Dental Implants
Our dedicated implant operating theatre is used only for the sole purpose of placing dental implants. Ensuring that the optimum sterile conditions are met.
In 1993 Graham Magee created the Chester Dental Implant Centre as a separate entity to the General Dental Practice where he was a partner. The aim of the Clinic was to be able to provide all of the stages involved in Implant Dentistry and all aspects of this type of treatment in house.
Being the first Clinic of its kind in the Chester and North Wales area, it generated interest from the local press and consequently, shortly after the official launch, there was a sudden influx of patients wanting the benefits which Dental Implants could provide.
Since then a steady flow of patients have been treated using the Brånemark Implant System (the benchmark for all dental implants). There is now a long list of patients who are more than happy to chat with prospective patients about their experiences of implant treatment at the Chester Dental Implant Centre and tell of how Dental Implants have changed their lives.
Q. What are dental implants?
A. A dental implant is a small man-made titanium screw that serves as the replacement for the root portion of a missing natural tooth. The implant is placed in the bone of the upper or lower jaw and allowed to bond with the bone and serve as an anchor for the replacement tooth.
Q. How many teeth can be replaced by implants?
A. Dental implants can be used to replace a single lost tooth or many missing teeth, even a complete set of teeth! Implant supported replacement teeth look, feel and function like natural teeth.
Q. Would I need an implant for each missing tooth?
A. No, unless a single tooth is being replaced. Normally, five or six implants are used in the lower jaw to replace ten to twelve teeth. In the upper jaw six to eight implants are used to replace twelve to fourteen teeth. Where a few teeth are missing, two or three implants are sufficient.
Q. Is placing implants painful?
A. Placing the implants requires a small operation. This is carried out under local anaesthetic or sedation. The placement is therefore painless. After the operation some patients do experience minor discomfort, usually due to the stitches which are removed one week later.
Q. Why do you use Brånemark dental implants?
A. In the early 50's Professor Brånemark started his research which revolutionised dental implants as we know them today. After many years of pre-clinical studies Professor Brånemark placed his first dental implants in a patient in 1965. Now, more than thirty years later, they are still functioning today.
No other company has more than 40 years clinical data which gives every indication that most patients treated with Brånemark implants can expect them to last a life time. Brånemark implants are not new to the dental field!
Q. Can a crown or bridge be fitted on the same day as placing the implants?
A. Immediate function is possible, but only when the bone is suitable. This is often assessed by digital radiography using a CT. Scanner. Three-dimensional images are formatted and by using Computer Aided Design we can plan within one tenth of a millimetre where implants are to be placed. A prototype bridge can then be manufactured to fit on to the implants prior to surgery. On the day of surgery you would leave the Implant Centre wearing an implant supported prototype bridge. Approximately four to six months later this would then be placed with the permanent (definitive) implant supported bridge.
Sometimes if there is no infection present, a failing single tooth can be extracted and immediately replaced with an implant supporting a temporary crown. This would then be left to heal for approximately three months after which time the temporary crown would be replaced with a permanent crown supported by the same implant.
