Mini Dental Implant Bridge (Ken Clifford DDS Fixed Hybrid Denture Bridge is Here!)
Do you have a denture? Would you like to get rid of it for good? Well now thanks to mini dental implants and my good friend Ken Clifford you have that option.
A patient of mine came to me and said, 'Dr. Patel I am so glad that I had mini implants placed to keep my lower denture from coming out every time I tried to eat or talk….but can you give me some teeth that I don't have to take out?'
After pondering the thoughts of how to make a bridge that most people could afford I saw my friend Ken at the Annual Academy of Mini Implant Dentists in Orlando. He had a great idea; why not take high quality, 4 layer denture teeth (in my opinion they look better than some porcelain teeth I have seen) and make a fixed bridge for our patients who suffer with dentures? The more I thought about it the more it made sense.
Why should we tell patients that if I take some really accurate impressions and then make a tracing of how your chewing motions are that I will be able to create a set of dentures that will work? Its just not true…they might work…but I think most just make do with what they have. Dentures resting on gum tissue and chewing muscles will always create some sort of problem. Soreness in the gums, irritations when chewing foods that get under the denture, the list can go on and on and most denture wearers will attest to that.
So with mini implants in hand, and soon in our office, a Cone Beam 3D X-ray its 'time to get to work,' as Ken would say. After some careful planning we decided to upgrade Vicki's ability to chew by adding 7 additional mini implants on the lower arch. One Intra Lock 2.0 x 18mm was placed in between the four she had. 3 additional Intra Lock 2.0 x 11mm were placed on each side for a total of 11 mini dental implants. These will be used to hold a molar to molar (Roundhouse) Fixed Hybrid Denture Tooth Bridge; also know in my office as the Ken Clifford Bridge. This bridge will be cemented over the top of the mini implants and will not be removed by the patient.
The existing denture was modified to allow it to seat over the additional mini implants.
She will comfortably wear her denture until the fixed set of teeth are made.
It will be designed in the same fashion as a traditional fixed hybrid bridge over regular diameter implants.
I will continue the post as I get the model work back from First Impression's Dental Lab.
Here is an example of a Fixed Hybrid Mini Implant Bridge. Photo courtesy of Ken Clifford DDS.
Visit my dental office on the web at www.dentalminiimplant.com or if you are in Lenoir NC
Visit Dr. Ken Clifford on the web at www.kenclifford.com or if you are in Chico, CA.