My dental implant treatment – a patient shares his story

Step forward Dr Ian L, Torrington resident, Pink Floyd fan, and proud owner of a new implant- supported molar, courtesy of John Cato, one of three qualified implantologists at Devon Dental Implant Centre, part of TDP.

Dental implants are a natural looking, fixed and long-term solution for missing or failing teeth. They don’t slip, click or rub your mouth like ill-fitting plates or dentures, so you can eat your favourite foods, talk naturally, and smile confidently.

Having lost a molar, Ian chose to have a dental implant treatment for functional reasons. “It was in an unobtrusive but fairly critical place, and the gap made eating difficult as there was nothing to bite onto” he explains. “I read up on implants and discussed the alternatives with John. I was adamant I didn’t want a plate as I’d had one before and didn’t get on with it. I wanted a permanent solution, not a mouthful of plastic with a tooth attached!

John has been Ian’s regular dentist for some years, and until he required an implant, he was unaware that TDP specialises in the treatment. “It was naïve of me, but when I spoke to John he said, ‘no problem, I can do that for you’.”

Like most implant patients, Ian’s experience was nothing like he had imagined. “I thought it was going to be massively intrusive and that I would have to be knocked out by general anaesthetic,” he said. Instead, he was given a local anaesthetic – and his choice of music to accompany the procedure.

“John has a Google mini speaker in the surgery, and he said to me ‘What music do you want? You name it we’ve got it.’ I said it’s got to be ‘Comfortably Numb’ by Pink Floyd. So I was having my treatment done to that. I expected to experience some discomfort, but there was no pain at all. John’s a Scouse, and I have lived and worked in Liverpool for a long time so we can chat and laugh about things. It couldn’t have been better!”

In fact, when it comes to putting patients at ease, Ian can’t fault his dental implant treatment at TDP. “One is always slightly anxious when a new process or procedure is in play. You can’t mitigate that, but John and his team are so proficient, caring and thorough. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them.”

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