A dental implant replaces a single missing tooth. It looks like the tooth you lost, and as it’s fixed securely into the mouth via its titanium root, it feels like it too. Dental implants can be used to secure bridges into the mouth when there is more than one tooth in a row missing, and provide you with a working set of dentures.
A small surgical procedure is required in order to fit the screw part of the implant below the gum, on the jawbone. Local anaesthetic will be used so you won’t be in any pain. Once the implant has been placed, a temporary crown is added to it. The permanent crown can’t be fixed until a few months later, to give your gums a chance to heal, and to allow the root to fuse with the jawbone; process known as osseointegration.
If you’re having dental implants fitted, in order to anchor a full set of dentures in place, you can expect to have 2 to 4 implants in the lower jaw, and a minimum of four implants in the upper jaw.