So, here you are. You have lost teeth. You are faced with having to replace them, and you have to make a choice between three options: dentures, bridges and dental implants.

Dental what? You’ve never heard of dental implants in Hampshire? In a way, we are not surprised. Although this miraculous way of replacing teeth was discovered back in the 1950s and has been available for around 40 years, it is only in the last decade or so that they have reached a critical mass of popularity. Now they are available from lots of places, but it can still be hard to find a good dentist with lots of experience in putting in dental implants. In Hampshire, here at Dental Implants Hampshire, our implant surgeon, Dr James Kleiber, has been working with dental implants for many years.

He can tell you all about how they work and their incredible benefits, but let’s just take a quick look at the basics here.

What is a dental implant?

A dental implant is tiny post or screw made of out titanium. It is about 1.3 centimetres long, and it acts as an artificial tooth root. Once fitted into the jaw, it can have as many as three crowns (the white bit of the teeth) fitted onto it. Used in clever combinations, dental implants in Hampshire can be used to replace one, some or even all of your teeth. There is even a way of using dental implants to stabilise your dentures so that you can avoid all that embarrassing sliding around that they tend to do after a while.

How are dental implants fitted?

The procedure takes place under local anaesthetic, with sedation if you are very anxious about it. Dr Kleiber will cut a flap in your gum and then drill an artificial socket into your jawbone. The implants are tapped or screwed into place, the gum sewn up and you go home for several weeks while the implant integrates with your jawbone to give that amazingly firm chewing base. When you come back, your custom-made crowns are fitted and you are good to go.