Dental Implant Planning – What It Involves
At Sheen Dental we strongly believe in the ethos that if you fail to plan you might as well plan to fail. In fact when it comes to dental implants in Richmond, planning is the most important and lengthy aspect of the treatment. Get it right and it ensures the surgery itself goes smoothly giving a great chance of implant success. So what exactly is involved in the implant planning process. Let’s take a closer look.
The consultation
The first part of the planning process is the consultation. This is where the team find out as much background information about you as they can. This includes the state of your overall health as well as finding out any existing conditions, that might affect the outcome. In addition you’re likely to undergo a series of X-rays at your consultation. These help to determine the amount of bone that you have and gives a good indication of bone height. That said X-rays are only 2 dimensional so won’t show the dentist how thick the bone is. With X-rays it can also be difficult to visualise other important structures such as near by nerves. If more information is required then a CT scan showing a 3 dimensional image can highlight the exact position of nerves and other structures in the mouth.
All of the above might be carried out in one sitting, or it might take several meetings but the end result is that the periodontist has built up an entire picture about you so that they can accurately plan to position the right size of implant to the nearest millimetre.
The treatment plan
Once all the details have been taken your dental surgeon will issue you with a treatment plan. This will include
- Any prior treatments such as bone grafting, sinus lifting
- The treatment itself, what it entails, and what’s to be carried out
- Time scales for treatment including approximate recovery times
- Ongoing after-care
All treatment plans are formulated specifically with the patient in mind and are bespoke to the individual.
The laboratory
In addition, prior to you undergoing implant surgery a full sized mock-up of your mouth is made and sent off to the dental laboratory. From this the dental technician will look to fashion the porcelain crowns that attach onto the implants themselves. The mock-up means that the technician can make the crown to fit exactly leaving the right amount of spacing so that it looks and feels completely natural. Along with suggestions from you, the laboratory will also look to colour match the prosthetic teeth so that they blend in effortlessly.
As you can imagine, when all the entities come together what you end up with is a seamless process that works, and that’s down to the importance of thorough treatment planning.
To find out more about how dental implants in Richmond can change your life, why not contact Sheen Dental for a free, no-obligation consultation. It’s a great way to get all your questions and concerns answered allowing you to make a fully informed decision about your dental future. You can either book via our website at www.sheendentalimplants.co.uk or by phone on 020 8876 5277. Dr Harmit Kalsi and the team look forward to welcoming you.