Restoring your smile and your confidence with implants

We can restore your smile with dental implants at Camden Dental Centre. Implants are essentially artificial tooth roots that can support a crown for a missing tooth or a bridge for more than one tooth. Made from titanium, implants fuse to the bone, creating a strong and secure solution to a missing tooth.

Why have dental implants?

Implants benefit your oral health as well as complete your smile. The implant itself provides structural support to the jawbone, preventing the bone from degrading, as can happen when an empty socket is left for too long.

Implants are fixed in place just like natural teeth. Unlike dentures that are removable and can become loose, implants are reliable and secure restorations that have a very minimal impact on your lifestyle.

If well looked after, implants can last a lifetime. Titanium has a special property where it creates a biological bond with bone which is why it’s widely used in medicine.

What does the treatment involve?

We first start with taking x-rays to assess the condition of your jawbone. Implants need a good amount of bone density for them to create a successful bond to the jaw. Bone can deteriorate for several reasons, gum disease being the most common reason, however.

For a single implant, we place the implant at the site of the original tooth socket. It takes a few months for the implant to fully bond to the bone, a process called osseointegration. We provide a temporary bridge to protect the area and keep your mouth fully functional. Once fully healed, we prepare the gum with a special cap to encourage it to heal around the abutment.

We take impressions of the area so we can create a restoration that meshes properly with your bite and fits perfectly with the rest of the mouth. The new teeth are often made from tooth-coloured ceramic and are crafted to fit onto the abutment that will be fixed to the implant.

When the restorations arrive at the practice, we invite you back for the fitting. We check the fit before fixing your new tooth in place.

Looking after your implants

While the implant itself and the new tooth will be resistant to issues caused through bacteria, the supporting gums and bone are not. Having a great oral care routine at home will keep on top of gum disease, supported with visits to the hygienist.

Gum disease, if left untreated, can cause the gums to recede and eventually the bone becomes under attack. This can affect the integrity of the implant so it’s important to keep your mouth as bacteria-free as possible.