At Truly Dental we understand the struggles our patients have faced due to tooth loss.
Dental Implants
Whether you are reckoning with the recent loss of a tooth due to trauma or disease, have been dealing with the loss of all or the majority of your teeth steadily or over time, our solution and patient-focused practice is here to help with the best and most effective treatments available to modern, hi-tech dentistry.
We know that it’s about regaining more than just your teeth, and through treatment with Dental Implants you can take back your confidence, your direction, and your smile, however your unique tooth loss case has impacted you.
Whether you have lost all of your teeth or even just one, Dental Implants are the best substitute for your natural teeth and the ideal solution for you.
What are Dental Implants?
Dental Implants are an extremely effective, predictable and optimally long-lasting procedure to replace missing teeth, which are designed to mimic your natural teeth and, when properly taken care of, will last you a lifetime. Dental Implant treatment involves the placement of an artificial root (either titanium or ceramic) into the jawbone, providing a stable, body-safe support for a new, artificial restoration tooth, whether that’s a singular crown or a bridge, depending on your needs and the amount and placement of teeth lost.
The dental crown which sits on top of your implant fits naturally and flawlessly onto your gum, and is designed to look exactly like your own teeth so that nobody will even know you have undergone a life-changing, bold dental treatment. Dental Implants can also be used to fix a mounted denture securely in position so you can return to living life to the fullest, eating, laughing and smiling with confidence while eliminating the embarrassment of your denture coming loose. This state-of-the-art dental solution is achievable whether you have recently lost or in danger of losing teeth, or you are ready for a new you after wearing dentures for many years.
With Truly Dental’s specialists Dental Implants are now a routine, accessible, and reliable option to replace one or more teeth seamlessly and without affecting any adjacent teeth. Our expert implantologists are also highly experienced in more intricate cases for implants, including patients who have previously been told their situation was too complex to attempt, or have already received failed implants which need to be revised or managed. Under their care with Dental Implants you will forget you’ve even lost a tooth, they really are the gold standard solution to missing teeth!
Why should I choose Dental Implants?
Almost every candidate is suitable for Dental Implants, so talk to us today at Truly Dental if you have:
- Lost a single tooth either at the front or back of your mouth
- Lost multiple teeth
- Currently wear loose or uncomfortable dentures
If you need to replace a single tooth then only a single implant crown will be required, and our implant team can accommodate and find solutions for routine and complex placements and positioning. In the case of multiple missing teeth or gaps, it is not always necessary to place an implant for every missing tooth. Often your dentist will with equal success and effectiveness be able to place an implant bridge - for example the placement of two implant roots to mount and secure three missing teeth. Dental Implants can also be used to hold dentures securely and snugly in place to prevent them from moving around in the mouth.
Benefits of Dental Implants
- Entirely transform your smile through replacing one or more missing teeth with a completely natural-looking, discreet restoration which functions and appears exactly like your original teeth
- Say goodbye to the embarrassment and inconvenience of bulky, uncomfortable, or ill-fitting dentures – and hello to speaking, laughing, and smiling with pure confidence
- Enjoy the foods you thought you could never enjoy again – take back your ability to chew, bite, and crunch with enthusiasm when you restore the function of a missing tooth or teeth
- A regular, natural tooth structure makes maintaining good, consistent oral hygiene easier than ever, meaning less trapped food and build-up of plaque, which reduces the risk to your remaining original teeth of tooth or gum disease and leaves you with overall fresher, healthier breath. Your new implant itself also cannot decay, and causes no disruption or wear to the adjacent teeth
- Preservation of your youthful appearance by maintaining the volume and shape of your jawbone, particularly important after tooth loss or extraction
- Expertly placed Dental Implants have a success rate of over 99%, so you can relax after the completion of your revolutionary, life-changing treatment knowing that your replacement tooth will last you for the rest of your lifetime when properly maintained and cared for
What to Expect When Getting Dental Implants?
Initial consultation
Your dentist will carry out a comprehensive dental examination to ensure your suitability for Dental Implants, which will include a dental X-ray to assess your bone levels in your jaw.
Having adequate bone to support the implant and restoration placed on top is the main factor influencing implant viability and success. At Truly Dental we use a high-tech CT scanner to render an accurate 3D image of your mouth, localised to only the precise area necessary for analysis, which allows your implantologist to assess the amount and quality of bone available, to decide on placement and positioning, and to make plans to compensate when the levels are low. Less frequently impressions of your mouth may also need to be taken at this appointment, to create a 3D model of your teeth, gums, and bone to best plan for the placement of your finished implants and restorations.
