Dental implant is a small titanium screw that is placed surgically into the jaw bone, in order to support an artificial prosthetic tooth. They are used to replace one or more missing teeth.

Who is a candidate for dental implants? Anyone who is missing one or more teeth can be a candidate. The main limitation is the volume of the jaw bone and the proximity to nerves or other anatomical structures.

Are there any risk factors?  Smoking increases the risk of failure, also uncontrolled diabetes or bisphosphonates intake for osteoporosis. However, these are not considered contraindications, so it is better to consult your dentist on the matter
 

Is it a safe treatment? Yes. Implant treatment is safe and also proven in time, since it has been offered successfully in dentistry for over 30 years.

How do implant restorations look and feel? They look and feel like natural teeth. Also chewing ability is similar to natural teeth.

What are the advantages of dental implants comparing to traditional bridges? With implants we do not have to intervene on the adjacent teeth structure, making it a more conservative solution for replacing a missing tooth.
Also, we avoid splinting teeth, so if a tooth requires treatment in the future, it can be treated separately, not putting the whole bridge's survival in jeopardy.

Is old age a problem? Not really. If someone is healthy enough to undergo a tooth removal, then he is also a good candidate to have an implant. The dentist is the best person to advise you on this matter.

How long does implant therapy take to be completed? Usually after we place an implant we wait for about 3 months before we place the permanent restoration on the implant. The reason is to give time to the bone to integrate with the implant.
Is it always necessary to have bone augmentation along with the implant placement? Not always, only when the bone is narrow and it would be more favorable for the long term success of the treatment to have a thicker bone.

Sinus lift? When it is needed? This concerns the posterior area of the upper jaw. Relatively often, because of the proximity with the sinus floor, there is not enough bone to place an implant. In this case sinus lift is necessary to increase the volume of the available bone, in order to place an implant.

Immediate Loading: If certain criteria are fulfilled, we have the ability to place the implant and also place a fixed provisional restoration on the implant on the same visit or 1-3 days after the surgery. Your dentist will decide if this is the best way for the treatment success or if it is better to wait.

Immediate Implant: There are cases where we can place an implant right after a tooth extraction. Again, your dentist will decide on the spot, if he can proceed with the implant immediately or he must wait for the bone to heal first.

Computer Guided Implant Surgery: With this revolutionary technique, we attach the patient's 3d x-ray and intraoral scans in a special software, in order to decide the most favorable position to insert the implant. Then we transfer this position through a 3d-printed surgical guide that allows us to perform the surgery exactly as planned on the computer. This method increases the accuracy and also enables us to reduce the required time of implant surgery, especially in multiple implant cases.