I was asked by Barbara Dunn at Kimberly-Clark (you know the people who make Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups etc…) to make a post about how to reduce the number of infections at health care facilities.
For infomation on HAI's go to www.haiwatchnews.com
or click here Healthcare-Associated Infections
Are you missing a back tooth? Then you should consider getting a dental implant. A dental implant acts as the root of the tooth and can allow for a crown to be placed over the implant. No need to grind down healthy teeth on either side of your missing tooth for a bridge.
X ray of my patient showing the missing upper molar tooth. One option would have been to grind away healthy tooth to create room for a bridge. The teeth on either side of the missing tooth would have to be drilled on for a 'crown' and that would hold in the bridge.
With a dental implant we can save healthy tooth structure by not having to shape the adjacent natural teeth. In some cases it can cost less to do a dental implant and crown instead of a bridge.
Final pan x-ray of a OCO two piece 6mm x 6mm dental implant placed to act as the root of a missing upper molar tooth.
Clinical picture of the same OCO two piece dental implant with a healing cap. This is the day of placement. Notice the lack of blood or stitches or the gum having to be cut and pushed back. This traditional size dental implant is placed in the same fashion as a mini dental implant. Very little surgery, very little discomfort and post operative pain for the patients. Because the bone in this case was very soft I decided to use a regular sized traditional two piece dental implant.
If the bone had been dense I could have placed multiple mini dental implants to support the molar crown as shown in this case. Both solutions work and work well. It is really a choice for the patient and dentist on what can be done and at what cost (economic, time, and potential discomfort).
This implant will heal for several months (12-16 weeks) before we can 'load' it with a crown. In the case shown above with the mini dental implants because there was good dense bone I was able to place the crown over the implants in 3 weeks. The mini implant crown has been in function now for over a year.
I will continue the post to show the abutment (the part of the implant that comes up out of the gum for the crown to attach to) and final porcelain crown.
Paresh B Patel Dental Implants Charlotte NC
For tight spaces in the esthetic zone where I normally would have placed a one piece 3.0mm dental implant, BioHorizons now has a two piece Laser Lok 3.0 implant.
BioHorizons two piece with the Laser Lok microchannels. These microchannels in the BioHorizons dental implant are stated to allow a physical connective tissue attachement to the implant.
The 3.0 BioHorizons implant also comes in a one piece for immediate load applications.
I have contacted their sales rep Nick Wernimont to get a few of them to see how they work in my hands. The placement protocol looks simple and straighforward. Look for a post on the BioHorizons One and Two Piece 3.0 dental implants soon. I hope to place them for a maxillary missing lateral incisor.
Paresh B Patel Dental Implants Charlotte NC
Missing a back molar? Don't want to wear a partial denture? Have you been told you will need a sinus lift for a traditional implant?
In some cases all of these issues can be solved with a mini dental implant.
X-ray of the missing upper teeth. Notice on the upper jaw the limited amount of bone that is left.
4 OCO crown and bridge head mini dental implants in place to anchor two molar size crowns. A lot of times Dr.s ask me why are you putting in two mini implants to replace one tooth instead of one larger one? My answer (best worded by my friend Dr. Chow) is lets replace the upper molar tooth by replacing it with the most anatomically and biologically correct position of the missing roots. 2 or 3 implants to disperse the force the way the body originally had it.
The 4 mini dental implants are inserted with 2 engaging the palatal(roof of the mouth side) slope of bone. The other 2 engage the buccal(cheek side of the bone). This way we avoid the sinus cavity and have primary stability from the day of placement. This is the original positions of the roots the mini dental implant will replace. These mini dental implants had over 40ncm of torque day of placement.
I often get asked questions on how can patients keep the crowns clean. Each crown has a 'flossing groove' built into the anatomy. This will help the patient guide the water pic or floss threader.
Floss in between the mini dental implants to confirm removal of excess cement and to demonstrate to the patient how to use the floss threader or water pic.
Crowns in place and floss removed.
