“I decided to have dental implants after attending Smilemakers for a standard check up after years of living abroad. I had previously had some crown work on my teeth, but these started to deteriorate and additionally I had gum disease which was beginning to affect my other teeth. I did some research, and although there are a number of local dental practices offering dental implants, Smilemakers offered this dental procedure as a specialty, and throughout the course of the treatment, I was always kept fully informed as to timescales, cost and payment options and what the treatment would entail at each stage of the process. Before the day of the surgery, I had a number of consultations during which the forthcoming procedure was discussed and x-rays were taken using state of the art equipment.

I chose the option of ‘teeth in a day’ which effectively means that on the day of surgery, whilst the implants are being inserted, a technician is on site to make a set of temporary teeth, which are fixed to the implants and which you keep throughout the healing process. Although slightly more expensive, I chose the ‘teeth in a day’ option as I wanted to get the invasive surgery completed in one go. Whilst I cannot say it was one of my best experiences, the whole process took about 8 hours, was pain free (with local anaesthetic) and the dental surgeon Tom Darling and the dental nurse Sophie were totally professional, always reassuring and kept me updated at all stages as to how the surgery was proceeding.

As expected, there was some swelling after the surgery, but this had surprisingly gone within 2-3 days and the slight soreness of the stitches had gone within a week. As I needed some bone regeneration, for me the whole process took about a year. Whilst this may seem a long time, most of this is to allow the mouth to adapt to the new implants to ensure that the new permanent teeth fit comfortably. I had a number of check up visits during this period, but as the temporary teeth were so well made, I almost forgot I was still awaiting the permanent set. However, when these were eventually fitted, I was very pleased with the final result.

The process isn’t cheap, but you do get what you pay for and there are no hidden costs. If you need to have implants, I would highly recommend Smilemakers but especially the team of Tom and Sophie who I would like to thank for their skill, professionalism and reassurance at all stages throughout the process.”