How do you know if oral implants are a good idea? A big part of this decision relies on the changes in how they are now administered. Before the 1980s, dental implants were carried out by oral surgeons in operating theatres; at this point they were considered more a part of dental research than an actual treatment option for the majority of patients. It was only when techniques to carry out implantation without the use of full anaesthesia were pioneered that dental implants Maidstone could be carried out in a local clinic.
Placing a patient under with anaesthesia has its own inherent dangers and requires an anaesthesiologist to be present in order to monitor life signs and adjust dosages. This simply isn’t possible in a standard dental clinic. It also significantly increases the costs of the procedure simply due to more specialised staff being required. One of the other things that held back widespread adoption of dental implants was that implantation is not covered on the standard dental degree, and so staff have to attend additional training in order to be able to carry out implantations. Most clinics these days have at least one member of the medical team who is trained in implanting.
Many surgeries’ rates of implanting are extremely good, this is partially due to dentists being diligent about whom they perform implantations on. It is a procedure that can have a very high success rate and in the case of oral implants, a person’s bone health in terms of density and rate of growing new bone are the biggest determining factors in whether an implantation will be successful or not. Sometimes it’s a patient’s lifestyle decisions that can result in a failed implantation, uncontrolled diabetes and heavy smoking are typically contraindicated.
There is large variation in the quality of dentistry provided internationally and there have been cases of people travelling abroad to receive dental implants which have been performed poorly. In some cases, counterfeit implants have low titanium content or are simply poorly constructed, leading to lower rates of fusing. This is extremely rare for treatments carried out within the UK.
Are dental implants a good option for me?
Quite possibly; dental implants are appropriate for most people and can be used to replace teeth which are completely missing and sometimes have been lost many years or even decades ago. If you have extremely low bone density (particularly of the jawbone) there are options to undergo bone grafting beforehand for dental implants, in order to mitigate any possible failure of them. But this is highly variable and has to be looked at on a case-by-case basis. It is suggested that you seek out a fully qualified professional within the UK to receive advice more relevant to you.
Dental implant costs
The cost of dental implants is quite variable, based on which clinic and providers you use. Unless explicitly stated in an insurance policy they are not covered by default on standard medical insurance.
The NHS does not consider dental implants to be a first treatment option and will default towards bridges or or partial dentures before dental implants, unless it is corrective for some form of medical malpractice. Most clinics who do offer dental implants also provide zero interest monthly repayment options.
