Dental implants
Cosmetic Dentistry
Most often asked questions regarding implants
1. Q.
What are dental implants?
A. Dental implants are (titanium) substitutes for natural tooth roots. One implant can support one porcelain tooth; two or more implants can support a fixed porcelain bridge or a removable denture.
2. Q. How many teeth can be replaced by implants?
A. One, two or all teeth. For instance, a person that wears dentures can have 10 implants placed in the upper jaw and 8-10 implants in the lower jaw. Porcelain fixed teeth similar to the natural teeth can be fixed on these implants. There is nothing
in dentistry that resembles and feels as natural as implant supported porcelain teeth.
3. Q. Can they support a permanent bridge?
A. Yes, most effectivelyDepending on how many teeth are to be replaced, 2 to 12 implants will support 3-4 to 14 fixed
teeth.
4. Q. Can they support dentures?
A. To render a denture stable, 2 to 4 implants and a bar are needed for the lower jaw, while 4-6 implants and a bar are needed for an upper jaw. (Go to the photos in dental implants to see a bar on implants). In a few cases, 2 implants in the lower jaw can stabilize a
denture.
5. Q. Is it an effective treatment for anyone?
A. A sufficient amount and a well-mineralized bone are necessary for placing implants.
Your general health is another factor to be considered (uncontrolled diabetes, for example, makes it unwise to place implants until appropriate treatment brings it under control). Menopausal women with untreated osteoporosis are another example. Smoking diminishes the success rate of the integration of implants by 10 to15 percent. The doctor will examine your mouth and will take x-rays to be able to inform you if you are a good candidate for implant supported teeth.
6. Q. Where does the surgery take place?
A. Clinics that are well equipped both in personnel and equipment can do the procedure on their premises. In certain cases, when the general health of the patient is compromised, the procedure takes place at the hospital.
7. Q. What is the sequence of appointments?
A. Phase I: Dr. Farsirotu and his assistants will collect all the data necessary for a complete diagnosis, e.g.: questionnaire regarding your physical health including blood pressure measurement and blood tests (if needed). He will examine the mouth and remaining bone by means of palpation, visual inspection, x-rays, impressions of your mouth, photographs of your face, etc. This will be done in a first appointment.
A comprehensive appointment treatment plan comprising different options will be then developed, typed and presented to you within a second appointment where the prognosis for each option, the time required to finish treatment and the fees attached to each option will be discussed. Thus, you will be in a position to make an informed decision based on precise information. The fees for these two appointments: $160
Phase II: Some medications/pills are given orally to help control the nervousness and local anesthesia (numbing) is administered (as it was done when the tooth/teeth was/were pull out. Then a receptacle site is created in your jaw where the implant will be left for 4 to 6 months to allow the bone to grow on the implant. You will continue to use the prosthesis you had prior to implantation (if any) after slight modifications were done to it in order to protect the implant site. In some cases, unsalvageable teeth are pulled out and implants and bone grafts are placed simultaneously. The doctor will tell you in advance if this is possible for your case. In certain situations, all the teeth can be pulled out, implants and bone grafts placed and temporary fixed teeth can be attached to implants for 4 months when the final porcelain teeth will replace the temporary teeth. Ask the doctor if you are a good candidate for immediate teeth on implants
(teeth in 1 day)
Phase III: Four or six months later, an abutment is screwed into the implant /s and temporary crowns are fabricated to gradually load the implants.
Phase IV: (2 weeks after Phase III) An impression is taken and sent to the lab for the fabrication of a porcelain tooth.
Phase V: (2 weeks after Phase IV) Seating the permanent porcelain tooth onto the implant. If bone grafts are not needed the total time required to finish an implant treatment is 5 months..
8. Q. Must special care be given to these implants?
A. Brush your teeth and gums regularly, use dental floss around implants and have a professional dental cleaning four (4) times a
year.
9. Q. How long does an implant last?
A. If successfully placed, the success rate of implants is of 96-100% for the front region of the lower jaw; in the upper jaw and the back region of the lower jaw where the bone is softer, the success rate is of 85-90%. Like natural teeth, they may last for a lifetime if properly taken care of. Factors that may adversely affect implants are diabetes, smoking, and radiation for cancer disease, liver disease and lack of compliance on the part of the patient with hygiene instructions.
