North Somerset
Dental implants in
Portishead.
Twenty five minutes down the M5, which is why we group appointments where we can.
The practice is in Bristol. What differs for a patient in Portishead is the journey rather than the dentistry, and since implant treatment means several appointments spread across months, the journey is worth planning properly. Where the drive is long we combine the consultation and the scan into a single visit.
Everything else is the same wherever you come from. A CBCT scan before anything is quoted, a written plan you take away, and 12 to 24 weeks of healing between the implant going in and the permanent crown going on. That last figure is set by bone rather than by us.
Consultation and scan
About 45 minutes. We take a CBCT scan, which shows the bone in three dimensions rather than the flat picture an ordinary x-ray gives. It is the difference between planning and guessing.
The plan, in writing
What is possible, what it involves, how long it takes and what it costs, on paper before you decide anything. Including the option of not having treatment, where that is reasonable.
Placement
Usually under local anaesthetic, usually an hour or two. Most people work the next day, and we will say so plainly rather than overstate the recovery.
Healing
Three to six months while the implant integrates with the bone. You are not without a tooth during this time; a temporary is fitted where the site allows one.
The permanent crown
Made to match the teeth either side, fitted, then reviewed. After that it is an ordinary check-up and hygiene appointment like any other tooth.
Single tooth implants
One implant, one crown, without touching the teeth either side of the gap.
Multiple implants and bridges
Several teeth replaced on fewer implants than teeth, where the bone allows.
Full arch treatment
A fixed full arch on four to six implants, for patients with failing or absent teeth.
Bone grafting and sinus lifts
Rebuilding the site first, when the scan says there is not enough to work with.
Also nearby