Farnham Road Dental Practice

Lost some of your natural teeth? Dental implant treatments in Guildford

If you have lost some of your natural teeth through accident, illness or even extraction, you will no doubt be aware of how it can impact your confidence when smiling.

Dental Implants in Guildford A dental issue that is common, extensive tooth loss can not only affect your confidence, but can also impact your ability to eat a wide variety of foods and can even affect the strength of your bite.

Dentures used to offer a practical solution to this problem, but often created issues too, such as extensive rubbing on the jaw line and worry about them moving or falling out unexpectedly.

Luckily, modern dentistry has found the perfect solution to all of these issues in the form of dental implants in Guildford.

What are dental implants?

Dental implants in Guildford are small, titanium screws that are placed into the jawbone, allowing single teeth, bridges and dentures to be fixed on to them, providing an immovable alternative to dentures.

Implant dentistry is a safe way to not only improve your smile, but provide a great way to increase the strength of your bite, allowing you to eat whatever foods you want to without issue, restoring the functionality of your teeth.

Other benefits of dental implants

If you have gaps in your teeth, dental implants are an effective way to fill these gaps and improve your confidence instantly.

At Farnham Road Dental Practice, our team of experienced dentists are told by our patients who have had implants fitted, of the many other benefits they have noticed.

Speech

An often-overlooked concern regarding missing or misaligned teeth is that of speech. When a person has dentures fitted, they must adapt, learning how to speak again, as dentures can be bulky and uncomfortable. Not only this but many people with dentures report having to tighten their facial muscles as they are worried about their dentures becoming loose, this will also have an impact on speech patterns.

As dental implants are attached to the jaw line, they are not bulky and therefore do not cause any disruption to speech patterns. As they cannot come loose, people with implants can relax their facial muscles and talk freely without issue.

Eating

Although there is a wide range of denture adhesives on the market, denture wearers often report feeling unconfident eating certain foods, like corn on the cob. As consumption of this type of food requires excessive and specific jaw and teeth movements, it is understandable why those wearing dentures are concerned about performing it.

With dental implants, you can perform as many specific movements of your jaw as you want to, your implants will not come loose, providing greater security when eating different types of foods.

Lifestyle

Implants require care but no more than regular teeth.

If your brush and floss twice a day and attend dental check-ups every six months, there should be no problems or additional purchases required to keep them healthy and strong.

Interested in dental implants in Guildford? Call us today!

Do your dentures wobble? Denture stabilisation in Guildford

Dentures are great. Whether a full mouth or a partial bridge, dentures disguise the appearance of missing teeth and offer a simple solution to help people chew their food with ease.

Denture Stabilisation in Guildford However, despite the most advanced denture adhesive gels and dental advancements to ensure a better fit to the gum line, wearers of dentures often experience their dentures moving.

This creates multiple oral problems. Obviously, if your dentures are moving, you are going to avoid opening your mouth wide for fear of them falling out. This causes many individuals with dentures to deliberately tighten their facial muscles, to attempt to prevent movement – this can cause an unusual speech pattern and can be uncomfortable.

Luckily, the dental industry has found the ideal solution in denture stabilisation.

What is denture stabilisation?

Advances in dentistry have meant that the technology used for single dental implants has been expanded and adapted.

Denture stabilisation uses the same underlying principle as dental implants. Using implants secured to your jaw, your dentures will be attached to them creating an immovable set of teeth. It really is that simple.

There are several techniques used with denture stabilisation and at Farnham Road Dental Practice, we will happily discuss which option we feel is right for you.

Implant retained dentures– your dentures are attached to your jaw with a set of small screws. This is the most commonly used method and cannot be removed.

Bar supported dentures- your dentist will fit 3-4 implants and a customised bar. A series of clips are attached to hold the denture in place. This method is removable for cleaning purposes and for sleep at night.

Advantages of implant overdentures

An obvious advantage to this procedure is the new security of your denture’s position in your jaw. But there are many other advantages that you may not have thought of too!

Speech

Going back to those facial muscles, if you have loose dentures that move, chances are at some point, you have tried to hold them in place by tensing the muscles around your mouth.

Even if you have never done this, loose dentures can cause unusual speech patterns. As dentures that do not fit are often bulkier, they can alter the movement of your tongue and jaw too.

With denture stabilisation, the secure attachment to the jaw removes all these issues immediately, leaving you free to speak the way you used to.

Improved bite

Remember that dreaded moment when you were out and about with family or friends, and felt forced to order soup due to all the other food items being hard or chewy?

When you have implant overdentures, that will never happen again. The added security you will experience with your new secure dentures will increase the strength and accuracy of your bite, meaning you can eat and drink whatever you want.