Your dentist will then devise a detailed treatment plan for you, taking into account your own goals for your treatment and all particulars of your specific situation. You will have a chance to discuss any questions or concerns with your dentist at this time as you are informed about every stage of your proposed treatment, as well as how long each stage will take. This treatment plan will take account of not only your long-term restoration, but any temporary replacement teeth you will need during the course of your treatment, to ensure that you are greeted with a beautiful and complete smile the first time you depart from a procedure at the clinic.
At Truly Dental we ensure all of our patients complete transparency regarding the cost of your treatment plan. Your treatment team will be happy to discuss this with you also at your initial appointment, or you can call or email us today and our team will be happy to go through our different payment plan options and costs and book you in for your initial consultation with our dedicated implant team.
Implant placement
Your appointment for your implant placement procedure is actually quite straightforward – your mouth and gums will be completely numb with a local anaesthetic, making the entire procedure entirely painless.
You can also choose to have this stage of treatment carried out under dental sedation. Many patients, including those who experience acute dental worry or fear, opt to receive their dental care this way, making this ground-breaking, transformative dental treatment available to even the most anxious patient.
After the successful completion of your routine surgical procedure to place the implant into your bone, your dentist will provide you with detailed instructions on how to care for the surgical site to ensure complete healing over the following days and weeks. You will also be provided with a prescription for pain relief medication to make your recovery as seamless and as fast as possible, although many patients find that any pain or discomfort is mild enough to be relieved by over-the-counter solutions.
Your dentist will also, when suitable, provide a temporary dental restoration on the same day as your implant placement, so you won’t be left with an unsightly gap over the initial healing period, which is typically 2 weeks. After this initial recovery after you will routinely be invited back to the clinic for a short review, to ensure the area is healing and being cleaning adequately, and to answer any questions you may have at this stage.
Permanent Restoration Placement
In most cases, after a single or multiple dental implants have been placed the surgical site(s) must be left for a period of about 3 months to allow for complete natural healing and integration with your bone.
Your dentist will inform you at your 2 week review of when you should schedule your follow up appointment, typically around the 3 month mark, so that they can assess if your implant has adequately fused with your bone. Once your dentist is satisfied of the success of your implant, the next stage is taking a digital scan impression of your mouth.
These impressions are sent to our external lab for your custom-made crown or bridge dental restoration to be fabricated. Your bespoke, permanent restoration will be returned to the clinic within 3 to 4 weeks and you will be schedule in for a final appointment to have your dental restoration fit and secured. The average treatment time from start to finish for a single implant treatment with Truly Dental is 4 months, but your dentist will be able to specify the exact estimated treatment length for every stage of your individual case.
Questions? Answers
What are Dental Implants?
Dental Implants are a highly successful, innovative dental solution to missing teeth. Implants act in a similar way to the root of a tooth - they are surgically placed below the gumline into the bone of the jaw and are used to support either a porcelain crown, bridge, or securely affixed dentures.
Do Dental Implants look like natural teeth?
Yes, at Truly we know that restoring the appearance as well as the function of the original teeth are both essential outcomes for our patients, so our dental technicians custom-make each implant crown or bridge specifically to fit and blend into your mouth. We take the time to choose the exact colouring to match your natural teeth, giving you the most realistic and organic result possible. Not only will your new implant restoration feel like your own tooth, nobody will be able to tell that it’s not!
Are Dental Implants better than traditional treatments like dentures?
Before Dental Implants were routinely available through specially trained dentists, the loss of a tooth or multiple teeth for a patient left them with only dental bridges or dentures for options. At Truly Dental we are proud to be able to make the latest advancements in dental care, technology, and techniques available to our patients, so that they can choose options which provide so much more in terms of long-term function, oral health, appearance, and quality of life.
Traditional dentures can often fit uncomfortably; they affect taste, in addition to limiting the types of food we can readily enjoy; and they may move or slip when eating and speaking. Moreover, a denture only sits on top of the gums and does not address the issues caused by the loss of teeth for the jawbone. Over time, if missing teeth are not restored, the jawbone with no roots in key areas to hold its shape, will begin to shrink and lose mass, resulting in a prematurely aging appearance as the lower facial features increasingly sag inwards. Dental Implants are an extremely effective way to preserve the jaw bone and its original shape into the long-term when correctly maintained and cared for. Losing a tooth need no longer be a cause for stress and anxiety, we can restore your signature smile, preserve your youthful facial structure, and allow you to keep living your own daily life without disruption or loss.
