May 2011 – Implants By Paresh

Mini Dental Implant or a Regular Size Implant?

May 27, 2011/in Blog /by Paresh Patel

Although I like mini dental implants for lots of reasons, I do find the need for a regular size lots of times. In some cases a regular traditional size implant will work better.

This example might be one of them. This patient had lost a Root Canal Molar with massive amounts of bone destruction.

Clinical view shows a WIDE ridge of bone. However under the gum is just a thin shell of bone and then the sinus cavity (air). This would be a great place to consider a regular size implant and a sinus lift instead of a mini dental implant. The regular size implant will allow us to push the sinus lifting bone up and act as a scaffold for new bone growth.

The OCO Biomedical 6 x 6mm in place. The sinus lift was done through the same opening made to insert the implant. Bone was packed to lift up the sinus membrane and then the OCO implant was placed.

X – ray image showing the OCO Biomedical regular size implant and the lifted sinus membrane. Additional bone can be seen as a 'half circle' around the tip of the implant. The OCO implant will be allowed to heal for 4-6 months and then the final crown will be placed.

Healing Cap placed to cover the OCO implant.

From Mini Dental Implants to Regular Size Implants, discuss with your dentist options that exist to help you replace a missing tooth with a dental implant and a fixed crown.

Paresh B Patel DDS

Mini Dental Implants

Dental Implants Charlotte NC

Dental Implants Hickory Boone Asheville NC

Dentist Mooresville Lake Norman NC

Mini Dental Implant Pictures

May 13, 2011/in Blog /by Paresh Patel

Mini Dental Implant Pictures, Photos and Procedures:

To see several hundred original pictures of mini dental implants being used for several applications ~ from securing dentures to crowns and bridges click the blue text: Mini Dental Implant Pictures

Mini Dental Implants ~ Not just for a lower denture

Paresh B Patel DDS

Implant Dentist Charlotte Lake Norman NC

Implant Dentist Hickory Boone Ashevile NC

Mini Dental Implant Cost

May 13, 2011/in Blog /by Paresh Patel

The cost of mini dental implants is around 1/2 that of a traditional dental implant.

However to me the true cost is not measured only in dollars. It is in lots of other measures as well.

Other costs could include:

Loss of the ability to smile
Unable to find and keep a good job
Social situations are avoided – like going to church, cheering at your kids or grand kids sporting events
Inability to enjoy your favorite foods (steak, salads, crispy veggies)
Overall health suffers – ill chewed food puts stress on your digestive system and you absorb less of all the good stuff
Spending valuable $$ on Adhesives or Pastes to glue in your dentures
Constant sores in your gums
Yearly relines of your denture or partials

The cost of even missing one tooth is HUGE! If one tooth is missing and not replaced 20% of the teeth next to it will be lost in the next 4 to 8 years. This is one of the reasons that over 50 Million Americans have lost all their teeth.

Mini Dental Implants for an Affordable Cost can:

Replace Single Teeth: With a mini implant acting as the root of your missing tooth a porcelain crown can be made. You do not remove this like a partial denture. To you it is like having your natural tooth back.

Replace Multiple Teeth: Several mini dental implants can be placed to form a porcelain bridge. This will get rid of the gap where several teeth have been lost. It does not require healthy teeth on either side to be ground down like a traditional bridge.

Replace an Entire Row of Missing Upper or Lower Teeth: In some cases 8-10 mini dental implants can be placed in the upper or lower jaws to support a full roundhouse bridge. This will replace 10-12 missing teeth with a series of porcelain crowns that are connected and placed over the mini implants. You will never need to use dental adhesives or pastes to hold teeth in again. You also will have teeth that you do no remove. You will have to brush and water pick to keep your new teeth clean.

Paresh B Patel DDS

Mini Dental Implants

Dental Implants Charlotte Lake Norman Mooresville NC

Dental Implants Hickory Lenoir Boone Asheville NC

Mini Dental Implants and Chewing Gum?

May 13, 2011/in Blog /by Paresh Patel

Yes that's right folks! We encourage any patient that gets mini dental implants to chew more GUM. Well Sugarless gum like Trident.

