DENTAL IMPLANTS

Dental implants are used to support missing teeth. They can be used to replace missing single teeth or multiple teeth.

The use of dental implants was pioneered in Sweden in the 1960's.  The first patients were treated in 1965.  To this day, many hundreds of thousands of dental implants have been inserted.  They have proven to be one of the most effective and predictable treatment modalities in modern dentistry.

The metal used in the manufacture of implants is titanium.  It is suitable for the fixation into the jaws due to its inertness and biocompatibility. 

Inserting dental implants is a relatively minor oral surgical procedure.  It is usually done in the dental surgery, under local anaesthetic.  Post-operative discomfort is usually minimal and normal activities can generally be resumed after 24 - 48 hours.

After the dental implants are inserted into the jaw, a certain amount of time is left to allow the implant to integrate with or "bond" to the bone. This process is known as osseointegration.  After the prescribed healing time, a tooth or teeth are either screwed or cemented to the implant.  

The prosthetic teeth are usually fixed to the dental implants and cannot be removed.  The false teeth are looked upon as being a permanent restoration.  The teeth supported by the dental implants look and feel like natural teeth. Dental implants require post-operative care.  However, this is usually carried out during your normal dental check up.

The advantage of dental implants over other forms of dental restoration is that no other teeth are used to support the false teeth.  This means that no other precious tooth structure is damaged when replacing missing teeth.

Specialist team treatment planning
Here at the MLC Centre Dental Surgery, we pride ourselves on offering the best quality care we can for our patients, that is why we have set up specialist team treatment planning within the practice. It is Dr Adam Alford’s priority that if he feels if he can refer you to a specialist practitioner, who is one of the heads of their field, for your treatment he does. Dr Alford maintains the ideology that he sticks to what he is good at, if he feels that there is someone better than him he will refer you. Overall the team ideology enables our patients to receive the highest level of treatment possible.

We have gone to great lengths to find high quality specialists in their fields. For our implant placement we use Dr Luke Villata in Castlereagh St, Sydney 2000. He has carried out numerous studies and lectures in the field of implant treatment extensively around the world.

We also like Dr Villata because he is a very approachable helpful practitioner and explains and discusses treatments very well with our patients. Although he is a specialist and highly regarded within his field his pricing structure is very reasonable.

Dr Luke Villata’s CV Includes;

Graduated from University of Sydney 1984
Worked in Tasmania 1985-1987
Worked in London 1987-1993
Masters Degree in Periodontology from the Royal Dental College, Aarhus, Denmark - 1996
Specialist registration in NSW as a Periodontist - 1996
Lecturer in Periodontology at the university of Sydney - 1997-present
Private practice in Periodontics and implant dentistry - 1996- present
Lectured extensively at both the undergraduate and post graduate level