Many patients searching for a dental clinic near me after losing a tooth end up at Braces Hub, a dentist in Newton Park, Gqeberha. This is where Dr Baboo offers dental implants as a long-term way to replace missing teeth, supported by bone and soft tissue grafting for patients who need extra preparation before an implant can be placed.
What Is A Dental Implant?
A dental implant is a small titanium post placed into the jawbone, acting as an artificial root for a replacement tooth. Once the implant has settled and fused with the surrounding bone, a process that takes some months and cannot be rushed, a crown is fitted on top, restoring the tooth's function and appearance.
Because the implant sits in the bone itself, it is designed to feel and behave much like a natural tooth root once healing is complete, which is part of why it tends to hold up well to normal biting and chewing.
Do You Need Bone Or Soft Tissue Grafting First?
Not every jaw has enough bone or gum tissue to support an implant straight away. Bone grafting adds volume and density to the jaw where it has thinned, often after a tooth has been missing for some time and the bone that once supported it has started to resorb, a natural process that speeds up once a tooth is no longer there to keep the bone stimulated.
Soft tissue grafting builds up the gum around a future implant site, giving it a stable, healthy foundation to support the implant and the crown that follows.
Dr Baboo will assess your jaw during a consultation and let you know whether either procedure is needed before implant placement can go ahead, and will explain exactly why, using your own X-rays, if grafting turns out to be necessary.
What Does The Implant Process Involve?
Implant treatment generally follows a few key stages, spread out over several months rather than completed in a single visit:
- An initial consultation and assessment, including any bone or soft tissue grafting that may be required first
- Placement of the implant post into the jawbone
- A healing period while the implant fuses with the surrounding bone
- Fitting of the final crown once healing is confirmed to be complete
Timelines vary from patient to patient, depending on how much grafting is needed and how quickly the jaw heals. Dr Baboo will talk you through what to expect at each stage of your specific treatment before anything begins, including what a typical healing period tends to look like day to day.
Is A Dental Implant Right For You?
Most adults with good general gum health are candidates for an implant, though this always needs to be confirmed during a proper assessment rather than assumed beforehand. Smoking and certain existing health conditions can affect how well an implant heals, and Dr Baboo will discuss anything relevant to your own situation as part of the consultation, including whether grafting is likely to add extra time to the process.
Where an implant is not the right fit, a denture or bridge may be a more suitable way to replace the missing tooth instead, and this alternative will be discussed openly rather than left out of the conversation. Patients searching for a dental clinic nearby in Newton Park or elsewhere in Gqeberha are welcome to book an implant consultation at the practice.
Book an implant consultation. Patients missing several teeth in different areas of the mouth may also want to read about restorative dentistry.