The Patient Journey

This appointment involves very careful assessment of your individual case. You need never be left with a visible gap in your mouth.

The consultation usually takes one hour, during which time you will meet the team at the centre, followed by detailed discussion of your dental and medical history (most of our surgeons are also qualified medical doctors), and your aims for treatment. We will then undertake a very careful and detailed examination of your mouth, including an oral health and cancer screen.

You will have any necessary x-rays taken, so that we can then begin the process of assessing the bone volume available for implants. At this stage, we can usually advise you on your suitability for implants and begin the detailed discussion of the different treatment options available to you, how implants work and the stages and costs involved.

More complex cases sometimes require more time to plan properly, and it may even be necessary for you to be seen by more than one clinician. We may need to make some models of your teeth and to consider further investigations, such as detailed 3D imaging, prior to making any decisions. All the costs involved with this will be explained to you.

Once planning is complete, you will be sent a comprehensive treatment plan outlining everything that was discussed at your initial assessment and detailing all the timings and costs of your treatment. This helps reiterate the information you were given during your initial assessment.

Most patients are slightly nervous about this phase of their treatment, but there really is no need to be. We do everything possible to make surgery as stress-free as possible.

To do’s before surgery:

• Please eat and drink (non-alcoholic fluids) as normal before all procedures. Do not miss breakfast.

• Take all of your medication at their normal times.

• Any medications required and further instructions will be given to you as you arrive.

• It is very hard not to be nervous about treatment, but please be assured you are in very safe hands. After the surgery, most patients are surprised and delighted that the procedure was so straightforward.

For the placement of a simple single implant, the actual surgery time is only about fifteen minutes. However, you will be booked in for a longer appointment to allow us to put you at ease and to give the local anaesthetic time to work.

The implant surgery is carried out extremely carefully, gently, and precisely and, while it is a surgical procedure, most patients say it is far less traumatic than having a root treatment or tooth extraction. For example, we do not use the high pitched whining drill that most patients associate with dentistry. The expertise of your surgeons ensures that there should be remarkably little discomfort following treatment, and you should require no more than simple, readily available painkillers. Remember, if the gap where the implant is placed is visible, we can then place and adjust a temporary tooth for you.

In most cases, a small metal cap will be placed on the implant to prevent the need for further surgery. At the end of the procedure you may have some stitches which dissolve on their own. If they are causing you annoyance or discomfort, we can remove them for you after a week or two. You will be given a detailed instruction sheet on how to maintain and clean your mouth following the surgery, and we will discuss any pain relief or any antibiotics that may be required at this stage.

These appointments are spread out over a few weeks to allow the skilled technicians at our in-house award winning laboratory the time necessary to craft your new bespoke implant crowns.

We have invested in the Trios Intraoral Scanner – the finest machine on the market today. This new technology allows some patients to avoid the need to cope with the difficulty of impression taking, which reduces gagging and improves comfort. Removed text here.

This allows a digital 3D image to be built up of the patient’s mouth, allowing incredible manipulation and demonstration. Very few centres in the UK, or indeed the world, are lucky enough to have this technology at hand.

Once the scan is complete, the images are passed to our onsite laboratory, to allow for 3D printing of models, and manufacture of the final teeth. This is truly the future of dental technology and is available today with us.

Once the crowns are fitted, we will review you a few weeks later to make sure that the final outcome is exactly what you wanted.

At The Implant Centre we pride ourselves in the way we care for our patients over the long term. To ensure that your implants remain healthy for years to come we have designed the Implant Aftercare Membership, a unique membership package that entitles you to a number of benefits such as; included review appointments, 7 days a week emergency support, free advice on how to clean and look after your implants and much more.

By its very nature, treatment with dental implants is expensive, and the Implant Aftercare Membership provides security for your investment.