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Mini Dental Implants and Chewing Gum?

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                                

Oco_imini_3  
PLUS    Bruxzir-crown 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

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No More Loose Dentures ~ Mini Dental Implants by MiniMark Can Help..but not Cost Effectively

Having a set of loose or ill fitting dentures can create a whole set of problems.  These problems can include cosmetic issues (the first things people see is your smile) and function(how well you can eat).

Dentures[1]

 

Sometimes my patients walk in what several sets of dentures they have had made over the years.  The first thing all of them say is that none of them fit.  I think its not that the dentures never fit it is that the dentures had nothing to hold them in place!  Thus the need for dental implants to secure in dentures.

 

So while some people come in to get their smile back ~ others come in to be able to function (eat) again.  I think with mini dental implants you can get both.  The ability to smile again.  The ability to eat the foods you enjoyed (salads, steaks, fresh vegetables).  Your diet will improve as you no longer have to swallow chunks of food. 

 

You self esteem will be regained as you now don't have to wonder what can I eat at the party or family outing.  You now don't have to wonder are my dentures going to fall out at the sporting event as you cheer, or sing at church.

So consider mini dental implants to secure in your dentures. At around 1/2 the cost of traditional implants with little to no pain its a safe and effective procedure. 

When you come to see us you only have to see one Doctor.  We place the mini dental implant and fit your denture with the snaps in the same office.  One Doctor means fewer visits and reduced costs.

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Greatly increase the aesthetics of your smile with secure mini dental implant retained dentures.  You will look years younger.

 

 

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The right set of mini dental implant retained dentures will also allow you to have proper function (chewing your food properly and the ability to speak correctly). 

 

MiniMark Implants

This case was done with MiniMark Implants.  2 mini dental implants in the front and 2 traditional size implants in the back.  All of the MiniMark implants have Zest Locator attachments that allow the denture to 'snap' into the mouth.  Once that is done and the implants heal the denture can be converted into a horseshoe shape for even more comfort. 

As a General Dentist I am pleased with the Zest Locator but I am extremely dissapointed in the price point of the MiniMark Implant.  It averages about 3 to 4 times the costof a comparable mini dental implant.  3M IMTEC, Intra Lock, OCO Biomedical all make excellent mini dental implants for lower and upper dentures at a more attractive price point.  With a lower price point more patients can move forward with implant retained dentures…something just not possible with the mini mark implant system.

The competitors to ACE Surgical mini mark implants offer surgical setups that allow Dentists to place a wider assortment of dental implants.  I must ask why any Dentist would want to invest several thousand dollars into a system that limits their ability so much?  With that kind of investment you could place minis to small diameter to larger size implants and not have to have several placement kits. 

I encourage any Dentist who does not place dental implants to learn how.  There are several good one day seminars on how to place mini dental implants.  These include seminars from Todd Shatkin, Ben Oppenheimer or mine (  OCO Biomedical Mini Dental Implant Seminar ).

Paresh B Patel Dental Implants Charlotte NC

Mini Dental Implant Dentures

Dental Implants Hickory NC

Mini Dental Implants Long Term Use for Crown and Bridge in the Upper Jaw

Picture-is-worth-a-thousand-words

"A picture is worth a thousand words"  Very true that it is easier to convey the meaning of a complex idea with just a single picture.

I believe the proverb is contributed to the ancient philosopher Confucius. 

Well I am just not that smart to have come up with such an elegant way to describe that visualization is a great way to absorb lots of data quickly and efficiently.

 

 

As a dentist I am bothered that many try to misinform the very patients we try and help daily with web postings such as this:

"Mini implants, often offered by less experienced dentists as a quick and less costly solution to replacing missing teeth, have a high degree of complications and failure and therefore are not recommended for long-term tooth replacement. Only standard size implants should be used for teeth replacement to achieve long-term success and longevity."  These comments were made in December 2009.

Where are these complications?  Where are these failures?  I would think that a practice like mine where we focus on mini dental implants I would have hundreds of documented cases of failed mini dental implants.  All the colleagues I meet from around the country would certainly share with me their failures if there was a high degree of them.  To date I have not seen this.  If anyone wants to see long term data you can look at them in Todd Shatkin's Compendium Article as well as several articles by Gordon Christensen. 

Do mini dental implants fail?  Sure they do….but not at any rate different than standard size implants.  The basic premise applies.  Place the implant under the correct protocol it will integrate.  If the occlusal (biting) loads are managed correctly then the implant will work long term under function.

I think the higher road to take is to explain both options to patients.  Mini Dental Implants do work and have been show to work well for a multitude of fixed (Crowns and Bridges) and removable (Partial and Complete Dentures) solutions for 12 years.  Can I provide 35+ years of success.  No….but if 12 years is an indicator then I suspect that they will.  No gain is provided to dentistry and the patients we serve with misinformation.

In conclusion lets use Confucius's proverb show what I hope to communicate. 

Day of

 

3 Mini Dental Implant to support 2 premolar crowns in the upper jaw.  Placed and restored with PFM crowns 12-21-2009.

 

 

 

 

 

One year post op

 

One year post op x-ray 12-21-2010.  Same three mini dental implants with 2 PFM premolar crowns in the upper jaw. 

 

 

 

 

Mini one year  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Confucius emphasized personal morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity.  I hope to see more of this in organized dentistry. 

Paresh B Patel Dentist Mooresville NC

Mini Dental Implants Charlotte NC