When we lose our teeth, we don’t really want to be told that they can only be replaced with things that take away our sense of taste, confine us to a soft food diet, or will mean losing healthy teeth to get them to stay in our mouths. Yet, up until not so very long ago, these were the available options. However, all that changed with the discovery of titanium as an implant material in the 1950s, and the resultant increasing availability and versatility of dental implants in Harley Street.
At Harley Street Dental Clinic, we think it is fair to say that the use of dental implants has reached a tipping point so that they are now more in demand than dentures and fixed bridges. And this is not surprising, considering that Harley Street dental implants are the only tooth replacement option that gives you back the full functionality of your teeth.
How do dental implants work?
Dental implants replace the root of the tooth as well as the crown. Having a new root firmly embedded into the jawbone allows once again for a stable and secure chewing base, capable of withstanding the multidirectional pressures, which can be about 200lb or 97kg for the average male chew. Compare this to dentures, which can only offer about a quarter of the chewing pressure, or bridges which can offer more, but you can’t have bitty foods, such as nuts, which get under the bridge and can be very uncomfortable.
In Harley Street, dental implants are more expensive than bridges and dentures, but we believe they still offer good value-for-money. This is because implants have a success rate of about 98% and can be expected to last for the rest of your life, provided you look after them with thorough cleaning to keep plaque at bay. The porcelain crowns of the implants cannot decay, but they are as susceptible to gum disease as natural teeth, and if gum disease attacks the bone holding your implants, they can become loose and fall out.
To find out if dental implants are right for you, why not book a consultation?