Treatment of a Single Missing Premolar Tooth

We want to share how we do treatment of a single missing premolar tooth. Dental implant treatment today is considered as an extremely effective and predictable means of replacing missing teeth. The most common causes for tooth loss in adulthood are :

1. dental decay which causes the tooth to break due to becoming undermined. When a tooth is weakened by decay this can cause future problems with the tooth breaking during normal chewing function. If it is impossible to restore the tooth with general dentistry techniques then an implant may be the best solution
2. gum disease (periodontal disease) this causes the bone supporting the teeth to recede and deteriorate. This in turn causes the teeth affected by gum disease to become loose as there is insufficient bone support to hold the tooth securely
3. trauma can cause teeth to become damaged, accidents can cause teeth to come out completely
4. infection is a common cause of tooth loss. If a tooth has become infected and root canal treatment is not successful then the only option left to treat the infection is to remove the tooth. A 45 year old female patient came to see us with a failed root canal treatment. The failed root canal treatment had caused her to lose the upper left premolar tooth. Her own dentist had removed the tooth 8 months prior to being referred to the clinic. On examination it was noted that the there was sufficient bone available for an implant to be placed without the need for bone grafting After the initial consultation the options for treatment were discussed with the patient. The options for the treatment were;

1. a removable denture. This is the simplest of all options, however it is a removable solution and for this reason it is not very popular.
   Click here for more details about Removable Denture
2. a fixed bridge. This is a fixed option solution to replace a missing tooth. A bridge is generally more comfortable than a denture however it does damage the adjacent teeth.
   Click here for more details about Fixed Dental Bridge
3. dental implant. This provides a fixed tooth, without damaging the adjacent teeth.

The patient chose to have a dental implant. The treatment was carried out under local anaesthetic. Once the area was anaesthetised a small opening was made on the gum tissue. The bone was prepared to accept the implant. The entire procedure takes no longer than 15-20 minutes.After the implant was placed we checked to see the stability of the implant. Because the stability was good we opted to place a healing abutment on the implant. The healing abutment allows the tissues to heal around the abutment creating a tissue collar for the future implant crown.

The definitive screw retained implant crown is then secured to the dental implant and the access hole is sealed with a tooth coloured dental cement. The advantage of a screw retained crown over a cement retained crown is that it allows the dentist to remove the crown if any problems should arise in future. In addition to this screw retained crowns eliminate the need for dental cements required under the gum tissues.

For further information please feel free to Contact Brighton Implant Clinic or Call us on 0800 111 6623.