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Mini Dental Implants ~ The Permanent Solution for replacing a Missing Tooth with a Crown

A mini dental implant is titanium root that One_body_index_img is placed into your jaw to secure a porcelain crown or bridge. Mini Dental implants are the perfect option for anyone who has lost their tooth or teeth due to periodontal disease, a traumatic iinjury, or a failed root canal.  Mini dental implants do less trauma than traditional bridgework, since implants do not require Dentists of grind down the adjacent teeth.  Mini Dental Implants can create a natural looking result.  If you are teeth and would like to smile, speak and eat again with comfort and confidence, then consider Mini Dental Implants.  Long-term studies show great success rates for mini dental implants.

 

My next patient was missing one of her upper teeth.  Made her feel very self conscious when she smiled or was out in public.IMG_1753

 

Missing Premolar tooth and decayed premolar tooth behind it.

 

 

 

Before OCO

X-ray of the area of the missing premolar tooth.  A great spot for a OCO mini dental implant to replace the missing tooth with a fixed porcelain crown.

 

 

 

 

 

Pilot Bit

Pilot bit in place to check to see if the mini dental implant would line up in between the adjacent teeth. 

 

 

 

 

 

Space check

 

The one piece OCO Biomedical Mini Dental Implant in place ready for a regular impression for First Impressions Dental Lab to make the Porcelain Crown. 

 

Lyndis ing oco #12

 

Final pan x-ray of the OCO Mini Dental Implant that will be used as the root to anchor a crown.

 

 

Temp

 

Temporary Crown made chairside to fit over the OCO Mini Dental Implant.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Final

 

Final PA x-ray showing the OCO immediately stabilized implant. 

 

 

 

 

 

Paresh B Patel DDS  Dentist Mooresville NC

Dental Implants Charlotte NC

Mini Dental Implants What would we do without them? Go around without teeth?

I guess I must be a pretty scary dude…                           . Dr patel

It seems like all the patients that need to come see the dentist wait until the very last minute to ask for help.  We really are not that bad here at Lake Norman Mini Dental Implant Center. 

My next patient had a Cone Beam 3D scan done in March of this year.  She had a failing root canal on one of her upper front teeth.  She must talk to some of my other patients because she had done the same thing as several others…..super-glued her post and crown in at least a dozen times.Images[5]  Should I just consider superglue to sell here at the office?

 

All kidding aside…I must say its pretty creative what patients will think up to solve their dental problems.  I know it takes a lot  of courage to come into the dental office.  Those patients who are deathly scared of us please know that we are here to help.  We will not judge.  We only offer solutions and a range of them to fit what your goals are. 

SuperGlueCrown
Clinical photo of the crown and post that the patient had super-glued back into place.  X-ray shows the failing post and crown. 

 

 

 

 

 

X00984 ICAT slice #7

 

On her 3D CBCT we can see the HUGE defect in the bone where the dental abscess is at the tip of the root canal tooth.

And this is from March…its now December…hopefully I could thread in a Intra Lock 2.0mm mini dental implant into the Palatal(roof of the mouth side) bone to hold a temporary crown.

 

 

I took the tooth out preserving as much of the bone as possible.  It was now time to try and get the Intra Lock Mini Dental Implant in.Defect w mini in place

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Intra Lock mini dental implant was rock stable (over 40ncm) and now we would pack the defect with some bone grafting material and a collagen membrane.  In a few months we should have good bone to work with.  My initial thoughts are that the mini is going to integrate(heal) into the bone.  If it does not we should have enough new bone to place a new mini implant.

IMG_1713

 

Bone grafting material in place, mini dental implant in place and gum tissue closed up and ready for a temporary crown.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IMG_1717

 

Temporary Crown made chairside over the mini dental implant.  This way the patient does not have to wear a flipper type of partial one tooth denture.