Think denture stabilisation is for you? Contact our Farnham Road Dental Practice for denture stabilisation in Guildford to arrange a consultation today!

It is time to renew your chew?

It’s great to know that you have a new set of dentures which will allow you to smile again…. But how well are you chewing your food? If you had your dentures fitted a while ago, they may have started to move around your mouth a little, and this could mean you are not eating everything you want to.

If this is the case it could be time for denture stabilisation in Guildford and we have all the information you need on how to proceed here at Farnham Road Dental Practice!

Oh no, this sounds complicated?

There really is no need to panic! This is very common as over time when wearing dentures, you can lose the support of the bones underneath. Soft tissue will also start to recede and this is why many people are in a constant state of discomfort when trying to accomplish everyday functions such as eating or even laughing and smiling. This is why you need extra support for your dentures and the modern solution of denture stabilisation in Guildford really comes into its own.

But how is denture stabilisation achieved?

This process is extremely simple, quick and safe and also the perfect alternative for those who do not want to undertake the procedure of having individual implants. Our dental professionals will discuss the whole process fully with you beforehand, so you know exactly what will take place.

Implants will be surgically placed in your jaw and over a period time will naturally start to join with the bone and tissue. Once full integration has taken place the dentures will be fixed securely to the implants, however, this means that the dentures will not be able to be taken out for cleaning purposes, as previously.

So how should I clean my dentures when they are fixed?

It is most important to ensure that any food has been cleaned away, using a soft toothbrush is preferable, as harder bristles can scratch the denture material.

What will the result of this procedure be?

Your dentures will have much more support and be fixed securely so that you can eat what you want and smile when you want! It will stop your jaws receding and therefore keep the natural shape of your face. It will assist you in regaining your confidence in social situations.

Welcome back normal life

It will be a relief for you to know that with this simple procedure your teeth will no longer be moving around your mouth, making everyday tasks so hard. Once you have spoken to one of our team and started on the road to a more stable set of teeth you really won’t look back.

At Farnham Road Dental Practice we have all the knowledge and experience needed to make your treatment as comfortable as possible, ensuring that you can enjoy all the benefits of your denture stabilisation in Guildford. So say goodbye to teeth in a glass every night and hello to apples, pears, chatting, smiling and laughing!

Do you need dental implants in Guildford to brighten up your smile?

If you dread any social interaction because you are embarrassed about your teeth and hide your mouth with your hand when talking or smiling, then a trip to see us at Farnham Road Dental Practice could just be the thing for you!

One of our many different solutions for a whole array of dental problems is that of dental implants in Guildford. As we get older it can become harder and harder to grow old gracefully with a beautiful smile if you have teeth missing from decay or from a sporting accident. But just how do implants work and are they the best option for your needs?

How dental implants work

If you have knocked out a tooth by accident or even have one missing due to gum disease, your dental practitioner may suggest dental implants in Guildford as a solution for you. Modern day implants look like natural teeth and can last, if looked after well, for a very, very long time.

Vintage is the groovy trend at the moment, but not when it comes to a nice set of pearlies! But don’t panic, super modern implants are in fashion now! And the procedure couldn’t be any simpler. A small, strong post, generally made from titanium, is placed into the jaw bone and then the artificial tooth is connected to it. Even if you have a number of teeth missing, it is possible to attach more than one tooth onto the implant, so that you get your normal functioning teeth and happy smile back. You will also need to be prepared to make regular trips back to your dentist before the actual implant is finally secured in your mouth, as our technicians will need a little time to craft the parts that are needed.

Oral health is the name of the game!

Everyone should have a good home oral health care regime and this is no different after you have had implants. Artificial teeth actually promote healthy bone growth and caring for them couldn’t be simpler. It’s easy, just make sure that you floss to prevent bacteria and plaque building up and brush your teeth twice a day.

Goodbye gaps and hello new pearly whites!

Once you have come and discussed your needs with us and we have laid all your options out on the table, you will be at the beginning of your new dental journey. We will ensure that we are with you every step of the way, this support will ultimately help you to reach your goal, allowing you to regain your confidence and boost your self-esteem.

With a regime of good home oral health care, combined with regular check-ups on your artificial teeth from your dentist, a brand new smile should last for many years to come.

So get with the trend of modern, magnificent dentistry and enjoy your life again, laughing and chatting…and all without your hand in front of your mouth!

Reinventing the visit to the dentist

Are you one of those people who have had a lifetime of having to steel yourself every time you go to the dentist? Of shaking, sweating with anxiety when you get there, maybe not even being able to go over the threshold of the clinic?

Nervous Patients in Guildford Being scared of the dentist may be entirely irrational, but no amount of logic can help solve a phobia. And about 13% of the world’s population suffers from dental phobia. This is the extreme end of being scared to visit the dentist.

