PLEASE EXPLAIN DENTAL IMPLANTS

If you would like your new teeth to be exactly like your natural teeth in looks, comfort and function, then dental implants could be the solution. They are without question the closest you could ever come to receiving natural teeth again. 

Over the last four decades, dentists such as Dr. Ron Receveur have placed implants with incredible success. An implant is basically a titanium screw that will bond with your jawbone during a process known as osseointegration. Titanium is completely compatible with bone to the point that the bone doesn’t just fuse to it – but also there has never been any evidence of allergic reactions. The bond itself becomes so strong that an implant can support anything from just a single tooth, to a whole denture (supported by several implants). Implants are created from titanium… the same material that is used to create artificial joints; it won’t decay like natural teeth. Implants also preserve the natural bone structure, maintaining the shape of your face and preventing continual bone loss where any teeth might be missing. 

Every case is unique, but the healing time for traditional implants is normally within the region of two and six months. In many Mini-Implant cases there is NO healing period at all and we can fix your new denture right away.

The quantity of implants required depends principally on the restoration that they will support, and also whether they are located in the lower or the upper jaw (which will require a greater number of implants due to the bone being softer). 

What is the difference between Traditional Implants and Mini-Implants?

Regular, or Traditional, Implants have been successfully placed for decades. I have restored the mouths of my own patients with these implants for more than 20 years. The implants themselves are generally 3.5 mm (millimeters) to 6 mm in diameter and between 10 mm to 16 mm or so in length. Until the last few years if your bone was not “thick” enough or substantial enough to support this size of implant, the only option was to have a bone grafting procedure or to live without implants. With the FDA approval of Mini-Implant use for the long term restoration of missing teeth and the support for any dentures and partials, the entire game has transformed. 

Mini-Implants are usually 1.8 mm to 2.5 or 3.0 mm in diameter and can be placed in areas where the bone is narrower. They are a good option for individuals who have lost much of their bone structure. If you have ever been informed previously that you can’t be a candidate for implants due to your bone loss, you could well be an ideal candidate for Mini-Implants. 

Some of the Advantages of Mini-Implant Supported Dentures:
 Mini-Implants are roughly half the size of traditional implants, meaning they can be used within the areas where traditional implants simply can’t work. With less bone required any expensive and time consuming bone grafts are often avoided. 

 Reduced Healing Time: One-step surgery is a simple, gentle and quicker process than the many steps often required for traditional implants; usually in the region of 90 minutes.

 Immediate Results: It is common for Mini-Implants to allow us to fix your denture to the implants immediately. Have your implants inserted one day and eat corn on the cob the day after! 

 No more denture adhesives! 

 The roof of your mouth does not need to be covered anymore! 


All-on-4 or Teeth-in-an-Hour. What are these options?

These popular options are both implant supported teeth that we will screw straight to your implants allowing them to stay in permanently. The options are very dainty and lightweight. I’ve had the chance to fabricate an All-on-4 for a member of my family. It is a very successful option (though not the cheapest). It will screw onto your implants “permanently”. 

Can I have all porcelain crowns on the top of my implants?

For those patients that visit before they have experienced a significant degree of bone loss, we are able to place crowns or bridges on a full arch of implants. Implants then support the very same crowns that would usually be used on natural teeth. This option is exactly like having your natural teeth again.

Why Is Everyone Discussing Implants?

Even just looking at the statistics for developed countries, the quantities of missing teeth are overwhelming. Everywhere you look a huge percentage of people will be missing at least a few of their teeth, and in the US alone more than 22% of people over the age of 65 are missing ALL their natural teeth. 

The sad fact is that the vast majority of those individual people are still using conventional dentures. Although standard dentures are a reasonable solution, they are many years behind the technology utilized within dental implants. Despite the fact that dental implants have been successfully used for more than four decades, only 3% of people who are missing every one of their natural teeth are taking advantage of this technology.

Several projections indicate that almost 40 million people within the US alone will need at least one complete upper or lower denture by the year 2020. 

Fortunately for them, dental technology has developed so much within the last decade that they won’t be forced to suffer the discomfort that their parents and grandparents endured during their dental treatments. 

According to the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, a division of the National Institute of Health, individuals of the age group 50 to 64 years still have an average of 22 of their natural teeth. This has dropped from the original number of 28 teeth (excluding the four wisdom teeth). They also assert that an enormous 10% of people within that age group actually have no teeth at all.

It is common for the first teeth lost to be the ones in the back of the mouth that are forced to do all of our heavy chewing. As the larger back teeth are lost, it will become ever more difficult for your mouth to do its job. It is vitally important that food is chewed correctly to start the digestion process. 

To compare correctly chewed food to incorrectly chewed food within your stomach, consider dissolving sugar in a glass of water. If you dropped a sugar cube into one glass and a teaspoon of normal sugar into a second glass, the sugar cube would take the longer time to dissolve. This is due to the sugar cube having a smaller surface area exposed to the water. 

The more effectively you can chew your food, the more surface area you will expose to the digestive juices and the more successfully you will be able to receive the key nutrients from your food. If food is not chewed correctly it can pass through a digestive system without providing all of its nutritional value. 

In addition to the quantity of nutritional value that you receive from the foods you eat, you also need to consider how much you eat. When uncomfortable dentures are worn that can cause gagging and that prevent you from fully tasting your food, it is likely you will enjoy eating much less. When you begin to wear implant supported dentures that are smaller, lighter and far more comfortable, you will enjoy eating a much larger variety of foods again. 

Why not call Dr. Receveur’s office and schedule your no obligation, free consultation to see how Traditional Implants or Mini-Implants could benefit you?