Types of Dental Implants

Titanium Dental Implants

Titanium dental implants are made from a titanium alloy, known for its strength, light weight, and resistance to corrosion. Titanium is also biocompatible and non-toxic, allowing it to fuse naturally with the jawbone through a process called osseointegration — creating a stable, long-term foundation for your new tooth.

Titanium implants have been used in dentistry for over 40 years, longer than any other implant material, giving it the most extensive long-term research and clinical track record of any option available. A large-scale study published in 2025, involving over 158,000 implants, found an overall survival rate of approximately 97.8%.

At Plenty Smiles, we primarily use Neodent and Osstem titanium implants, both globally recognised implant systems. Blood work is reviewed if clinically indicated, based on your individual medical history.

When a tooth is lost, the jawbone in that area gradually loses density over time, since it’s no longer being stimulated by a tooth root. This process, known as bone resorption, can begin within months of losing a tooth and continues gradually if the gap isn’t addressed.

Over time, this bone loss can affect nearby teeth (which may start to shift), your bite, and even the shape of your face and jaw — the area around a long-term missing tooth can appear sunken compared to the surrounding gum line.

Dental implants help address this because, like a natural tooth root, they stimulate the surrounding bone through normal biting and chewing function — supporting bone density in that area, rather than allowing further loss.

This is one of the reasons it’s best to address a missing tooth sooner rather than later — the longer the gap is left, the more bone loss can occur, which may affect your options for treatment and could mean a bone graft becomes necessary where it otherwise wouldn’t have been.

Risks and Considerations

As with any surgical procedure, it’s important to understand what’s involved before deciding if a dental implant is right for you:

• Placing an implant is a surgical procedure, and carries the general risks of any minor oral surgery, including bleeding, swelling, bruising, and post-operative discomfort, typically managed with pain relief medication.
• There’s a small risk of infection, or of the implant failing to fuse properly with the jawbone (osseointegration failure), which can sometimes require the implant to be removed and re-placed at a later date.
• For implants near the sinus (upper jaw) or major nerves (lower jaw), there’s a small risk of sinus complications or temporary/rare permanent numbness in the lip, chin, or tongue. Your CT scan and OPG are used to plan around these structures and minimise this risk.
• Adequate bone density and volume is needed to support an implant — if you don’t have enough, a bone graft may be recommended first, which adds time and cost to your treatment.
• Certain factors can affect implant success, including smoking, uncontrolled diabetes, and a history of gum disease — these will be discussed with you during your assessment.
• Dental implants require ongoing maintenance, including regular hygiene visits and check-ups, to reduce the risk of complications such as peri-implantitis (gum disease around an implant).

Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks and benefits — we recommend a thorough assessment with our team, and encourage seeking a second opinion if you’d like additional peace of mind before proceeding.