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Common dental implant questions answered honestly by Dr Andrew Fennell at Love Implants in Colchester. If your question isn’t covered here, ask Andrew at the free consultation
A well-placed dental implant typically lasts 20 to 30 years and often a lifetime. The implant itself (the titanium screw fused with your jaw bone) is the most durable part. The crown on top wears more like a natural tooth and may need replacing after 10 to 15 years, but the implant supporting it usually keeps going.
Lifespan depends on the quality of placement, your bone health, smoking status, and how well you maintain oral hygiene. Andrew’s implant work uses materials that meet the highest UK standards
The implant procedure itself isn’t painful. You’ll have local anaesthetic, so you won’t feel the placement. IV sedation is available for nervous patients or longer procedures.
Most patients describe the post-surgery discomfort as similar to a tooth extraction: manageable with standard painkillers for two to three days, then fading quickly. The recovery is typically less uncomfortable than patients expect.
UK private clinics typically charge £2,500 to £3,500 for a single tooth implant including the crown. For All-on-4, the range is £15,000 to £25,000 per arch.
At Love Implants, prices are roughly half the UK average for equivalent work. See the full pricing for figures, or get an accurate quote at the free consultation.
Some patients have good experiences with implant treatment overseas. Many don’t. We see patients regularly who’ve returned from Turkey with complications poorly placed implants, infection, prosthetics that don’t fit, or work that’s broken down after a few months.
Fixing these problems often costs more than the original UK treatment would have. There’s no follow-up with the overseas clinic, no General Dental Council oversight, and no easy recourse if things go wrong. We’d rather quote you a fair UK price than see you back as a rescue case.
Bone loss doesn’t usually rule out implants, it just means some preparatory work may be needed first. Bone grafting, sinus lifts, or ridge augmentation can rebuild the bone needed to anchor an implant.
In All-on-4 cases, the angled implant positions often avoid the need for grafting altogether.
The free CT scan tells Andrew exactly how much bone you have and what’s possible.
Most cases take three to six months from start to finish. For same-day implants , the placement is done in one appointment but the implant still needs three to six months to integrate with the bone before the final crown is fitted.
If bone grafting is required, most graft cases completed within 5 months, small grafts within 4. Sinus graft cases with severe bone loss take up to a year.
You’ll have a temporary tooth in place throughout. You won’t walk around with a gap in the front.
Implant success rates are typically quoted at 95-98% over 10 years in well-selected cases. The numbers depend on patient factors (smoking, bone health, diabetes) and on the dentist placing them.
Andrew’s success rate is in the high 90s, in line with the best published outcomes. Complex cases have slightly lower rates than routine ones, which is part of why honest case selection matters.
Yes. A well-made implant crown is indistinguishable from a natural tooth. The colour, shape, and surface texture are all matched to the teeth around it.
Andrew uses digital scans (not impression material) to make crowns, which gives a more accurate fit and a more natural finish. You can choose between composite and zirconia crowns based on aesthetic preference and budget.
Yes, but smoking significantly reduces implant success rates. The healing process needs blood flow that smoking restricts. Implants placed in heavy smokers fail more often than implants placed in non-smokers.
We’ll ask you to stop or significantly reduce smoking around the surgery and during healing. If you’re not willing or able to do that, Andrew will explain how that affects your case and the realistic outcome.
For missing teeth, the main alternatives are traditional bridges (which require filing down healthy neighbouring teeth) and partial or full dentures (which are removable and can slip).
Both can be appropriate in specific cases. Andrew will discuss the alternatives at the free consultation so you can make an informed comparison.
For some patients, the right answer isn’t implants. We’ll say so if that’s the case.
Like natural teeth, with two specific additions: floss carefully around the implant, and use an interdental brush to clean where the implant meets the gum. Regular hygiene appointments are essential to monitor the bone level around the implant.
Andrew will give you specific care instructions after treatment. Following them is what makes the difference between an implant that lasts 30 years and one that fails after five.
All-on-4 is a fixed bridge of teeth attached to four implants. It doesn’t come out. You clean it like natural teeth.
Implant-retained dentures click onto two to four implants but are removable. You take them out to clean.
All-on-4 feels more like natural teeth and stays in. Implant-retained dentures are usually less expensive and easier to clean thoroughly. Andrew will help you choose based on your priorities.
Yes, in almost all cases. A CT scan shows the bone, nerves, and exact anatomy in 3D, which is essential for safe implant placement. A 2D X-ray isn’t enough.
At Love Implants, the CT scan is free. Most clinics charge £100 to £300 for the same scan.
In almost all cases, no. The NHS only provides dental implants in very specific circumstances (such as significant trauma or congenital absence of teeth), and access is heavily restricted.
For most patients, implant treatment is private.
Implants can fail for various reasons: infection, bone loss around the implant (peri-implantitis), excessive bite force, or poor initial placement. Failed implants usually need to be removed.
Andrew handles implant removal and replacement, including failed implants placed elsewhere. In most cases, a new implant can be placed in the same site after healing.
Book a free consultation with Andrew to discuss your specific situation. The consultation and the CT scan are both free. No commitment.