Dental Implants

ADVANTAGES OF DENTAL IMPLANTS OVER DENTURES OR A BRIDGE

• Implants keeps you looking younger by preventing shrinkage of the jawbone or facial collapse caused by missing teeth. Crown & Bridge and full or partial dentures, address the short-term cosmetic problem of the missing teeth, but do nothing to stop the bone loss.
• Implants look, feel, and act like your natural teeth and restore the ability to chew properly, allowing a complete and healthy diet. They are secure and do not slip or shift when you speak and eat like full and partial dentures. Complete and partial dentures can be cosmetically pleasing, however, most people find the appliances difficult to adapt to and uncomfortable to wear due to the bulk of the metal and acrylic and the unsightly clasps necessary to stabilize the prosthesis.
• Implants are permanent; you never take them out like dentures or partials. They cant be misplaced. No one will ever know that you have a replacement tooth.
• Dental implant restorations do not decay. Implants, unlike bridges, allow you to replace one or more missing teeth without grinding down of healthy teeth on each side of the gap for abutments. Crown & Bridge require that two or more healthy teeth be ground down to serve as abutments (anchors) for a bridge, leaving them at a much greater risk for cavities and endodontic failure.
• Implants are cared for in the same way as your natural teeth. A bridge cannot be flossed, you must use other aids to clean it. Dentures and partials need to be removed at night and sometimes require costly glues and pastes.
• Implants typically last much longer than a crown and bridge and full or partial denture.

 

BONE LOSS ASSOCIATED WITH MISSING TEETH

Losing one or more of your teeth can cause a gap in your smile, the loss of chewing function and the inability to eat a complete diet. While these are certainly serious issues, a potentially bigger problem lies hidden beneath the surface: bone loss. Without the tooth to stimulate the jaw, the bone beneath it will begin to shrink (atrophy) in the same manner that muscle underneath a cast gets smaller. Since your facial bone supports the skin and muscles on top of it, losing volume can cause your face to look prematurely aged. The cheeks become sunken and you get what is referred to as witches chin. The good news is that dental implants offer a solution to stop bone loss. Dental implants transmit chewing forces to the jaw, stimulating it and halting the bone loss associated with missing teeth.

BONE REGENERATION (GRAFTING)

A key to implant success is the quantity and quality of the bone where the implant is to be placed. Before dental implant surgery, bone grafting is sometimes necessary to build up bone in the patients jaw so that implants can anchor firmly. Various techniques used to create sufficient bone have been performed successfully for many years and are fundamental to the implant cases. These techniques include socket preservation, ridge augmentation, and sinus grafts.

A patients need for bone grafting may become apparent at the time of their pre-surgery X-ray. Sometimes, inadequate bone volume is not discovered until the dentist actually begins dental implant surgery. In this case, the dental implant procedure will be halted and bone grafting will take place after the patient has agreed to the procedure.

In addition, special membranes may be utilized that dissolve under the gum and protect the bone graft and encourage bone regeneration. This is called guided bone regeneration or guided tissue regeneration.

• Socket preservation-Sometimes when you lose one or more teeth, you can get an indentation in your gums and jawbone where the tooth used to be. This happens because the jawbone recedes when it no longer is holding a tooth in place. Not only is this indentation unnatural looking, it also causes the replacement tooth to look too long compared to the adjacent tooth. Another implication is that there may not be enough bone to support an implant. Dr. Kaplan is trained and experienced in grafting bone to safely and permanently secure the implant. Whenever Dr. Kaplan extracts a tooth, he will determine if bone grafting is needed to be placed into the socket or the hole that the tooth has left. The materials used for this process will stimulate the surrounding bone to form new bone, which will then allow the placement of a dental implant. Without grafting, the bone collapses in the extraction site and patients who later request the option of a dental implant in the extraction site will have to go and get more aggressive bone grafting where bone is taken from different sites of the body. If you need an extraction Dr. Kaplan recommends that you use bone grafting into the socket so that it gives you the option of doing dental implants later on.
• Ridge Augmentation-When an area has been missing a tooth either as a result of previous removal or failure for a tooth to have developed, the bone volume may be inadequate for implant placement. Not only does this deformity cause problems in placing the implant, it can also cause an unattractive indentation in the jaw line near the missing teeth that may be difficult to clean and maintain. To correct this deformity, the gum is lifted away from the ridge to expose the bony defect. The defect is then filled with bone or bone substitute to build up the ridge. In these instances, the required amount of bone can be created by borrowing bone from other areas of your mouth or body. Alternatively, a number of bio-compatible materials alone or in combination can aid your body to produce new bone. The bone usually will need about four to twelve months to develop before implants can be placed. In some cases, the implant can be placed at the same time the ridge is modified. Ridge modification can enhance your restorative success both esthetically and functionally.
• Sinus Grafts-The upper back jaw has traditionally been one of the most difficult areas to successfully place dental implants due to insufficient bone quantity and quality and the close proximity of the sinus. This deficiency can be corrected by raising the sinus floor and placing bone graft materials into a portion of the sinus, thereby creating the quantity and quality of bone necessary to support an implant. Depending on your individual needs, the bone is usually allowed to develop for about 4 to 12 months before implants can be placed. After the implants are placed an additional healing period is required. In some case, the impant can be placed at the same time the sinus is augmented.

COST FACTORS TO REVIEW REGARDING IMPLANTS

The fees for implant treatment varies depending on the complexity of the procedure, the number of teeth being replaced and the number of dental implants required to support your replacement teeth. Some additional procedures may be required prior to the placement of your dental implants to ensure the long-term health of your dental implants. To obtain a specific fee estimate, it is necessary to have Dr. Kaplan examine your mouth. Some dental insurance plans cover a portion of the fee, but most do not. Typically, Dental implants have a higher initial cost than, Crown & Bridge and Full or Partial Dentures. However, dental implants usually have a lower lifetime cost. The long term costs of adhesives and relines associated with dentures can exceed the fee of dental implants. Implants prevent further complications such as tooth drifting and bone loss. Your treatment is a valuable investment to your health and well being. Our office will strive to make your dental restorations affordable by offering a variety of payment options, as well as offering lower cost implants for patients needing multiple implants. This makes good financial sense, considering that implants help maintain bone and protect your youthful appearance.