What’s so scary about the dentist?

There are so many aspects of dentistry that can frighten people. Some people are scared of needles. Others have developed a phobia about the drill. Some have had their fears passed onto them from watching parents who were also scared of the dentist. For others, their fears stem from an unfortunate experience in their childhood, back when dentistry was more brutal than today. Now dentists are routinely trained to calm and soothe nervous patients.

The knock-on effects of being a nervous patient

If you keep trying and failing to get to the dentist because of your fears, it could be years since you had a check-up, let alone any treatment. It’s not uncommon for nervous patients to have waited until things have gotten very bad inside their mouths before the pain finally drives them into the dentist for emergency treatment.

The trouble with putting off check-ups and treatments is that any treatments are always going to be driven by an emergency. That means more pain, more anaesthetic, and more time in the chair.

It’s far better to find a way to reduce the anxiety. One way is to tell us about your fears and then we can work together to help to reduce them. Of course, sedation is available. We also suggest coming in to view the practice and having a chat with us before you even think about booking an appointment for a check-up or treatment. We can talk about what makes you anxious and find ways to enable you to relax. Just getting to know us will take some of your anxiety away.

Nervous? You’re not the only one

Being scared of the dentist used to be thought of as something a bit silly. Few people liked to own up to it, especially if they were big, strong, capable people who weren’t scared of anything else. Nowadays, however, fear of the dentist has been recognised as being very common. Even extreme fear of the dentist, that which is so bad as to be termed a phobia, is not unusual. Around 13% of the world’s population are classified as suffering from dental phobia.

Nervous Patients in Guildford It’s nice to know you are not alone, but even nicer if you know that your dentist knows all about dental phobia and has trained in ways to make it easier to bear.

What does dental phobia feel like?

Dental phobia is more than just being a bit nervous. You may experience panic attacks, shakiness and sweating, just at the thought of going to the dentist. This level of fear often leads patients to cancel appointments, if they manage to make them in the first place.

The vicious cycle of dental phobia

Suffering from dental phobia can lead to a vicious cycle of avoiding check-ups, ignoring mild symptoms of decay and gum disease, cancelling or just not showing up for more appointments, and then finally only coming along when the pain in the mouth is stronger than the discomfort of extreme anxiety.

By this stage, treatments are more likely to be invasive and lengthy, involving local anaesthetics, which for those of us who are scared of needles is a particular nightmare. Long, involved treatments only serve to reinforce the fear, no matter how gentle and caring the dental staff have been.

Are you a sufferer of dental phobia?

If you think you might be dental phobic, it’s important that you tell the staff at Farnham Road Dental Practice when you first come and register with us. Or, if you have been too scared in the past to tell us, then tell us now. We won’t laugh at you or scold you. We just want to make sure that we offer you all the knowledge and experience we have in dealing with nervous patients, so that we can make your next experience a positive one.

The road to dental implants

Some dental treatments are done in a matter of minutes. Others take as much as a year to complete. The treatment is a journey of several stages and sometimes long periods between those stages. But the destination is well worth the trek. One of those treatments is dental implants, the modern way to replace lost teeth.

Dental Implants in Guildford Let’s take a look at the stages involved in getting dental implants here at Farnham Road Dental Practice is Guildford:

Consultation

This is much more than a chat. We take an in-depth look at your mouth and particularly at your jawbone. We need to make sure that your jawbone is robust enough for treatment and to sustain the dental implants once you start chewing on them with full power.

Preparatory work

If we think your jawbone has deteriorated, we can suggest getting bone grafts, or sinus lifts, or, if it’s the upper jaw, having extra-long dental implants that anchor into your cheekbone.

If you have had gaps for a while, your remaining teeth may have wandered a bit and you may need to wear braces for a while to put them back into alignment so there is enough space to fit your implants.

All this can extra months to your treatment journey.

You may also need to have other failing teeth extracted.

Implant surgery

This is a minor surgical operation that takes place under local anaesthetic. We are usually done in a morning or an afternoon.

Healing time

This is the important bit. You need to allow 2-6 months, depending on your individual healing speed, for your dental implants to integrate with your jawbone. During this time, the jawbone grows new bone tissue, including blood vessels, all over the surface of the dental implant.

Fitting the crowns

The final part is fitting the hand-crafted porcelain crowns. Once they are in place, you can eat whatever you like.

Maintenance

This is the easy part. A diligent oral health care routine and regular hygienist sessions to remove plaque is all you need to take care of your dental implants.

Want to know more? Why not book a chat with our implant dentist?

