Dental Implants Hoppers Crossing, Werribee, Point Cook, & Tarneit

Dental Implants are metal screws or posts that are made up of human compatible material. They are often used to replace the root portion of teeth that are missing in the mouth.

Once placed, the screw fuses with the jawbone and acts like an artificial tooth root below the gum. This then allows Dentists to replace portions of teeth that are missing above the gum level, often a Crown or Bridge or a set of Dentures is mounted on top of the implants to allow patients to function normally.

Dental Implants are great alternatives for replacing a missing tooth or missing sets of teeth. Sometimes a regular Crown or Bridge may not be suitable for some patients, particularly when it heavily diseased. In those cases, we may recommend Dental Implants as they are good long-term solution in terms of stability and lifelike result. Though minor surgery is involved, it is overall less invasive than Bridges as it leaves adjacent teeth untouched, eliminating the need to grind them down. This is particularly important when it comes to preserving the health of adjacent virgin teeth (teeth that have never needed any work done like Fillings).

When people have lost all their teeth, conventional option would have been complete top and bottom Dentures. Nowadays, we also provide Dental Implants as another alternative. Although complete Dentures are still excellent appliances and can achieve fantastic results, for minor groups of people they are unable to tolerate the use of Dentures. This is often seen in:

• Severe gaggers
• People with dry mouth or poor saliva flow
• People who often have mouth ulcers
• People with thin and tender gums
• People with odd bony growth in the jaw
• People with very little bone in jaw – less bone means less retention to complete Dentures

Patients with the above characteristics will find it very difficult to wear Dentures and may never be able to feel comfortable with them. Luckily, Dental Implant procedures can be used to overcome those limitations.

• Does not need to be taken in and out of the mouth, they are fixed into the jaw
• Looks natural and real
• Comfortable to eat and speak with
• Lasts a long time
• Preserves adjacent tooth structure by leaving it untouched
• Strong and resilient
• Does not loosen like Dentures
• Prevents future bone loss where there are missing teeth

Dental Implants sit on the higher end of costs when it comes to dental procedures as it requires two delicate complex procedures:

1. The surgery procedure to place the implant in the jawbone
2. The prosthesis replacement procedure to place artificial tooth/teeth on top of the implant

It can cost upwards $2500 depending on how many teeth are being replaced and whether bone grafts or sinus lifts are needed by specialist surgeons.

The procedure is complex and will require several visits to the Dentist. If you're seeking Dental Implants in Hoppers Crossing, Werribee, Point Cook, & Tarneit the first step is to set up a consultation with us by making a booking online or calling us on 03 9748 7271.

We'll  take some photos and organise a series of X-Rays for you.

Our Dentists and team of specialist Surgeons will assess the photos and X-Rays, we review the implant site and plan your treatment.

Once everything is organised, a minor operation appointment is booked to insert the Dental Implant into the jawbone.

This is a simple procedure requiring local anaesthetic only, you do not need to be asleep unless Sleep Dentistry is your preference.

For cases where there is minimal bone or close to the floor of the nose, a bone graft or sinus lift may also be required. Your Dentist/Surgeon will go through this with you.

We then wait a few months to ensure that the Dental Implant fuses with the bone through the healing process.

Once the Dental Implant has stabilised into the bone then the next step is to build an artificial tooth or teeth onto the implant. This is referred to as the Crown/Bridge portion.

Moulds are taken of the mouth and implant area, these are sent to specialist ceramists to help build the tooth/teeth.

During this process we may send you home with a temporary Crown or Bridge fixed on top of the Dental Implant to help contour the gum.

Once everything is made and ready, the Crown/Bridge portion is screwed or cemented on top of the implant.