NHS eligibility criteria for dental implant treatment

NHS Choices clearly states: “Dental implants and orthodontic treatment, such as braces, are available on the NHS, but only if there’s a medical need for the treatment.” This means that tooth loss, whether due to infection, gum disease or injury must be detrimental to your health before you can be considered for NHS treatment. Currently, NHS band 2 course treatments do include extraction of teeth and transplantation of teeth. However, cosmetic treatments to improve appearance are not funded by the NHS, such as tooth whitening and smile makeovers. Some people opt for a combination of NHS treatment and private care for cosmetic treatment.

Severity of dental treatment needs

If the need for dental implants is because of disease, such as Periodontal disease, or serious health complications caused by the tooth loss, dental implant treatment may be available on the NHS. Although there are a number of new dental implant treatments available, not all are available with the NHS. Therefore it is important to check with your NHS dentist what types of dental implant treatment are available on the NHS and which treatments are not.

Financial capability and choice of dental implant treatment

Some people have the financial ability, whether through high earnings or savings and investments, to choose private care for implant treatments, including the new same day implants. However, there are also payment or finance plans available with certain private dental practices and it is worth contacting those private dental care practices that offer the treatments you are interested in for price comparisons. The ability to pay for your treatment over a long period of time can enable you to receive the type of dental implant you really want, so ask the private dentist you visit whether they offer this service.

When comparing dental implant treatments and whether to have them on the NHS or through private care, consider three main questions and ask for your dentist’s perspective too:

• How are my missing teeth affecting my health?
• Is the dental implant treatment I want available on the NHS?
• How affordable is dental implant treatment for me, NHS or Private?

After talking with the NHS and also private dentists, you will be more informed about what is available to you in terms of dental implant treatment.

The upside to composite is the ability to choose a shade which matches your teeth, making it harder to detect, the downside is obviously that if you choose it for more extensive work you’ll end up needing it replaced every couple of years and after a couple of replacements may decide on a different option anyway which is why most London dentists would recommend other options for larger work.

The first step is to clean the tooth up and roughen the surface to allow the dental cement to stick properly.  The shade of composite that matches your teeth is picked and the area to be worked on is masked off using cotton or latex.

Multiple layers of the compound are applied, being hardened at each stage by a curing light which activates the compound.  When all of the composite is in place your dentist will buff and polish the surface to get the ideal shape and finish for the most natural looking result.

However easy and cheap an option composite bonding might seem, remember that it won’t be as strong as other methods of repair.  You might also want to be careful which dentist you choose for this procedure thinking about things like their relative dental courses experience as the finish varies with artistic ability, asking to see examples of their other work is a good way to judge this.