 

X00984_1

 

 

Final x-ray of the mini dental implant.  We will see how the bone fills in and what our next steps will be.  She will return after a few months to check the healing and treatment plan the final restoration. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mini Dental Implant Roundhouse ~ Full Arch Crown and Bridge for Fixed Teeth

My next patient was going to be a traditional implant case.   The treatment plan he wanted was to replace all his upper missing teeth with regular implants.  This would require a sinus lift on both sides where the lost teeth had allowed the sinus to drop down with no bone left under the gum tissue.

After sinus lift rt side

 

I did the sinus lift on the patients right side first.  When I went over to the left side there was a thin section of tooth root left.  Upon removal of that root there was enough damage to the sinus membrane that I elected to let the sinus heal and would come back at a later date to finish.

 

 

SinusFlap

Pizzo  Flap for Sinus Lift and

                                                                Pizzotome to cut lateral window

Pack bone Done Bone packed into Sinus Cavity

Sutures being placed

 

Although he healed just fine….the patient elected not to do the sinus lift on the other side and asked if I could change his treatment plan to accommodate a full fixed roundhouse bridge on mini dental implants.   Of course I could…there was good bone where we did the sinus lift and I would not have to expand the bone in the anterior maxilla(front upper jaw).  This is what I believe in…minimal surgery, minimal augmentation of the bone, place what will fit and enough of them to equal the surface area of a regular size implant. 

I had the dental lab produce a wax up model of what I wanted the patient to 'test drive' in his mouth.  A IMG_8061 12 tooth bridge.  I would make this out of chairside arcylic much like a temporary crown that you wear while the dental lab is making the final porcelain crown. 

IMG_8060

 

    

                                     

 

 

 

 

Based off the 3D Cone BeamiCAT scan I decided to place some OCO Biomedical 3.0mm mini dental implants to support the back teeth and OCO Biomedical 2.5mm mini dental implants to support the front teeth. 

Minis Micros Clinical

 

 

OCO Biomedical mini dental implants in place to support a full fixed roundhouse porcelain fused to metal bridge.  This will be like any other bridge that the patient does not remove and will brush and floss like his own teeth. 

 

 

 

OCO 2.5 micro

 

 

3D CT slice showing how thin the bone is in the front upper jaw.  As thin as the bone is we were able to place the OCO 2.5mm mini dental implant fully supported in the bone.

 

 

OCO 3.0 mini CT slice

 

3D CT slice in the area where I did the sinus lift.  You can see the new bone that has filled in from the middle of the implant to the tip.  The OCO 3.0mm mini dental implant is centered in the ridge for proper crown placement. 

 

 

 

Impression Minis micros

A standard full arch impression was taken.  The lab will insert the OCO mini dental implant analogs and will make the full roundhouse bridge supported by our mini dental implants.

 

 

Denture Chairside temp bridge

My patient immediately after the placement of the OCO Biomedical 2.5mm and 3.0 mini dental implants.  He left the office with a totally mini implant supported temporary bridge that was made off the diagnostic wax up.  It was made chairside with Luxatemp temporary material.

 

 

 

 

OCO mini dental implants for bridge

 

Final pan x-ray of the 11 OCO mini dental implants in place with the resin temporary bridge over the top.  When I get the final bridge new clinical photographs will continue the post.

 

Denture -Minis and Temp Bridge

 

 

 

Can Mini Dental Implant Crowns & Bridges Look Good and be kept clean?

I get asked this question a lot from both dentists and patients.  I think the answer is most likely yes.  Lots of variables contribute to the successful outcome of any implant and the crown or bridge that goes over the top of it.  Tissue type, bone level and sometimes how much time and funds the patient has to invest. 

But for the most part I think patients, if given all the information, can be happy with the aesthetic outcome with mini dental implants and the crown or bridge they support. 

My next patient was in for her normal 6 month cleaning appointment.  She stopped me to tell me how happy she was with her fixed crowns on her mini dental implants in her upper jaw. 

