Same Day Fixed Teeth

What is the concept of Same Day Fixed Teeth?

This is the what the procedure is called when you come and see us to have all your teeth removed (if needed) and have implants placed to secure a fixed bridge or denture.

Can anyone get it done?

Most patients that come and see us are eligible to have this done, however we will need to ensure some factors are looked at before we decide.

What factors can prevent me from getting it done?

Medical

There are some medical factors that contraindicate you from having dental implants. This can be uncontrolled diabetes, uncontrolled severe heart problems, high doses of warfarin and bisphosphonate drugs. If you are concerned that this may prevent you from having dental implants please ask us and we will inform you of your options.

Infection

It’s not a good idea to be placing dental implants around areas where you have lots of acute infections. The best thing to do in this situation may be to remove all the infected teeth, provide you with a denture or bridge if needed, and then place implants once it is healed, which is normally around three to four months.

We can normally place implants even if you have areas of small chronic infection and this can only be determined if you have had a CT scan taken. If you are concerned about any of this, please let us know and we can advise you on the best option.

Inadequate quality and quantity of bone

If you have poor quality or quantity of bone, then it may not be a good idea to have fixed teeth in a day. In this case, we can normally place implants and bury them under the gum. Once the healing period (three to six months) is over, we can then secure a fixed bridge or denture onto the implants.

Why do most dentists not provide same day teeth?

Same day teeth is a technically difficult concept to achieve and it will only be done by a highly-experienced and highly-skilled dentist. Our Implantologist has trained in the world renowned (in Implants) university of Lille. He has also trained in South Africa, USA, and London. He is a dedicated Implantologist who places and restores implants all day – every day and has been doing so for the last 20 years.

Can I just walk in and have this done in one appointment?

No, it would not be in your best interests to do this, and planning complex work like this often takes a few weeks. We will first need to examine your mouth and then take a CT scan, which is a 3D scan of your jaw. Once this has been done we would sit down with you to discuss the findings and offer all treatment options to you. We would then write you a letter with all the details, including all fees involved – it’s important that you take time and understand what the procedure involves.

Once you decide to go ahead we will need to take most moulds/impressions of your teeth so that we can prepare your teeth so they will be ready for the day of the surgery. This can take 1 -3 weeks depending on your situation.

On the day of surgery, we would take your teeth natural teeth out (if needed), place four to six implants and then secure your temporary fixed bridge or denture onto those implants. This will look and feel just as good as the final bridge so although its temporary, you will be delighted with it. The reason we wait three to six months after the surgery to provide you with the final permanent bridge is that we need to let the gums and bone heal. If we provided you with the final full arch implant bridge straight away (or soon after) the surgery, after six months, there would be big gaps under the bridge where food will get stuck.

The healing time also gives us the opportunity to test of the cosmetics and bite of the temporary bridge so that we can make improvements for the final full arch implant bridge.

The final bridge will then take around a month to make towards the end of the treatment.

How long will the surgery take?

The surgery normally takes two to three hours for a single arch.

You will then need to wait around for another couple of hours (relaxing), whilst the laboratory technician works on your temporary bridge outside of your mouth.

Why do some people advertise that you can have fixed teeth in one day and that’s all?

This is a marketing trick to get people through the door. There is a lot of work that needs to be done to ensure everything has been done to a very high standard. After having treatment people often comment that they see other adverts in the papers and cannot think how all that treatment and planning can be done on one single day! If our patients understand this – surely other dentists do too! The answer is they do – but they mislead you by saying it can all be done in one day!