Implants

In the past it was necessary to cut down the teeth adjacent to a missing tooth to use them as handles for a bridge that replaced the missing tooth. With implants, the adjacent teeth are not altered. In the first of a two-step process, a titanium rod replaces the root of the tooth. It's as invasive as a tooth extraction, says McKenzie, and is done under a local anaesthetic, taking about one hour per tooth. After the implants is placed, the gum is stitched over it and left for three to six months as the titanium integrates with the bone. At that point, the gum is lifted and the implants is topped with a crown