Implants are not teeth. The assumption that a dental implant should be the size of the root it replaces should be reexamined. Titanium alloy provides a level of strength in a smaller size than a tooth root does. We should place into our patients the minimum amount of foreign substance (titanium dental implants) required to maximize the vital bone supporting and surrounding the implants. For a good class on learning how to place implants click here: Simple Implant Placement Course & Hands on Seminar
Paresh B Patel Dental Implants Charlotte NC
A full day of education to learn the next small big thing in implant dentistry….the mini dental implant.
Easy to place
Easy to restore
Minimal surgery with Maximum return for Dr.'s and Patients
If you have never placed a dental implant then consider starting with a 2.2mm or 2.5mm mini dental implant from OCO Biomedical.
If you are placing implants and want to sharpen your skill for fixed or removable applications then this course will teach you the logical progression to larger size implants. Move from the 2.2 and 2.5 micro implants to a real 3.0 Mini Implant. Then by just changing the final bit (no additional drills) you can move up to a 4.0 or 5.0 one piece or two piece implant.
Paresh B Patel Implant Dentistry Charlotte NC
This a part 2 of the missing lateral tooth post. After orthodontics some patients have a space from a missing tooth. My patient Zack was one of those. His choices were:
Walk around with a plastic retainer with a denture tooth in it. He would have to remove this retainer every time he wanted to eat or walk around with a gap between his front teeth.
Zack smiling with his missing tooth.
So in one 30 minute appointment Zack had a mini dental implant placed. A standard crown impression was taken and in 1 week First Impressions Dental Lab returned his final porcelain crown.
Close up of the mini dental implant crown. Day of placement.
Mini dental implants are easy to place, easy to restore, cost effective and a painless way to replace a missing tooth or several missing teeth.
I think all dentists should get educated in placing mini implants.
There a several good courses that can provide this kind of training:
Mini Dental Implant Education CE Seminar with hands on training.
Paresh B Patel Implant Dentist Charlotte NC
Dental Implants Hickory Wilkesboro Boone Asheville NC
With over 75 Million Americans missing at least one tooth I am amazed that there are not more mini dental implants being placed.
Typical of what most patients who are missing teeth have. A empty spot somewhere in the middle of their teeth….just past the smile line. If they smile big enough you see the empty space. This is easily and painlessly corrected with 2 short visits to the dentist and a mini dental implant and crown.
In this patient case a Intra Lock MILO 3.0mm mini dental implant was placed from Shatkin FIRST. No surgery, no flap of gum tissue was cut, no bone was added. Just a simple procedure to gently rotate the mini dental implant into the gum. A small dental bit was used to create a opening in the gum the size of a pencil lead. Notice the lack of bleeding or trauma to the surrounding gum tissue.
Internal view of the Porcelain to Metal crown that will be cemented over the mini dental implant. Sometimes I am asked is there a fit to the crown? In this case there is a true fit, the crown will not rotate as it intimately adapts to the square base on the mini dental implant.
Porcelain crown by First Impressions Dental Labcemented over the Intra Lock Mini Dental Implant.
Final x-ray of the crown over the mini dental implant. Easy to place, easy for the patient to keep clean and a cost effective way for patients to consider dental implants that otherwise would just walk around with a missing tooth.
Implant dentistry is not just for the wealthy. It is and should be for everyone. Technology and forward thinking dentists such as Todd Shatkin have created a solution that most patients need and most dentists can perform. Easy implant placement courses to consider:
OCO Dental Implant Hands On Seminars
Paresh B Patel Implant Dentistry Charlotte NC
What do patients that have no teeth really want? Is it dental implants? Crowns? Implant supported dentures? NO…they want their teeth. For right now that is not something that dentistry can give back to them… However we can get pretty close with some mini dental implants and a well thought out and fabricated full arch roundhouse bridge of porcelain crowns.
When we decide make a full arch of teeth over mini dental implants I like to make a well fitting denture to begin with. It is our blueprint for what the final crowns should look like. The patient can approve in the denture the color, size, esthetics, function, speech, etc….all before we make the investment in the final porcelain bridge.
Once the provisional denture is approved by the patient all the diagnostic information is sent to the Dental Lab for the final planning. This case was done with Evolution Dental Lab. A guide stent is made for the placement of the mini dental implants. This is done off the Cone Beam 3D x-ray scan to ensure the dental implants are placed in sound bone and will allow for the crowns to be placed in the correct approved position.
