With it\u2019s history of heavy industry, Birmingham and the West Midlands in general, is sometimes considered a little behind other major cities, such as London, in it\u2019s sophistication. As anyone living here knows, of course, this is a myth and there are many positive aspects of living in the West Midlands that those who rarely leave London could ever appreciate.<\/p>\n
In fact, if some were to be believed, we are a long way behind the capital in many areas, possibly even the care of our teeth. However, at Arthur House Dental Care near Birmingham, we can assure you that we offer a cosmetic dental service equal to those that you will find in most parts of London.<\/p>\n
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Irrespective of where you live, there will be occasions when you need dental treatment and unfortunately this may involve the loss of a tooth, or possibly several.<\/p>\n
When that happens, there is a choice to be made; do we simply live with the gap in our teeth or look around for a substitute? For some people, this will depend on whether the gap is visible or not, whilst, for others, the thought of a missing tooth is simply not an option and an alternative must be sought.<\/p>\n
Traditionally, this has meant having a denture fitted, whether a full arch or a partial denture. These do, it has to be said, offer a reasonable alternative from an aesthetic point of view. However, dentures can be uncomfortable and have a tendency to become loose in the mouth as a person gets older. There are newer more comfortable dentures such as Valplast also available however, but even the best of them still have to be removed for cleaning which is far from ideal.<\/p>\n
Increasingly, we are seeing new patients from Birmingham visiting our practice to have dental implants fitted. These offer an excellent substitute for a lost tooth<\/a> and one that is easy to maintain too.<\/p>\n To have a dental implant fitted, we first of all will check that you are a suitable candidate. In most cases patients are able to have implants fitted with no problems and the procedure can go ahead. A small incision is made into the gum and then the bone drilled where the implant will be placed. This procedure is not painful as it will be done using a local anaesthetic and positioned precisely by use of x-rays and scans. It should also be noted that the jaw bone contains few nerves too.<\/p>\n Into the newly drilled hole, a dental implant will be placed. This implant will remain in place for around 3 months during which time it will naturally fuse with the bone in the jaw. By doing this, it leaves an extremely secure anchor. Once this has occurred, a second visit to the dentist is needed, firstly to check that all is well, and then, a crown will be attached to the implant. Once this has been done, the patient will have, in effect, a brand new tooth and one which should last for a minimum of 20 years and quite possibly very many more.<\/p>\n Unlike dentures, dental implants remain as a permanent fixture and are cleaned like any other tooth, by brushing and flossing. In effect, you will soon forget that you actually have an implant and it will simply feel like one of your natural teeth.<\/p>\n