1 yr follow up 4 & 5 crowns close up arrows 

These crowns and mini dental implants have been in for 1 year now.  This case used Intra Lock mini implants.  But as I state in most of my posts any well constructed mini dental implant such as the OCO Biomedical mini or micro, IMTEC MDI, or HiOssen mini are appropriate.  Even as a dentist I think I would have a hard time figuring out which ones are regular crowns on teeth and the mini dental implant crowns. 

1 yr follow up 12 crown arrow 

This patient is able to keep her mini dental implant Crowns by First Impressions Dental Lab clean with a normal toothbrush, floss, and/or a water pick.  The two crowns are connected together and are supported by 3 mini dental implants.  The hygienist and patient both can floss between all the mini implants. 

Paresh B Patel DDS  Dentist Mooresville NC

Mini Dental Implants

Missing Teeth Replaced with Mini Dental Implants & Porcelain Crowns ~ A technique from the Advanced CE Seminar

This is part II of the post Mini Dental Implants to replace a missing front upper tooth.  See recent posts for the history of the case.

Missing teeth    Minis in

Its been 4 weeks or so and the all Porcelain crowns are back from First Impressions Dental Lab to fit over the ACE Secure Mini Dental Implants. 

Front crown Zirc  Front crown ridge lap desing   Lateral crown 

                               Lateral ridge lap Mini Dental Implant Crowns

 

A scan was taken of the mini dental implants with a iTERO digital optical scanner and Jon Younce at the lab was able to plan the case in a all digital format to make Zirconium all porcelain crowns.

Itero model ACE mini dental implant Crowns on modelAll Porcelain Ridge Lap Mini Dental Implant Crowns. 

 

These crowns could be made over any mini dental implant (Intra Lock, IMTEC, OCO Biomedical mini, Hiossen etc…) 

I have often been told that it is not possible to make good looking anterior(front) tooth crowns on top of mini dental implants because of the ridge lap design.  Or without creating a emergence profile below the gum its not possible. 

Crowns over mini dental implants

 

I think the real issue is the patients gum thickness.  If the gum is too thin you see the gray halo of the implant as it comes out of the gum.  Even if you have a traditional implant with a two piece design and a custom fabricated ceramic abutment if the gum is too thin its hard to have room for the crown. 

So I like to have patients know before we place the mini dental implants if they have thin tissue type and what can be done to make the gum thicker if aesthetics is a primary concern. 

As with anything in dentistry….almost everything is possible…..its just how much time, money and effort the patient and doctor are willing to invest. 

Paresh B Patel DDS  Dentist Mooresville NC   Before after mini dental implants porcelain crowns

OCO Mini Dental Implants

 

 

 

Mini Dental Implants to Replace an Upper Partial Denture Plate

This is actually a case that was done last year.  My patient came in for his 6 month cleaning about 6 months late….  Not what I like for patients to do.  But he was certainly not the ideal patient and I explained that to him prior to committing my time, energy and mini implants to the case.  He is a heavy smoker (around 2 packs a day).  A big NO NO for traditional implants or any kind of implants in general.  But I told him if I could get the mini's in without having to flap his gum away from the bone the implants would have a better chance of healing. He had seen another dentist about traditional or conventional implants but could not move forward with treatment due to the cost.  A familiar story.  I told him we could offer another choice…the mini implant choice.  Not the same solution but a different solution that might work for him.   He had a upper partial to replace his missing 6 front teeth.  He had an accident over 10 years ago and had been wearing a cast metal partial that he did not like.  His big complaint was the metal hooks and just the bulk of it.  He did not really have a complaint on the way his front teeth looked on the partial plate. 

 

Upper partial plate
View of upper partial denture in place.  I cut the metal hooks off so he could see what things could look like once we had the final bridge over his mini dental implants. 

 

Minis in upper jaw

6 Mini Dental Implants in place in the upper jaw…day of placement.  Note the lack of bleeding.  No flap had to be made to insert the mini implants into the gum and bone on the upper. 

