What Are The Requirements For Having Implants?

If there is not enough space between the teeth to place an implant? In this case it may be necessary to align the teeth and their roots in order that an implant can be place

There are two separate issues affecting the success of dental implants. They can be divided into patient factors and local factors (problems in the mouth).

Patient factors include systemic conditions such as diabetes and smoking and drinking but do not include osteoporosis. A detailed medical history must be taken to ensure that a person is suitable for treatment.

Local (mouth) factors include gum disease, abscesses, tooth grinding habits, bite problems, etc. again a complete examination must be undertaken to ensure that the moth is stable and healthy prior to implant placement. It is important to check for and treat a condition known as Bruxism where the teeth are clenched or ground at night during sleep. This can overload the implants and cause fracture of components. Interestingly, bruxism does not seem to cause failure of integration between implant and bone.

Ideally,yes. Implants will be less successful if the mouth is not healthy prior to commencing treatment. It is important to treat any underlying conditions such as gum disease or other oral infections prior to implant therapy.

Whilst implants are extremely successful, they are also an expensive treatment option and a complete treatment plan should be in place and the mouth stable before any implants are placed. This is important because if any teeth have a poor prognosis and implants are being considered elsewhere in the mouth, it may be wise to remove such teeth and restore with implants all at once to give a better outcome rather than having to compromise by working around damaged teeth which can compromise the final outcome.

This is an extremely important part of treatment planning and must not be overlooked in a haste to place implants and restore missing teeth. Although the treatment schedule may be more extensive initially, the outcome and long-term outcome should be much improved.

The qualified dental implantologist you visit will ask you questions and examine your mouth before deciding if you are a suitable candidate for treatment. Most people are perfectly suitable but some cases are more complicated than others and it may be that a compromise treatment plan is the most appropriate.

Treatment planning is the most important stage and fulfilling the goals of the patient in the simplest manner possible should be the desired outcome.

You should be made aware of likely costs although these can vary as treatment progresses, you should be aware of the length of time the treatment will take, the possible outcomes, other treatment options to consider, and how many visits will be needed.

This is often an important factor in dental implantology as there must be an adequate volume of bone available to house the implant at placement and to maintain a healthy support over the years. The dentist will assess the bone volume using a variety of techniques and may sometimes request a CT scan. This is a Computerised Tomographic scanning radiograph or X-ray which demonstrates exactly how much bone remains and whereabouts the vital structures such as nerves pass through the bone. This is not always necessary and is avoided wherever possible but sometimes the surgeon will need to locate vital structures exactly before being able to proceed. If there is a question regarding the amount of bone available, then a CT scan is more likely.