To compare natural teeth to implanted teeth in terms of longevity, we have to create an identical load / pressure on the bone from the implant to that created by natural teeth; so, for each missing natural tooth one should have it replaced with implant supported. This is not always possible. Luckily, if enough implants are placed, the bone responds favorably to a physiological load and deposits new bone layers around the implants, thus making them capable to withstand increased loads.
10. Q. What are the advantages?
A. 1. After the extraction of a tooth, the bone starts a process of atrophy (bone loss) due to the lack of function.
If an implant is left in the socket of the extracted tooth, the bone loss is
prevented. If a tooth was extracted a long time ago and there is still enough bone to accommodate an implant, once placed, the implant will stop further bone
loss.
2. Implants give you a second set of fixed teeth.
3. Each replacement tooth is supported by its own root (implant), like natural teeth do, thus preventing bone loss.
4. Sacrificing the adjacent teeth by cutting them down to be used as abutments for a bridge, becomes obsolete.
5. Partial dentures can be avoided if implants are used.
6. Unstable dentures can be made fixed by attaching them to implants.
7. Complete dentures can be avoided by using implants to support porcelain fixed teeth.
8. There is no other dental treatment that comes close to implants in terms of the natural feel of the implant supported porcelain teeth.
9. You will be free to eat everything. You can smile again without being afraid that someone will notice the gaps created by missing teeth or that your denture will fall at a most delicate moment or even to be embarrassed to eat for fear of annoying your neighbors with a constant clicking noise.
11. Q. Is it a painful procedure?
A. Patients experience no discomfort during the procedure or afterwards. However, some patients present with slight swelling of the cheek and in rare cases a transient skin discoloration that is resolved within days. If the patient follows the instructions given by the dental surgeon, it can be compared to a simple tooth
extraction.
12. Q. Are there dietary restrictions?
A.Yes, patients must eat mashed-type foods rich in vitamins, proteins and minerals to ensure a fast recovery without any complication. Refraining from smoking helps blood circulation in the gums thus making it possible for the wound to heal without complications. (Please check dietary instructions
below).
13. Q. How long after the procedure can I go back to work?
A. The following day after surgery, in most cases.
14. Q. What are the risk-factors involved?
A. The softer and thinner the remaining bone the more the implants will not have enough support to stay in the jaws. Statistically 1 to1.5 out of 10 implants will fail in the upper jaw where the bone is softer for a success rate of 85% to90% and 0.5 to 0.2 out of 10 implants will fail in the lower anterior jaw where the bone is strong for a 95 to 98% success rate. If an implant fails there are 2 options: a) if there are enough other implants that are stable, treatment will continue as planned b) if this is the only implant placed and it failed, either a new implant will be seated or a conventional treatment will be needed (a fixed bridge on your adjacent teeth or a removable partial denture). The doctor will decide with is the best way to
follow.
15. Q. Who offers this treatment?
A. Because of the tremendous amount of knowledge necessary for surgically placing implants and then restoring them with teeth that function properly and are esthetically pleasing, because the implants are directly anchored in the bone without any ligaments and as a result behave differently and because you want them to last as long as possible, the best bet for you is to have them placed and restored by a professional that is certified to place implants and restore them. That saves you money and time.
16. Q. How does it feel?
A. Most patients will tell you they forget that their teeth aren't all "natural". It feels great!
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Most often asked questions regarding
cosmetic dentistry
1. Q.
What is cosmetic dentistry?
A.
Cosmetic dentistry
is a new field dentistry that focuses on enhancing the appearance of the visible teeth when smiling. It is similar to plastic surgery and in many cases done in
parallel.
2. Q. Which are the new techniques and the advanced technology now available to create beautiful teeth?
A. For fifteen years, significant progress in the field of dental materials has allowed the development of a revolutionary technique of cosmetic treatments:
porcelain veneers, insoluble bonding cements and laser-activated polymerization.
3. Q.
How many teeth can one cover by facets during only one treatment?
A. Normally with eight to ten teeth can be covered in two appointments.
4. Q. How long are the visits?
A. Two visits of 3 hours each.
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