Dental Implants

Dr Mohan Chawla, our implant dentist, will provide you with the highest standard of dentistry and care. His experience and expertise in dentistry makes him the perfect dentist to guide you through the treatment.

He gained the prestigious Diploma in Implant Dentistry from the Royal College of Surgeons of England in 2010 and routinely undertakes surgical implant placement as well as restoring the implants with crowns, bridges and over-dentures. His experience in cosmetic dentistry enables him to approach the management of his patients to achieve excellent cosmetic results.

A dental implant is a titanium metal rod which is placed into the jawbone and it is used to replace one or more missing teeth. The implant is essentially a substitute for a natural root which supports a fixture known as an abutment that is like a post extending into the mouth through the gum. A crown or bridge is fixed onto the abutment with a special cement or screws. It is comprised of three separate components although in reality most people refer to the rod, abutment and crown as an implant. The crown or bridge is fixed on permanently unlike dentures which need to be taken out daily. An over-denture is a denture that is secured by implants to improve the retention so it stays in a lot better but it is not fixed in permanently.

Implants can therefore be used in the following ways:

• Crown fixed to the abutment and implant to replace a single missing tooth. The advantage that it is fixed in permanently unlike a denture which is removable, and doesn’t require using teeth to support it like a bridge.
• Bridge fixed to the abutments and implants to replace more than one missing tooth. Implants used in this way can replace several missing teeth or all the teeth. We typically use 4 implants in the lower jaw and 6-8 implants in the upper jaw to replace all the teeth.
• Dentures fixed to abutments and implants to replace all the teeth. If you have no teeth in the lower jaw, and are not yet ready for multiple implant placements, a conventional lower denture can be considerable improved placed beneath the lower front section – this is called an overdenture. The same can be done in the upper jaw although 4 implants are needed as the jaw bone is softer. Whilst the dentures still need to be removed for daily cleaning, when placed back in the mouth they have the benefit of being considerably more secure than conventional dentures.

1. Upper right central incisor has been extracted and the implant and temporary abutment have been fitted. Tooth next to it has had the old crown removed as it was being replaced as well.

2. Chair-side temporary crowns fitted.

3. 4 months later the permanent crowns were made – the one with the screw fits into the implant.

4. Temporary crowns and temporary abutment removed.

5. New crowns fitted.

6. Post-op image – the teeth have had Aquacare stain removal as well.

1. Pre-operative image.

2. The implants and healing abutments have been fitted. The patient already had an acrylic denture which was adjusted so it fitted over the healing abutments.

3. Healing abutments removed to enable impressions to be taken for the crowns.

4. Crowns fitted on the implants and 2 porcelain veneers.

1. 3 implants and healing abutments fitted. The patient had an acrylic denture which was adjusted so it fitted straight on top of the healing abutments after surgery.

2. Close up healing abutments.

3. Laboratory model for fabrication of the bridge.

4. Screw retained bridge fitted.

1. Dentures securely attached.

2. Upper bar and lower stud attachments.

3. Upper bar fixed on 4 implants.

4. Upper ‘horse-shoe’ shape denture.

5. 2 lower ‘stud’ attachments

6. Lower denture with caps.

1. Pre-operative view. The crowns and bridge  had failed. The patient had an acrylic denture made but wanted fixed teeth.

2. Top view of the teeth in the upper jaw.

3. Teeth remove and 6 implants fitted. The patient wore a Full upper denture for a 3 few months while the implants were healing. We can also place implants straight away with teeth fixed to them on the same day in some cases.

4. 12 unit porcelain fused to metal bridge.

5. Post-operative views