant and support it once it is integrated taking into account all the forces of chewing and the other movements of the teeth.
How will the implants get into the jaw bone?
Your dentist will make small holes for the dental implants to fit in to and this will usually take place under local anaesthetic. This is normally in one go although if you wish to have a large number of implants they may recommend splitting the treatment time into more than one session. Once the required number are fitted, the jaw bone responds with a process called osseointegration which is where the bone literally meshes around an implant and integrates it into the body.
What happens if I don’t have the necessary jaw bone?
Dentistry is developing all the time and even if you have been told in the past that you do not have the required bone density, it is always worth checking again.
Most people will have what is needed unless they have a pre-existing medical condition such as osteoporosis or if they have already been using dentures or had all their teeth removed for some time prior to investigating this option. Some long term steroids use can also affect the ability to support implants. In all these cases however, there may still be something the dentist can do. Some people might be able to consider a bone graft for example. This extends the length of treatment time but the end result can have a huge impact on quality of life.