Trident has something called XYLITOL in it. This is an organic compound that helps to prevent the bad bacteria, Strep Mutans, from forming in the mouth. With less bacteria in the mouth your natural teeth and your mini dental implant crown will be happier.

Two well known research experts (John Peldyak DMD & Yukie Nakai DDS, PhD) have demonstrated in study after study that xylitol gum chewed right after meals or snacks greatly reduces acid formation and plaque growth. It also helps to enhance your own bodies protective factors such as correctly buffered saliva.

The other point that is often overlooked about xylitol is that it is a natural compound.

Xylitol also helps to reduce bacterial biofilm (that sticky stuff you feel on your teeth). Unlike other sugars (carbohydrates, xylitol does not link together to form polysaccharides).

MINI DENTAL IMPLANT CROWN

PLUS EQUALS

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So if you are missing teeth and want to chew again….consider mini dental implants to support a crown or several mini dental implants and a bridge to gain back your ability to enjoy food. But in between meals and after snacks keep some sugarless gum, like Trident with Xylitol, in your pocket. It will help keep your new mini dental implant teeth as well as natural ones in good shape. Paresh B Patel DDS

Mini Dental Implants

Dental Implants Charlotte Mooresville Lake Norman NC

Dental Implants Hickory Lenoir Boone Asheville NC

miniMARK Dental Implant Seminar – Online Restorative Presentation

May 6, 2011/in Blog /by Paresh Patel

To view Part 1 The miniMARK Placement Protocol click the blue text.

So we left with the patient done with the miniMARK implants in his lower jaw.

A set of Locator impression caps were placed over the miniMARK mini dental implants. These look like champange glasses and will communicate to the lab the exact location of the one piece Locator miniMark implants.

A good impression is taken to ensure that all pertinent landmarks are captured in the impression. Land areas, retromolar pad, frenal attachments and of course the Locator impression caps.

Wax Rim

Master cast with the Locator retention caps placed on the lab analogs. These 'snaps' will be processed into the denture.

Final processed denture with the metal frame incorporated. If the denture is too retentive then different nylon rings can be placed to decrease the retention. Or if it is not tight enough stiffer rings can be placed to increase the retention on the miniMARK implants.

My patient has had the lower denture now for 4 weeks and loves how stable and retentive it is. This case utilized some of the best technologies avaliable today for implant overdentures. The Locator attachment, a metal frame incorporated into the denture, high quality composite denture teeth and lab processed attachments.

To use these kinds of materials and mini dental implants unfortunately has one setback: COST for the patient. This case is about 2 timesthe cost of a o-ball mini dental implant solution. Certainly something for the dentist and patient to discuss and come to the best solution that will fit every ones desires and needs. There are several good implant and mini implant systems out there….check them out and help your patients by getting the best system for you.

Paresh B Patel

Mini Dental Implants

Dental Implants Mooresville Lake Norman Charlotte NC

Dental Implants Lenoir Hickory Boone Asheville NC

Replace a Missing Canine Tooth with a Small Diameter Implant

May 6, 2011/in Blog /by Paresh Patel

Who would want to walk around with a missing canine (eye tooth)? Well if you have never been presented the option of using a mini or small diameter dental implant then that just might be you.

Some spaces are just small enough that a regular size dental implant (around 4mm in diameter) just won't work well. This is one of those cases. Could I have placed a 3.0mm mini dental implant here? I think so. However to give the implant the best chance of healing I decided to place a two piece implant. One that I could leave right a gum level to heal and reduce the chances of it getting bumped around while the implant fused to the bone.

Here we see the OCO Biomedical 3.25 x 16mm small diameter implant in place. It is in two pieces; the part that you see that is in the gum and bone and the part that is not attached yet. That part that will be screwed into the body of the implant is called the abutment. The abutment is what you see coming out of the gum and is what the crown is cemented to, just like your natural tooth.

Here we see the OCO implant in place without the abutment. A cover screw will keep the inside of the implant free from debris while it heals into the bone.

Of course we are not going to let our patient walk around without a tooth. A Hawley retainer being used to hold in a denture canine tooth that covers the implant during the healing process.

