Dental Implants in Wells
Why the implant team at Priory Dental?
At Priory Dental we have built a team of dental professionals with a specific focus on providing advanced dental implant solutions to patients from across the area. Dr Ryan Hughes is qualified in both dentistry and medicine and leads the team. He has a masters degree with distinction in Dental Implantology and has previously worked both as a medical doctor and as a staff grade surgeon in oral and maxillofacial surgery. Dr Helena Morrell also has a postgraduate masters degree in Dental Implantology and Dr Ewan Davidson has been involved in dental implants for over fifteen years giving him extensive experience in the field. Dr Christopher Burt is our newest member and is currently studying for his masters degree. See our team page for more information on each team member. We feel that our combined experience gives us an unparalleled ability to provide and look after dental implants in the area.
Together the implant team is known as Wells Implants at Priory Dental.
What is a dental implant?
A dental implant is a screw-like fixing which can be inserted in order to replace a missing tooth or multiple teeth. The surface of a dental implant allows the bone of your jaw to grow around and integrate with the implant, a process known as osseointegration. It is this process that gives the implant stability and strength. By placing dental implants in different ways means that dental implant solutions are incredibly versatile, from the replacement of a single teeth, to multiple teeth or even all the teeth in one or both jaws. The fact that dental implant solutions do not rely on remaining teeth for support and are fixed (don't need to be removed like dentures) means that dental implants are often considered the gold standard for replacement of missing teeth amongst dentists. Despite this we always explore all of the options available to you in order to select the option most suited to you and in some cases decide against dental implants where they offer fewer advantages.
Why might I need a dental implant?
At Priory Dental we work hard to prevent you from losing teeth. Unfortunately at times teeth still cannot be saved and need to be extracted. This may be due to decay, infection, gum disease or trauma amongst other reasons. Traditionally, these teeth would be replaced by partial or full dentures or bridges connected to other teeth. We still offer these options but dentures have to be removed for cleaning and the teeth that bridges are connected to, are often compromised by being part of a bridge. For these reasons we often consider dental implants as an alternative.
A single tooth replacement
Where only a single tooth is missing, one implant can be inserted. This is the closest possible replacement for a single tooth. The implant itself replaces the missing root of the tooth and a crown is later placed on top to give the appearance of a tooth. Modern dental implant techniques can be used to make the new implant supported crown appear very similar to the natural tooth it replaced or can sometimes be combined with dental work to the other teeth including crowns, veneers or composite bonding to improve the overall appearance.
Replacing multiple teeth
Where multiple teeth need to be replaced it is sometimes unnecessary to have one implant for every tooth but instead the appearance of multiple teeth can be supported by smaller number of implants in the right circumstances. This is known as an implant supported bridge. Typically two implants would replace three or four missing teeth. Replacing all the teeth in the upper or lower jaw where all the teeth are missing in one or both jaws, multiple implants can be used to support a fixed solution known as a full arch. Typically four or six implants are used in each jaw and a type of bridge known as a hybrid is then placed on the implants to replace the teeth. This is sometimes known as ‘all-on-4’ or ‘teeth in a day’, in the latter case because a provisional set of teeth can be fitted on the same day that the implants are placed in appropriate cases.
In other cases where all the teeth are missing, implants can be used to help stabilise a denture which ‘clips on’ to the implants. In these cases the denture still has to be removed for cleaning but is much more stable when being used for eating or talking.
Planning Implant treatment
Implant dentistry often involves complex planning in order to get the best result possible. This involves detailed examinations, impressions and photographs and often a need to get 3D scans of the Jaws known a CBCT scan. Because of the complexity, all implant treatment is quoted for on an individual basis following this planning process.
In order that you can explore implant options with us before progressing down the planning process, we offer and strongly encourage you to come for an Implant pre-assessment appointment. We charge our normal dental examination fee for this making it a very cost effective way to explore your options. This is an opportunity for you to ask us questions about dental implants and for us to discuss what dental implant treatment would be likely to involve in order to give you an idea of what might be possible and the likely cost.
Regular patients at the practice can often skip the pre-assessment appointment if we have already had these conversations at your routine check-up and decided with you that an implant solution is likely to be right for you.
Following a pre-assessment, if you wish to proceed we then get you to return to a implant planning appointment and/or arrange for you to have a CBCT scan. Following your implant planning appointment you are provided with a full written treatment plan including a detailed estimate of the costs involved to consider before you move forward into the treatment phase.
Other procedures
In some cases, additional procedures may be required in order to get the best results. These are covered in more detail in our free downloadable guide to dental implants. This also has more information on all of the subjects covered above.
How to start your implant journey
Contact us via this website to arrange an implant pre-assessment appointment or give us a call on 01749678040. Pre-assessment appointments are usually undertaken by either Dr Ryan Hughes or Dr Ewan Davidson but if you have a particular preference for who you would like to see, please do let us know.