Dr Olivia at Goondiwindi Family Dental can help you replace missing teeth!

What is a dental implant?
Implants are the closest thing we have to natural teeth as they are not removable like a denture and do not affect the teeth either side of the gap like a bridge.

The benefits of dental implants:

–          Look, feel and bite like natural teeth

–          Long lasting solution to replace gaps from missing teeth

–          Improve the appearance of your smile

–          Benefit your natural teeth by preventing them from tipping into gaps created by missing teeth and help chewing function to reduce the forces on natural teeth, especially if they have large fillings.

A dental implant is a titanium “root” that joins with the surrounding bone under the gum so it is incredibly strong and has a specially treated surface to promote healing. It can then have a porcelain tooth placed on top so it looks and feels just like a normal tooth.

An implant is an investment, so we only use the best quality medical grade titanium, which is well known for its proven ability to be highly compatible with bone. That is why at Goondiwindi Family Dental we use Neoss Implants and regularly undergo training in this system.

Looking after your implant
Regular check-ups and a good oral hygiene regime are essential for maintaining healthy implants. Just like natural teeth, they are susceptible to plaque build up which can have a detrimental effect to their long term success. Olivia will spend time with you to ensure you are able to easily clean you implant and provide special flosses and interdental brushes made specifically for small spaces and cleaning below to gum.

Implant Bridge
Often when more than one tooth is missing two implants may be needed to support an implant bridge. This is a great alternative to a removable denture as it is a fixed solution. At Goondiwindi Family Dental, Olivia takes careful planning to ensure the implants are placed in an optimal position and will spends time with patients to explain cleaning and maintenance

Dentures
Implants can also be used to anchor full removable dentures, called an implant over-denture. Lower dentures especially tend to be loose and difficult to keep in place during chewing as the tongue sits in the middle. Small connectors can be placed on the base of a lower denture that fit into part of the implants above the gum and help anchor the denture while the denture is still removable to aid cleaning.

(This is not the same as an all-on-four procedure which is a fixed solution requiring specialist treatment).

• Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek an opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner