Since I qualified I have always been wary of dental implants.

Nobody likes their treatments to fail, and at a cost of about £2000 per implant, the patient won’t be happy either.

We are in an age of extensive litigation and regulation, and dental implants once seemed like asking for trouble. Statistically speaking, if one of your 20 implants is bound to fail—imagine doing one implant a week, then every year it is likely that 2 implants may fail, leading to 2 unhappy patients and 2 complaints!

Having now started my dental implants course, I realize that when such risks are inherent in dental implants, the solution is proper and complete communication with the patient.

When the patient understands and accepts the risks of implants, then if a failure occurs, that understanding should help mitigate concerns.

Dental implants aren’t something to fear when the proper consent and communication processes are followed. Combined with thorough case assessment, appropriate treatment choices, and working within your limits, implants can be a safe and effective solution.