Numérica Dentaire offers a complete dental implant prosthesis service, from digital planning to fabrication and installation of implant-supported prostheses, including annual hygiene follow-ups. In addition to the full range of digital design and planning equipment and software, our clinic has its own on-site fabrication laboratory for planning, modelling and producing a new tooth or set of teeth.
Find out more about our digital implant prosthesis services,
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Proven innovations
Digital dental implants are a durable, discreet and increasingly popular solution. That's understandable. With similar strength to natural roots, implants allow you to attach replacement teeth (ceramic or porcelain crowns, pontics or a full arch) that look just like your original teeth. They help to:
- maintain the aesthetic appearance of your dentition,
- prevent bone loss,
- increase the efficiency of mastication and digestion,
- ensure the stability of any implant-retained prosthesis,
- greatly improve the comfort of prostheses in the mouth,
- restore self-confidence and self-esteem,
- and, above all, restore quality of life.
(For an overview of our digital implant-supported prostheses, click here.)
Implants can accommodate any replacement tooth in a space left empty by a lost tooth. Used alone, with other implants or other teeth, they can also be used to anchor a fixed prosthesis when several teeth are missing. After a short healing period, the bone attaches to the implant, a process called osseointegration, and the replacement dentition is fixed in place. Dental implants can even be superior to natural teeth, since they are unaffected by cavities or nerve abscesses!
Because digital implant planning and surgical guide fabrication improve the patient experience and optimize results, our professionals have developed a 6-step method as part of their assessment and treatment plan.
Step 1: Consultation, CBCT imaging and intraoral scan
The first appointment begins with an assessment of the patient’s medical history by our dental surgeon, including an X-ray to analyze eligibility for dental implants. If so, a second appointment is used to acquire a 3D radiograph to assess the anatomy and quality of the hard tissue. This additional information not only helps plan implant placement, but also determines whether bone grafting is required and facilitates more complex surgeries.
Step 2: Virtual design
Intraoral digital impressions are taken to obtain fast, accurate 3D models of the mouth’s hard and soft tissue surfaces. All digital information obtained is entered into the patient’s electronic file. Our professionals can easily merge CBCT images and digital impressions to create a virtual 3D profile that can be used for analysis and treatment planning. Thanks to this information bank, they can simultaneously visualize bone anatomy, intraoral hard and soft tissues, and the design of the final prosthesis to come.
Step 3: Combining measurements and 3D imaging
Next, using state-of-the-art software, the various 3D scans are combined. Digital prosthetic design data are also generated. On this basis, Numérica Dentaire professionals design the digital dentition best suited to the patient’s occlusion and aesthetics. This software is also used to determine the available spaces, which will help the surgeon to orientate implants more precisely according to masticatory forces.
Step 4: Implant planning
Using the combined 3D format, the optimal implant position is planned according to the patient’s anatomy and the future design of the ideal prosthesis.
Step 5: Guide design and fabrication
Once the implant has been planned, a 3D surgical guide is designed using a 3D printer, which also guarantees smooth, simple printing. If the team needs to call in an external partner, the guide design can be exported as a file in just a few clicks.
Step 6: A magnificent clinical result
Implant placement is performed during a surgical procedure under local anesthetic, during which the dental surgeon places a screw made from titanium — a lightweight, completely biocompatible and strong material — into the jawbone, replacing the missing tooth. The implant is inserted using a surgical guide to ensure perfect positioning. Thanks to the digital tools used throughout the process, there are no more unpleasant surprises…
Q&A
What are the advantages of dental implants?
There are so many! Because dental implants are permanent in nature, they give you
the security of a set of teeth for life. Thanks to the digital technologies we use, the implant process is also more precise and positive on every level:
- Precise measurement tools help to make better diagnoses and greatly reduce the risk of human error.
- The tailoring software generates virtual models that enable patients to visualize their smile even before treatment begins.
- Made-to-measure design with facial scanning ensures that aesthetics are also made-to-measure: your eyes won’t believe it!
- Patients can take a 3D trial model home to test comfort and mastication before finalizing the implant.
- Digital technologies require fewer appointments and promote cleaner, more environmentally friendly manufacturing.
- Any digital prosthesis attached to an implant can be replicated at the click of a button and within a short time, without further measurements needed. It’s especially reassuring after an accident!
How to know if dental implants are right for you?
Are you about to lose one or more teeth? Are you tired of living with unstable dentures, an ill-fitting partial prosthesis or dentures that hurt your gums? Are you depriving yourself of the foods you love because of chewing problems? Have you lost the desire to smile? Are you fed up with dentures that require adhesive for fear of shifting when you speak in public, that can give you bad breath or that you need to remove every night before bed?
If any of this sounds familiar, it’s time to think about digital implants.
By opting for implants with fixed, removable bar or abutment prostheses, you’ll be able to get back to living as you used to without worrying about your teeth wobbling or shifting. You’ll also regain your ease of speech and pronunciation. In other words, you’ll get more than your smile back: you’ll get your speech back!
How do implants protect the jawbone?
Since they are inserted and anchored into the jawbone, dental implants behave like natural teeth. They therefore help to maintain the health of the jawbone and prevent bone loss, a consequence of wearing a full or partial removable prosthesis. When a missing tooth is replaced by a dental implant, the fusion (or osseointegration) of implant and bone provides stability similar to that of a natural tooth. When all the teeth are missing, dental implants even help stimulate bone mass, which can protect against atrophy and help preserve facial structure.
