maintaining your groovy grin
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18 (((b))) magazine | f a l l 2 0 0 8
maintainingyourgroovygrindental
implants
have become
a popular
option
for
boomers
WRITTEN ANDPHOTOGRAPHED BY Megan JJoyce
BABY BBOOMERS HHAVE AARGUABLY SSEEN MMORE TTECHNOLOGICAL
developments in their lifetimes than any other generation before them.
Advances in television, computers, medicine, and music have advanced
tenfold over the last few decades.
So it might come as a bit of a surprise to know that one of today’s most
useful methods for achieving an attractive smile—the dental implant—has
actually been in the United States since the 1980s in its modern form. And
earlier variations of the devices can even be traced back to the ancient
Egyptians.
But as the boomer population continues to age, many more patients
now prefer dental implants over traditional dentures and bridgework for
missing teeth.
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Dr. Silvaggio, DMD, a board-certifiedprosthodontist, holds a demonstration
model of dental implants, a procedure hispatients have found extremely satisfying.
“Baby boomers often have some missing teeth or sometimes complete
dentures,” said Christian Silvaggio, DMD, a prosthodontist in Lancaster.
“Basically, for people that have partials and want them replaced with something
more like their natural teeth, implants are an option.” Implants are beneficial for
replacing single teeth, serve as an alternative to bridgework, and can be used to
stabilize dentures.
Implants also allow a single tooth to be replaced without affecting the teeth
on either side of it—another considerable benefit. Traditionally, to do a bridge,
the teeth on either side of the vacant space must be crowned, causing unnecessary
trauma to teeth that are often healthy otherwise. “In those situations, it’s usually
better to do an implant,” said Michael Eckhart, DDS, whose practice is also
based in Lancaster. “That way, you’re not asking those other teeth to support
more, you’re not crowning teeth that don’t need to be crowned, and you’re getting
a titanium root in there that’s stronger than the natural tooth.”
The titanium component of dental implants, which resemble tiny screws, is the
key to their success rate. “Titanium is a metal that the body likes,” explained
Silvaggio. “The bone will integrate with and grow up to and fuse with that
metal.” Because bone will integrate with titanium, there is no risk for decay.
With a bridge, however, the bone under the replacement tooth is often resorbed
into the body, which creates a slowly growing gap between the replacement tooth
and the gums.
The implantation process obviously varies with the needs of each patient, but
in general, a small hole is made in the gum and a hole is drilled into the jawbone
to the precise size of the implant in diameter and length. The titanium implant is
placed in the hole. The procedure is performed under local anesthetic and, in the
simpler, one-tooth cases, the entire process can take as little as 15 to 20 minutes.
Water-cooled drills are used to prevent the bone from overheating.
Complete healing can take anywhere from two to four months, but “post-op
pain, in many cases, is very minimal—usually less than when a person has a
tooth extracted,” Silvaggio said. More complicated cases, which might involve
The implant is
as strong as or
stronger than their
natural teeth, so
there’s not really
any significant
limitation to
eating.
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dental iimplants
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bone grafting to areas that don’t already
have sufficient bone to receive the
implant, might be sore for a longer
period. But Silvaggio said that, for the
most part, the patient shouldn’t feel any
discomfort after a week has passed.
Dental implants are also very useful
for denture wearers. With as few as two
implants, a patient can have a lower- or
upper-jaw denture that snaps firmly into
place. “If you go to four to six to even
eight implants, then you can have a fixed
bridgework that is basically a fixed
denture that goes in place, so it doesn’t
move around at all,” said Silvaggio. “It’s
elevated slightly off the gum tissue and it
looks like your natural teeth.”
“You can also take somebody to where
you put enough implants in that they can
have teeth that stay in all the time—it’s
like having teeth again,” said Eckhart.
Computer technology has quickened
the process and made it visual for both
doctors and patients. Three-dimensional
images derived from x-ray scans of a
patient’s teeth show each step in a
patient’s implantation plan. “We have
patients walking in with a denture, and
then an hour later, walking out with
something that screws in permanently,”
Eckhart added.
Both doctors agree that almost anyone
is a good candidate for dental implants.
“The best candidates are people that
already have a lot of preexisting bone
because you need bone to put the implant
in,” Eckhart explained. “But there are
patients that we can create bone [for
them] with bone grafting. We can make
almost anybody a candidate for implants
nowadays, but it’s easier and nicer if
someone already has enough bone.”
The care of a patient’s implants
doesn’t differ from everyday dental
hygiene routine—brushing and flossing—
and the strength of the titanium allows
the patient to eat normally as well. “The
implant is as strong as or stronger than
their natural teeth, so there’s not really
any significant limitation to eating,”
Silvaggio said.
Occasionally, an implant can fail,
meaning the implant did not integrate
with the bone. If that occurs, the implant
is removed, the area is cleaned, and
another implant is inserted. “It’s not like
an organ being rejected; it’s just that it
doesn’t fuse with the bone, so it’s
unscrewed, allowed to heal, and then we
go back and place another one,” said
Silvaggio.
Insurance coverage for implants varies
by plan, so check with your provider.
Some insurance companies will cover a
portion of the procedure, such as the
surgical aspect. But despite the potential
cost, both doctors said the vast majority
of their dental implant patients have been
extremely satisfied—which makes them
satisfied, too.
“You’re giving something to a lot of
people where they’d have no other option
than a removable appliance,” Eckhart
said. “People that wear lower dentures
that don’t stay in—we put in just two
implants and they have a denture that
snaps in. They’re really happy.”
“In many cases, the satisfaction is
wonderful,” said Silvaggio. “For some
people, what they say is that it feels like
the strongest thing in their mouth.” ) )) )
Dr. Michael Eckhart,DDS, views three-dimensional imagesderived from x-rayscans of a patient’steeth which show eachstep in a patient’simplantation plan.
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