 

 

 

Partial plate minis

 

Upper Partial Denture modified to fit over the 6 mini dental implants that were placed in the upper jaw.  This way he would be able to wear the upper partial while the dental lab made his crowns/bridge. 

 

 

Mini Implant Bridge

6 crowns with pink porcelain to simulate gum tissue on the stone model from First Impressions Dental Lab

 

 

 

 

 

Retracted view

 

Retracted cheek view of his 6 crowns on six mini dental implants…1 year post placement.  Notice all the smoking stain on his lower natural teeth. 

 

 

 

 

 

Close up

 

Close up view of Crowns

 

 

 

 

Bite

 

Bite view of the 6 crowns on mini dental implants.

 

 

 

 

Overall I am happy.  I know he is happy.  I think his comment was, 'Doc now that I got my show teeth do I really need to get the rest of them fixed?'  How do you answer that question as a Dentist?

Now if I could just get him to quit smoking, come in when he is required to for his cleanings and move forward with fixing the rest of his teeth…..  But as they say, Rome was not built in a day so we move forward one MINI step at a time. 

Paresh Patel DDS  mini dental implants

General Dentist Mooresville NC

The Mini Implant has Arrived ~ Dentures, Crowns, Bridges & More…

I think someone told me that Dr. Christensen said that in an article in 2006….well its been 4 years since that statement and the mini dental implant is good for lots more than holding down a lower denture.

Mini Dental Implants can stabilize lower dentures of course.  But they can also do the same for upper dentures.  However I think most Dr.s and patients are missing the boat if they don't think that mini implants can be of service in other areas.

Mini Implants I think have their best uses to replace missing teeth.  That can be in the form of a mini implant crown or a mini implant bridge. 

Broken Tooth & Missing Tooth

Our patient who has come in with a broken tooth that has had a root canal and a missing tooth behind it.  Great spot in my mind for a mini dental implant instead of removing the gold crown on the molar to place a bridge.  In addition the mini dental implant will…hold bone and gum tissue in place and remove lots of stress on a root canal tooth by not having to place a bridge.

Mini Dental Implant placed

I like to place two mini dental implants to hold a molar sized crown.   You can see how little tooth we have left on the broken down premolar. 

2 Intra Lock Mini Implants in this case.

But all mini dental implants work…IMTEC, OCO Biomedical, etc…

Mini Dental Implant Crown Picture

Porcelain to Metal Crowns in place.  The molar crown is on 2 Mini Dental Implants.  The premolar crown is on the root canal tooth.   

All in all I must say that I have been impressed with the ability of mini dental implants to solve so many issues for such a large set of dental patients. 

Paresh B Patel DDS – Dentist Mooresville NC

http://www.dentalminiimplant.com 

http://www.lkndds.com

Extractions ~ Immediate Placement of Mini Dental Implant ~ Socket Preservation

Interesting Case – Today we saw a young chap that was sent to us by his mother. She had 4 mini implants placed in her lower jaw to secure her denture some months back at our practice. 

Mdi_how_pic

He told me that he has not smiled in several years…sad story but when we took a look it was apparent why.

Michael Smith 001

Wow!  No wonder…well, we got him motivated with a patient education appointment, several periodontal deep cleaning appointments and then the big day for him….we would extract the 4 front teeth, root canal therapy on the 2  canine teeth and place 4 mini dental implants.  DFDB (Demineralized Freeze Dried Bone) was placed around the minis to keep the proper height and width of his gum and bone tissue. 

Our plan is to let the mini implants heal into the bone and make 6 crowns for the final restoration.  While the minis are healing and the body is creating new bone from the bone grafting material, the patient will have a temporary bridge made from chair side acrylic.Michael Smith 009

I was not completely pleased with the final picture (a few drops of blood and a sagging lip from the anesthetic)…but he jumped out of the chair when he saw his smile in the mirror. 

I will keep the case post going as the case progresses.