Modern options for replacing lost teeth

Back in the day of your grandparents, if you lost all your teeth, you’d only get one option for replacing them and that would be with dentures. Dentures are replacement crowns set on a plate that is gum-coloured and fits over the gums, relying on suction for stability.

Dental Implants in Guildford Dentures were big news in their day in the mid-20^th century. In fact, for a couple of decades, there was a big trend to have all your teeth removed as a young adult and replace them with dentures; the idea being that it would give you great teeth for life and save on dental costs.

People didn’t know how much dentures were going to wobble around.

However, that was then, and this is now. Now, we have more choices and one of those is replacement teeth that are firmly anchored into the jawbone and never wobble.

This latest generation of replacement teeth are called dental implants and they work so well because they replace the root of the tooth too, which dentures don’t.

At Farnham Road Dental Practice in Guildford, more and more of our patients are having dental implants fitted because they are the best way to mimic the teeth that have been lost.

Imagine how hard it is to get a good chew going using teeth that are resting on the gums and don’t always fit so well after a while. You can see that you might be reduced to living on soft foods only and having to cut your food into small pieces before you eat.

With dental implants, you get your full chewing power back and with it, the full range of food choices return too. If you want to bite into a toffee apple at the fair, go right ahead. You won’t need to worry that you’ll become one of the comedy acts when your teeth stay in the apple.

Getting dental implants starts with coming in for a consultation. We need to find out how strong your jawbone is, and whether or not it will be able to hold onto the implant once you start chewing on it.

Give the clinic a call and let’s get going on your new set of teeth.

What to expect with dental implant surgery

If you have been thinking about replacing your lost or failing teeth with dental implants, you may have been talking to friends and colleagues about the process. You may even have heard stories of terrible pain endured and long healing processes suffered through.

Dental Implants in Guildford If you have, please don’t take them all as gospel. Human beings have a habit of making medical procedures sound worse than they actually are. It’s better to find out from us at Farnham Road Dental Practice in Guildford than from someone who may be subconsciously trying to make themselves sound heroic.

So, here’s quick heads-up of what to expect if you decide to get dental implants fitted.

Which teeth?

It all starts with an in-depth consultation. Our implant dentist will carry out a thorough examination of your teeth, to be clear about what needs to be replaced. You may have teeth that are starting to fail, and it might be easier to take them out now and replace them with crowns on a dental implant. For example, if you have a gap and one or both teeth either side of it are looking likely to fail in the near-ish future, you can get them taken out now and have the whole lot replaced on one dental implant.

Your jawbone

The implant surgeon will also need to take a good look at your jawbone with x-rays and scans. This is to see if it is strong and dense enough to sustain dental implants. If it has deteriorated, you might need to have preparatory work done, in the shape of bone grafts or sinus lifts. Or you could have extra-long implants that anchor into your cheekbones.

The procedure

This takes place under local anaesthetic, which is more than enough to numb the jawbone, which has very few nerves in it to transmit pain signals. If you are nervous, you can also have sedation so that you can deeply relax.

Afterwards

We recommend a day in bed to recover. Any pain can be treated with over-the-counter painkillers. Plus, a liquid diet for a week or so and soft food until your implants have integrated with your jawbone, in 2-6 months.

Give us a call for an exploratory chat.

Keep your youthful profile with dental implants

What is it about people that tells us how old they are? There are signs that we associate with age. Silver hair is one. Mottled skin is another. Stiffness of movement one more. And lastly, there is the pointy chin that seems to come up to the end of the nose.

Dental Implants in Guildford This last one is not caused by age, but by loss of teeth. When a tooth is lost, the bone around where the tooth used to be starts to disappear. It literally melts away, and it doesn’t take very long to do so either.

Resorption

This is the technical term for when the body dissolves part of itself. This is what it does with the jawbone when a tooth has come out. The jawbone can lose up to 25% of its size and density in the first year alone after tooth loss. If you have lost a tooth, you can probably feel quite an arch in the bone where it used to be if you run your tongue over it.

Tipping over

As the bone melts away, the nutrients are sent for use elsewhere in the body, which is efficient. But the effect is that the neighbouring teeth are no longer held so securely in their sockets and they can start to tip into the gap and may even fall out, and so a domino effect can start to take place.

Stop resorption

It is possible to stop resorption, but it means having to replace the lost tooth root as well as the crown. Dentures and fixed bridgework won’t stop it, but dental implants will. Dental implants, which are available from us at Farnham Road Dental Practice in Guildford, are the only tooth replacement method that replaces the root of the tooth as well as the crown.

One dental implant can replace up to 3 teeth on a bridge. Dental implants last for a long time, maybe even the rest of your life, so they are a great investment.

Find out more

If you’d like to know more, please call us and come in for a chat and a consultation. You can keep your youthful profile with dental implants in your jaw.