A wax mock up of the final design is made on the stone cast over the mini dental implants. This mock up will be duplicated in putty so I can make the patient in their mouth a temporary set of teeth to confirm everything once more.
Surgical guide for the placement of the mini dental implants.
OCO Biomedical Mini Dental Implants in place ready to have the temporary bridge made.
The temporary is made…notice how similar it looks to the approved denture. Since we have worked out most of the details of esthetics and function in the denture all I need to do is place the dental implants the the predetermined positions and copy the denture into the temporary bridge. The patient leaves that day without the denture. He has a fixed set of teeth to chew and smile with. Any slight changes, if needed, are made and the dental lab can make the final bridge.
The final mini dental implant bridge was made in two pieces. There is an exact fit to this bridge. Notice the multicolor pink porcelain to frame the porcelain crowns.
Back teeth for the mini dental implant roundhouse bridge.
Final bridge over the OCO Biomedical dental implants.
Mini Dental Implant Bridge cemented in patients mouth…day of placement.
Lip retracted view of the mini dental implant bridge. Notice the intimate fit of the pink porcelain to the gum tissue. The patient can floss or waterpick between each mini dental implant.
Steve with his new teeth the day of placement. He has a full arch of mini dental implants and a fixed non removable set of Porcelain crowns. Solutions similar to this start at $12,999. This includes the implants and the crowns.
What a wonderful way to get rid of your dentures and get back to living you life enjoying the things you want to do.
Without the advent of mini dental implants solutions like this would require a commitment of around $20,000 with more time/discomfort.
Paresh B Patel Implant Dentist Charlotte NC
About 2% of the population has a congenitally missing upper lateral tooth.
My patient after orthodontic treatment. He is missing one of his upper lateral teeth.
He is 17 and just wants to enjoy being a kid with teeth. The solution he has right now is a clear plastic retainer with a denture tooth in it to replace the missing tooth. His Mom was unable to consider a traditional two piece dental implant due to cost. In this case I think a one piece dental implant is a better service to the patient and at a much more affordable price point.
After measuring the space we determined that a OCO 3.0mm Mini Dental Implant could be placed. It is a one piece immediate load dental implant.
Partially seated OCO implant x-ray to confirm that it is at the correct angle.
OCO immediate load one piece implant being placed.
OCO Dental Implant fully in place. Notice the lack of gum being cut and or any bleeding.
The final porcelain crown will be placed next week from First Impressions Dental Lab
Paresh B Patel Dentist Mooresville
Do you have a partial denture or are missing teeth? In some cases mini dental implants by OCO Biomedical can help you regain your teeth back in a very easy and cost effective way.
My patient had a lower partial that his wife called his 'church teeth'….as in he hated them and would only put the partial denture in when he went to Church.
Lower ridge without his lower partial denture in place.
I decided to use Mini Dental Implants due to the thin ridge of bone that was left. Once teeth are extracted the bone will melt away over time. Adding a partial denture will accelerate this process by the constant rubbing on the gum tissue.
This x ray shows the OCO Biomedical Implant in place. Notice how thin the bone is. If we did not have the option of using mini dental implants then either this case would not have been possible or the patient would have to have an additional surgical procedure to expand the bone or add a block of bone to the existing lower jaw. Both of which will increase expense, time, healing and discomfort.
OCO Biomedical Mini Dental Implants. These are 2.2mm Square Crown Versions. 2 are in place and the process will be continued for the additional two. These will support 4 individual lower front teeth crowns.
All 4 OCO one piece mini dental implants a few weeks later before the crown seat appointment. Notice how the gum tissue is climbing up the mini implants. I will re-contour the gum with a soft tissue laser.
The 4 individual mini dental implant porcelain crowns from First Impressions Dental Lab.
Mini Dental Implant Crowns. They are made to fit precisely over the OCO Biomedical one piece mini implants.
4 Crowns on the i-Tero scanned model. These crowns were designed and milled out of a solid piece of Zirconia Porcelain.
4 individual mini dental implant crowns in the mouth. They are cemented over the OCO Mini Dental Implants.
View with lower lip retracted. Photo is the day of the crowns being cemented in place, after the excess gum was shaped with the soft tissue laser.
Paresh B Patel Implant Dentist Charlotte NC