With the slightly nauseating history of dental implants well and truly behind us, we look forward with bated breath to uncovering the new and improved methods of modern dental implant technology.

Never again will we take for granted a quick and painless visit to our friendly dentist, leaving with a beaming smile and a renewed sense of confidence; as opposed to having the local barber hammer the tooth of a dead horse into our jaw with only a shot of homemade brandy to numb the trauma.

Dental implant technology – what do we want?

So, we know that we don’t want the barber to handle our oral health or endure the dubious benefits of cadaverous teeth. But what do we want when we are in the dentist’s chair about to undergo dental implant surgery?

Surely, we want:

• First-class pain management
• As little down-time as can reasonably be expected
• A long-lasting and natural-looking result

That’s not too much to ask.

Pain management and dental implants

Too many of us are likely to use the word pain and dentist in the same sentence. Thankfully, there are several pain management tools that we can make use of which are especially welcome to anxious patients. 

One of these options is SleeperOne5. A recent article from a medical expo describes this clever little tool as follows:

“Thanks to its pen grip SleeperOne5 offers great precision. The electronic injection perfectly controls the injection speeds enabling completely painless attached gingiva and palatal anesthesias. 

Its friendly, high tech design will reassure patients and reduce the anxiety associated with a manual syringe. SleeperOne is very light, so it can be held extremely close to the needle tip, with a real “pen grip”. You can work with good support points to obtain the same precision as you can with your turbine. The electronic system allows better control of the volume injected. SleeperOne gives you the possibility to perform all of your anesthesias more effectively, even intraosseous anesthesia with children, without changing your normal workflow. 

The advantages of an electronic injection: 

• Painless anesthesia due to the electronic and progressive injection
• The anesthetic penetrates drop by drop into the tissues without pain 
• Simplifies the delivery of anesthetic into dense tissues without muscular effort 
• Reduces post-operative injection pain 
• Contributes towards the effectiveness of the injection.”

Precision dentistry

We’re all familiar with the saying that says, “If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” This highlights the importance of precision when performing dental implants to make certain that the procedure is done right the first time. 

Repeat procedures and painful, time-consuming visits are a thing of the past with the ever-increasing pace of digital dentistry.

Consider the Cone Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) scanner. 

This incredibly smart piece of tech is a special type of X-ray equipment which allows us to view the teeth, soft tissues, and bone in three dimensions (3-D).

Some of the excellent advantages of CBCT are:

• Dental Implant placement: CBCT scans enable us to assess bone levels in more detail in comparison to traditional radiographs. They also let us see where important structure such as sinuses and nerves are, so we can place dental implants in safe areas.
• Removal of impacted teeth: A CBCT scan be useful to see where an impacted tooth is to ensure the safe removal and to see its relationship to nerves and sinuses.
• Orthodontics: CBCT scans can be useful in planning tooth movements in orthodontic cases
• TMJ joint: The TMJ (jaw joint) can be visualised in greater detail enabling us to assess any potential issues.

Having the ability to carefully and accurately plan and position dental implants for the most comfortable and long-lasting fit is something that we’re very proud to offer our patients.  

Natural, lasting results

Having previously established that titanium is the material of choice for most dental implants given its biocompatibility, we now need to know what goes on top for that flawless finish.

The crown which sits on top of the metal cylinder is the parts we see, and which we want to look as natural as possible while being as strong as it can be. Today’s crowns can be crafted from porcelain, resin, ceramics, or even metals. 

The choice most often depends on your needs and your budget, but what can be certain of is that, if you’re going for a natural-looking tooth, then you’re in luck. Replacement teeth crafted for dental implants can now be created to exactly mimic the shape, size, and colour of the rest of your teeth. The days of poorly fitting, painful, or unnaturally coloured replacement teeth are well and truly gone. 

In some cases, single-visit crowns, onlays, and overlays are available by making use of CEREC. 

“CEREC enables us to make tooth coloured restorations in a single visit. There is no need for messy uncomfortable impressions as the tooth is scanned using our digital scanner. The restoration is then milled from a ceramic block while you wait. The restoration is then finished and fitted at the same appointment.”

In conclusion

We’ve only scratched the surface of some of the amazing leaps in dental implant technology in the recent past, but we’re sure you’ll agree that it’s been an exciting journey.  

So if you are concerned about missing or damaged teeth and have been considering dental implants, we do hope that you have an idea of what to expect – and that it has set your mind at ease. 

Please feel free to call into our clinic for more information.