Paresh B Patel

Mini Dental Implants

Dental Implants Mooresville Lake Norman Charlotte NC

Dental Implants Lenoir Hickory Boone Asheville NC

Mini Dental Implants or Regular Implants to Replace Missing Teeth with Crowns

May 5, 2011/in Blog /by Paresh Patel

This is a question I get quite often. I think the answer is both. It just depends on the bone, the patient, what the final goals are (financial, aesthetic, function, additional procedures that may be necessary….etc…the list could go on and on).

My patient was missing one of her molars and the premolar in front of that.

On the lower jaw she was missing her very last molar. Typically I would not want to replace that tooth with a dental implant but she felt like her chewing was suffering without it.

In this case I decided to replace the missing teeth with traditional size implants due to the soft bone that was found in the upper jaw. The implants were placed and allowed to heal, undisturbed under the gum. This also allowed her to accumulate her finances to finish the procedure with porcelain crowns.

Almost a year later, she was ready to finish up. A set of abutments (the part of the implant the comes up out of the gum in a regular or traditional implant) were screwed into the implant. Impressions were taken and the lab made these two crowns for her upper two implants.

The same thing was done for the lower implant as well. The last tooth on the left is the implant crown. The crown on the right is on a natural tooth.

Before and After the implants and crowns were placed.

In conclusion, you should talk to your dentist to see what options are out there for you to replace your missing teeth. Lots of times patients get misinformation or think that unskilled dentists place mini dental implants. We offer both solutions and place the dental implant that makes the most logical choice. Both styles (mini or regular) will work for a multitude of solutions. Start your jouney today and replace your missing teeth with dental implants.

Paresh B Patel

Mini Dental Implants

Dental Implants Charlotte Mooresville Lake Norman NC

Dental Implants Lenoir Hickory Boone Wilkesboro Asheville NC

Broken Tooth replaced with a Mini Dental Implant and a Temporary Crown

May 5, 2011/in Blog /by Paresh Patel

I am convinced that teeth know what day of the week it is. Why is it always 5pm on Friday that teeth in the front smile area seem to break?

I don't have a great answer but I do have some mini dental implants and some composite.

The patient was given the option of a Root Canal Post and Crown or an extraction and a mini dental implant and Crown. She elected to have the tooth removed.

I selected for this case a mini dental implant that has a high degree of initial stability due to its aggressive thread pattern and ability to lock in the bone at the tip. It is an OCO Biomedical 3.0mm mini dental implant.

OCO mini dental implant in place after the tooth root was removed preserving as much bone as possible. The implant is a solid one piece design.

Temporary crown on the OCO mini dental implant. I will let the implant heal and let the soft tissue (gums) and bone fill in. That will take around 5-6 months. After that time passes we will ask the lab to make her a new porcelain crown to fit over the mini dental implant.

Paresh B Patel

Mini Dental Implants

Dental Implants Charlotte Lake Norman Mooresville NC

Dental Implants Hickory Boone Wilkesboro Asheville NC

Mini Dental Implants Can Replace a Broken Upper Tooth with a Fixed Porcelain Crown

May 2, 2011/in Blog /by Paresh Patel

What do you do when an upper tooth that has had a root canal just breaks one day?

Broken upper premolar tooth. The root is fractured under the gum tissue.

X ray and extraction of the broken tooth

The broken tooth is removed carefully to preserve as much bone as possible. A OCO Biomedical 3.0mm mini dental implant is placed the same day as the extraction. With the design of the OCO mini implant it is able to achieve high initial stability. Enough to place a temporary crown to shape the tissue during healing.

Clinical photo of the OCO Biomedical implant the day of placement.

Tissue after shaping and healing with a temporary crown. The temporary crown was removed to check healing…pink healthy gum tissue with no bleeding. A standard crown impression will be taken and a porcelain crown will be made to fit over the mini dental implant.

Porcelain crown cemented in place over the OCO Biomedical mini dental implant. The patient will brush and floss the mini dental implant crown just like any other tooth.

With a mini dental implant there are lots of solutions that can be offered to patients.

Paresh B Patel DDS

Mini Dental Implants

Dental Implants Charlotte NC

Dental Implants Lenoir Hickory NC

Archive for month: May, 2011