| What are the procedures involved?
The surgery can only commence after thorough diagnosis and treatment planning. A recipient site of the same size and shape as the implant is created in the jawbone with drilling instruments. The implant is inserted into the site prepared. Usually, a healing period of 3 to 6 months is required for the jawbone to fuse with the implant. The jawbone has different densities in different areas – the denser the bone, the shorter the healing period. After this healing period, the prosthesis is constructed over the implant and the treatment is completed. Usually, a straightforward implant treatment takes about 4 to 7 months to complete. Longer periods are required for complex situation such as cases requiring bone grafting.How is the operation arranged?
The operation will be performed under aseptic condition usually in a clinic with proper facilities and condition for oral implant surgery. Local anaesthesia is given for pain ncontrol during the operation. Intravenous sedation can be given if necessary. Pain which may occur after the operation can effectively be controlled with oral medications. The prosthetic part of the implant treatment does not require anaesthesia.How successful is the treatment?
Modern oral implant treatment is highly successful, as a general guideline, the five-year success rate of oral implant over 95% with the lower jaw (mandible) and about 90% with the upper jaw (maxilla). The success rates may slowly decrease as the implant stays longer in functio n. In difficult cases, the success rates are expected to be lower. Despite the overall high success rates with oral implant treatment, there is still the possibility of failure which can be contributed by various factors and conditions, such as poor healing power, poor bone quality, smoking and diabetes.How long can an oral implant last?
The service life of an oral implant can be affected by many factors: high standards of treatment, meticulous daily cleaning by the patient, regular professional maintenance, abstinence from smoking and avoidance of overloading (like chewing bones, shells, hard nuts and candies), can contribute to the durability of the oral implant. In view of the high success of modern oral implant treatment, an oral implant can be considered a long lasting medical implant that does not need to be changed.
Is the operation safe?
Whereas no medical treatment can be guaranteed 100 percent without risks and failures, implant operation can be considered very safe. The prosthetic phase of treatment is basically non- invasive and non-surgical in nature. |
