Dental implants involve more than just an often substantial financial layout but a physical and emotional commitment too. After all, without strong and attractive teeth everything from enjoying a meal, to feeling confident enough to smile, can be incredibly difficult and stressful. These considerations make it really important that anyone interested in having dental implants does so at a practice where the dentist is fully qualified to carry out this surgical procedure.
Remember – it’s not against the law to offer implants even if a dentist is untrained, so long as there is no claim to fake qualifications!! Let’s look in some more detail at the main reasons why it is so important that you choose a qualified dentistry practice (such as Sky Dental) to get dental implants.
Dentists must undergo additional study and training before they can fit dental implants.
How important is it to you that the dentist in charge of your implant really knows what they are doing, and has proven training and experience in the procedure? Considering the extensive training and tough study schedule a dentist has to undergo before qualifying for general dental practice, you may be surprised that a further couple of years on a specialist dental implant course is required to properly undertake that procedure.
Fitting a dental implant involves knowledge and skills in the surgical side of dentistry, so they can successfully navigate things like facial nerves which, if damaged, could leave someone with permanent impairment. A qualified implant dentist will also have completed more in-depth study on many other things, including assessing and evaluating a patient’s oral health, jawbone quality, how teeth affect the structure of a face and much more.
It is really important you check what post- dentistry college degree training the staff of a dental practice have done before you agree to have implants there. It’s a specialist procedure which means they have learned everything there is to know about all aspects of dental implant medicine, and been supervised learning how to become fully skilled in the techniques involved.
Advice from a qualified dental practice will be ethically based.
Having a dental implant is not like filling a cavity – it’s expensive, time-consuming and as it involves oral surgery – painful in the healing/post-op period. It’s also not always automatically the only, or even the best choice for a patient. If you are using a suitably qualified dental practice you will receive professional advice which is fair, honest, and covers all available options, so you, as the patient, are able to properly make the decision which best suits you. An initial consultation should cover everything from a detailed explanation of all feasible treatment options, along with their costs, outcomes, recovery time, and pros and cons.
A fully qualified dental practice will use the correct dental implant.
There are several types to choose between, largely depend on how much healthy bone a patient has at the time of surgery.
Endosteal implants are the most common type, where a titanium screw-like post is implanted into the jaw, then after it heals a false tooth is fitted onto it. This does need a large amount of healthy bone in the jaw.
Subperiosteal implants, where the implant is placed under the gum, are the common alternative for those with less viable jawbone.
Another risk of using a dentist who is not qualified to fit dental implants is that they may not choose the best quality hardware necessary or the task. This could be down to simply not understanding the difference, or a cost-cutting exercise – regardless, why risk problems like rejection or a very short implant life expectation than you need to?
Look for an implant specialist dentist who is registered with a professional association.
A dentist who has dental qualifications and experience which meets the standards of a organization such as AAID, (American Academy of Implant Dentistry), you have the essential peace of mind that comes from knowing they have definitely had the appropriate education and training necessary to carry out dental implant procedures safely an expertly, along with the range of experience which makes them completely trustworthy.
The AAID has been around since 1951, and is thought to be the first dental professional body which focuses on the field of dental implants. A dentist who has AAID professional credentials is a sure thing find as to gain that highly sought after status they must prove they have the qualifications, knowledge, and all-round skills needed to carry out implant procedures to the very top standard imaginable.
Do you know the right questions to ask?
You should never be afraid to ask a dentist several questions before you make any definite commitment to have an implant at their practice, but it may be difficult to know exactly what to ask. So here we have put together a list which covers the most useful things to ask about.
Always keep in mind that by choosing to have a dental implant you are investing your health and a substantial amount of cash in someone, so if they don’t choose to answer your questions, or their responses don’t impress you then just move along to another dental expert.
Questions to ask:
#1 – Do you have any specific qualifications relating to dental implants? (They should be happy to send you images – check out the qualification is relevant and the awarding body is genuine).
#2 – How many dental implants have you done? (Check how many were done under supervision/alone.) Ideally you want a dentist who does regular implant work.
#3 – What is your success rate? The average is said to be 90 – 95% still in place after ten years.
#4 – Do you complete all parts of the procedure yourself? (Some specialize in one aspect, so who does the other part?)
#5 – What will recovery look like? Implants are going to cause some swelling and pain, and they do involve some substantial post-surgery office visits. A qualified dentist will understand this and not mislead you.
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