Dental Implants

A dental implant is a small titanium screw which acts as a replacement tooth root when a single tooth, multiple teeth or all of the teeth are missing. They are carefully and precisely placed into the jawbone where surrounding bone will grow around and fuse onto the implant in a process known as osseo-integration. This forms a strong foundation for the final artificial tooth or teeth to be secured.

At The Bristol Dental Practice we consider dental implants to be the gold standard of care for replacing missing teeth — for almost all situations we would recommend them. However, we will inform you if there is a more suitable or lower cost alternative such as a dental bridge.

Dental implants are fixed into jawbone, and we can provide patients with implant treatments even where there is very little jaw structure available. This may be due to previous infection, long standing use of dentures, cancer or trauma.

The healing period after having an implant placed is in the region of two to three months. Temporary restorations can be fitted during this time for the patient’s comfort and appearance. Once the implant has successfully integrated, a couple of appointments which don’t involve further surgery are then used to construct the final teeth.

In some cases a single implant can support two teeth, or two implants can be used to support three teeth on a bridge. If a patient has lost all of their teeth, implant secured dentures can be made which retain dentures in the mouth securely with the aid of a couple of implants and press studs. Alternatively, fixed bridges can be provided, which are not removable and can recreate a whole arch of missing teeth with as few as four implants in each arch in a treatment known as All On Four.

Patients will have a one hour initial implant consultation with Dr Jonathan Cochrane, the principal dentist at The Bristol Dental Practice, who will carry out an in-depth clinical assessment and then talk through all of the available options. Patients will be made aware of the commitment required from them for successful treatment, for example they may be asked to stop smoking, and advised on the best follow up care such as regular dental hygiene appointments. There are very few patients we are unable to help.

Dr Cochrane is the youngest dentist to have received a Master’s degree in Dental Implantology from the University of Bristol and the first British dentist to be awarded a Certificate in Implant Dentistry by the German Board of Oral Implantology. He is a key opinion leader and spokesperson for various international dental implant and bone regeneration product companies. He has assembled a formidable team to deliver world class dental implant treatments at The Bristol Dental Practice.