Dental Implants in Golders Green, NW11

Yes. The crown or bridge on top of the implant is made to match the shade and shape of your own teeth, and because it is fixed to the implant there is no plate, no clasps and nothing to take out at night. You brush and floss it like a natural tooth, and most patients forget which tooth is the implant.

A dental implant is a small titanium post placed in the jaw bone under local anaesthetic. Over the following weeks the bone grows onto the implant surface and locks it in place, a process called osseointegration. A connector called an abutment is then fitted, and the final crown, bridge or denture is attached to it. At Lotus every implant is planned on a CBCT scan and placed through a 3D printed guide for accuracy.

A single implant usually takes three to six months from placement to the final crown, most of which is healing time; you will have a temporary tooth in the meantime where it shows. In suitable cases the implant can be placed on the same day the tooth is removed. For full arch treatment we fit a fixed set of teeth on the day of surgery (teeth in a day) and make the final bridge once the implants have healed.

At Lotus Clinic a single dental implant with abutment and crown is from £2,640, or from £220 per month on 0% finance over 12 months. A three-unit implant bridge supported by two implants is £6,175, three implants replacing five teeth are £8,785, and a full arch All-on-4 is from £9,995 per arch, or from £261 per month over five years. A comprehensive implant assessment including X-rays, scans and a written plan is £95. All fees are on our fees page.

Dental implants are artificial tooth roots, usually made of titanium or, for a metal free option, zirconia ceramic. Once healed into the jaw they support a single crown, a bridge for several missing teeth, or a full arch of fixed teeth. They are the closest thing to natural teeth, protect the bone that would otherwise shrink away, and with good care can last decades.

Fully guided implant surgery means the implant position is planned on a 3D CBCT scan of your jaw and a digital scan of your teeth, then a surgical guide is 3D printed to that plan and used during surgery. The implant goes exactly where it was planned, avoiding nerves and the sinus, and the procedure is quicker with less swelling afterwards. All implants at Lotus Clinic in Golders Green are placed this way.

Dental implants have a long term success rate of around 95 to 98 percent. The main risks to an implant are smoking, untreated gum disease, poorly controlled diabetes and poor cleaning around the implant, so we check all of these before treatment and see implant patients for regular implant hygiene appointments afterwards.

A denture rests on the gums and is taken out to clean; over time it can loosen as the bone underneath shrinks. An implant is fixed in the bone and keeps that bone healthy, so it does not move when you eat or speak. If a full set of fixed teeth is not right for you, two to four implants can also be used to hold a denture firmly in place, which is a good middle ground.

As with any surgery there are small risks: infection, bruising, a rare change in sensation if a nerve is close, sinus involvement with upper back teeth, and an implant occasionally failing to heal into the bone (around two to five in every hundred), in which case it is usually replaced. Planning on a CBCT scan, guided placement and an experienced surgeon keep these risks low, and we go through them with you in detail before you decide.