Implant is used in dentistry to replace a missing teeth. The placement of implant involves 2 stages. The first stage involves placing a titanium implant into the jaw bone at the site of the missing teeth. The bone around the implant will integrate with it. The period takes between 8-12 weeks. When the implant has integrated with the jaw bone, the dentist will fabricate a crown over the implant to replace the missing teeth.

The advantage of implant is that it does not need the neighbouring teeth to support the false teeth. This makes cleaning of the teeth much easier. The support that the implant provides is equivalent to that of the natural teeth. Patient finds that chewing is so much more efficient than a denture or bridge. Most importantly an implant tooth does not decay. The implant that is embedded in the jaw bone is permanent and does not need to be removed if you need to change the crown that is attached to the implant.

Implant could also be used to support a denture to give more retention. Cleaning the implant is also easy as it not connected to the neighbouring tooth so one could use a normal floss to clean in between the teeth.

"Is placing Implant a painful procedure"

During the surgical procedure, local anaesthesia will be applied to that area and the surgeon will place the implant into the bone.  The bone has very little nerve endings and as such pain is usually non-existent after adequate anaethesia.  Patient may feel sore in that area after the surgery but is not painful.

"Are all patients suitable for Implant?"

Most patients are suitable for implant provided that they do not have any medical conditions such as uncontrolled diabetes, uncontrolled hypertension, smoker etc.  It is important to highlight any medical conditions to the dentist before embarking on implant treatment.

In cases where there is not enough bone in the area to hold the implant, a bone graft procedure could be carried out prior to the implant placement.