The Patient Journey: Dental Implants at The Implant Centre
Bill Schaeffer outlines ‘The Patient Journey’ at The Implant Centre, from your initial consultation to pain-free treatment and your brand new teeth and a smile that lasts a lifetime!
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Although the three-tooth double implant treatment you will see here is relatively complex. Charlotte's journey is quite typical for most of our patients. On your assessment visit, you'll be met by an implant surgeon for a general chat about your dental problems and how we might look to resolve them. Then one of our implant nurses will take you for a 3D CT mouth scan.
Now preparing for image capture, this state-of-the-art technology gives us a detailed understanding of your bone and the health of your teeth and gums and quickly tells us if you'd be a suitable candidate for implant treatment. Within seconds, the scan results are on screen, where your surgeon will show you in remarkable detail exactly where you can have your implant placed. He'll look into your mouth as well, and then talk you through all your options on the day of your surgery.
It's quite normal to feel a bit nervous, but there's absolutely nothing to worry about and no undue pain. This is the stage where we place the titanium implant, the anchor point for your new tooth, securely into your jawbone.
Over the next eight weeks or so, we will allow the bone time to grow around the implant. This is the natural process that solidly embeds it in readiness to accept your new permanent crown. One of our restorative dentists will tell you exactly when and how your new tooth will be fitted at each stage of the process. We monitor this bone growth and the appearance of your gums with comparative photos and X-rays to make sure that everything continues to look good.
Creating your new tooth begins with us taking an impression of your mouth. The technicians in our onsite dental laboratory can then start to work their special magic. From the impression we make a mould from which we can create an exact replica of your jaw, including the precise position of your new implant. If, like Charlotte, your implants are at the front of your mouth, we will make and fit a temporary tooth, or teeth before you leave, so you'll never be left with a visible gap.
Using 3D software, we determine on screen and in remarkable virtual reality, the perfect size, shape, and ideal alignment of your new tooth in relation to your existing teeth. These complex measurements are sent to our milling machine, which precisely mills your new tooth from the zirconia discs housed within. Once this process is complete, we transfer that to the furnace for overnight firing to give it the extreme durability required.
Getting a precise colour match for your new tooth is absolutely vital. Under special daylight bulbs. Our technician takes detailed notes of the colour, translucency, and colour gradation of your existing teeth, enabling us to create an exceptionally accurate match for the new one. With considerable artistry, the colours in your new tooth are painstakingly built up, layer by layer, and after it's been fired in the furnace, it'll be a beautiful match for your natural teeth.
After removing your new tooth from the model, we'll carefully screw that into your implant. Then we'll make sure that the fit between the new and existing teeth is exactly right. Making any tiny adjustments that are needed. We also check that the alignment of your bite is just as it should be. As you can see, a huge amount of time, expertise, care, and technology goes into the creation and fitting of your new tooth.
Though implant treatment is quite expensive most of our patients agree that it represents remarkable value for a worry-free dental lifetime.
Some links to more information and how to enquire about treatment are below…
More patient journey and implant treatment related videos below