A dental bridge is a full false tooth being supported by two crowns placed onto the remaining teeth on either side of a gap, and involves filling down some of the adjacent teeth to make them ready to receive these crowns – this process does pose a risk of damage over time to the remaining, natural teeth. Dental Implants have removed the need for impacting the adjacent teeth to fully fill and restore both the root and the gap left by a missing tooth, leaving your remaining teeth undisturbed and doing away with all related issues, while delivering a host of added benefits.
Are Dental Implants safe?
Dental Implants have been used by specially trained implant specialist dentists for many years and have a hugely successful track record of long-term excellent outcomes and sky-high patient satisfaction. The implants themselves are made of titanium, a metal which is completely body-safe and biocompatible, and has been shown to integrate seamlessly with the body without any adverse effects.
How long do Dental Implants last?
At Truly our implant specialists can confidently assure you of our initial implant success rates of over 99%.
We are proud to be the only clinic in Ireland to offer a full 20-year warranty on the majority of Implant placements, so if you are experiencing any issues with your tooth before that time we will be happy to assess and restore it without any additional charge while it is under warranty. You can trust us to provide you with superior, long-lasting treatment that is both cost-effective and delivered to the highest possible standard.
To get the most out of the investment you have made into your future wellbeing and quality of life and to maintain and safeguard your implants and permanent dental restorations, we recommend regular dental hygiene visits and check-ups with your dentist. Making that commitment to excellent oral health habits, including keeping up a consistent and thorough dental hygiene routine at home, can mean that your dental implants will last you for a lifetime.
How long does the Dental Implant procedure take?
In the vast majority of cases seen at Truly, the time from the initial surgical procedure appointment to place the implant(s) until final restoration with the permanent crown or bridge is 4 months in total. Your dentist will always provide you with a temporary restoration to cover and protect your implant while it is healing, and this temporary restoration can often be placed on the very same day as your implant procedure, so you can rest assured that you will not be waiting long before you see beautiful, transformative improvements to your smile.
In some cases where there is less bone available in your jaw, additional steps may be required prior to implant placement; including a specialist procedure known as bone grafting, which are carried out by our qualified implant surgeons at our Dublin clinics. If this is required in your case, your dentist will always communicate this with you from the start, and you will be given a fully detailed treatment plan following assessment of your mouth and jaw at initial consultation, so that your dentist can give you an accurate time frame for full treatment completion.
Are there any age limits to getting Dental Implants?
Implants are not suitable for patients below 18 years of age – due to the central importance of the jawbone to this procedure, and as the bone hasn’t fully developed and matured at this age. Younger patients can be assured that your treating dentist will fully and accurately assess your suitability for this treatment using a 3D specialised dental X-ray at your initial consultation before proceeding.
Thankfully, there is no upper age limit for this treatment – people of all ages deserve to experience the freedom, quality of life, and confidence that comes with eating the foods you enjoy and talking, smiling, and laughing with pleasure rather than the embarrassment of dentures coming loose.
Does the Dental Implant procedure hurt?
No, the Dental Implant procedure is entirely painless. Your dentist will ensure that your gums are completely numbed with localised anaesthetic before they begin the surgical procedure. The most you will feel is some vibration and gentle pressure.
Truly also offers Dental Sedation for all of our procedures for our patients who may feel nervous at the thought of any dental procedures, or simply to reduce related stress and anxiety so that you can experience the benefits of this life-changing treatment in complete relaxation.
As the placement of Dental Implants is a surgical procedure, most patients will experience some discomfort in the day or two following their treatment. However, this can be effectively managed in almost all cases with over-the-counter pain relief medication, with your dentist of course happy to provide you with a prescription for pain relief if needed in your case. Usually within a matter of days, and very occasionally a week in terms of more complex surgical site placements, following your dentist’s aftercare guidelines regarding recovery, rest and caring for your implant, you will be feeling fully yourself again in no time.
Are Dental Implants difficult to clean?
Not at all, cleaning your Dental Implants is no more difficult than cleaning your natural teeth. We recommend that you visit our implant hygienist every 3 months to ensure your teeth are well maintained and to check-up on your home oral health routine.
