FAQs
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Dental implants feel so natural and look so good, you just may forget you ever lost a tooth!
Until recently, most dentists considered conventional bridges the treatment of choice for replacing missing or lost teeth. However, over the past decade there have been tremendous advancements in dental implant systems allowing more options for dentists.
Sometimes if the adjacent teeth have large restorations (fillings) that must be replaced or if the teeth are severely broken down, a tooth supported bridge may be the best option because those teeth could benefit from the protection of crowns attached to traditional bridges.
Most dentists, however, detest the idea of grinding down perfect teeth in order to place a traditional bridge and will therefore recommend dental implants in these cases.
Published clinical research shows that implant supported restorations have been successful for over 30 years with success rates now reaching over 95%. These cases were carefully followed from the very beginning and are likely to remain successful for the lifetime of these patients.
Dental implants are designed to be permanent but there are many factors that contribute to their longevity. Home care and regular visits to the dentist or specialist are probably the most critical aspects. However, smoking, grinding of the teeth, or too much pressure on the implants can alter their success.
By comparison, research shows that the typical tooth supported bridge lasts from 7-10 years and that partials and dentures last an average of only 5 years. In fact, insurance companies expect that bridges, partials, and dentures will last 5 years and will therefore pay for replacements every 5 years.
If you are a denture wearer and are having problems keeping your dentures in place or you cannot enjoy some of your favorite foods, implants can still make a big difference for you. Depending on your individual case, anywhere from 2 to 8 implants can be placed in each jaw to anchor your dentures in place. No more wobbling or clicking; no more messy pastes and glues. You will be free to enjoy all of your favorite foods with confidence and comfort.
They look and feel just like your own teeth. Dental implants restore your confidence to talk, laugh, and chew with comfort and without worries.
Implants preserve the integrity of facial structures. Implants prevent the hard and soft tissue collapse that can occur under conventional bridges and removable partial dentures. In patients who have lost all of their teeth, the lower one-third of the face is prone to collapse if implants are not placed to preserve the bone and the facial profile. Implants form a strong bond to the surrounding bone to provide support and anchorage for biting and chewing as well as stimulation for the bone to hold it in place.
Implant-supported crowns and bridges do not require neighboring teeth for support. When teeth are replaced using traditional tooth-supported bridges, the teeth on either side of the missing tooth are ground down so that the bridge can be cemented onto them. This tooth structure can never be replaced. Removable partial dentures use clasps and rests which have to be carved onto adjacent teeth. As the partial rocks back and forth, it can loosen the teeth it depends on for anchorage, causing them to be lost.
Implants replace the entire tooth and the missing root so it is a free-standing restoration. This leaves more of your natural teeth untouched and free of restorations which saves your natural teeth.
Better health and nutrition because you can eat what you want. Patients with dentures often find themselves unable to eat certain foods, such as fruits and vegetables, which can compromise their nutrition. With dental implants, it is much easier to bite into and chew your favorite foods.
Ease of cleansing. An implant supported crown can be cleaned like your other natural teeth, i.e. brushing and flossing. Cleaning under a bridge, however, requires the use of floss threaders for proper cleaning, while a partial must be taken out several times a day and scrubbed clean.
Enjoy your food. Patients who wear an upper denture often have trouble really tasting food because the roof of the mouth is covered. With implant supported replacement teeth, it is not necessary to cover the roof of the mouth, so it is possible to enjoy the taste of all your favorite foods.
Dental implants are screw-shaped or cylindrical root-form titanium posts that act as artificial tooth roots. These are carefully placed in the jawbone and allowed to heal. During the healing phase, your bone is growing right up to the implant surface in order to lock it in place.
Shortly thereafter, a crown is made to fit on top of the implant’s) so as to replace a missing tooth or teeth with a “brand-new” tooth. In many cases, you can be functioning on your “new” tooth in as little as 6 weeks!
Mini dental implants are ultra-small diameter (l.8-2 millimeter width), biocompatible titanium alloy implant screws, conceived and designed over 20 years ago. The mini implants originally created the unique design of this unique dental product as a transitional device to help support fixed bridge replacements for lost teeth. Then after time, we saw that mini implants could function free standing by themselves or in combination with natural tooth supports and/or larger conventional type dental implants. This was a revolutionary concept in dental science.
Yes. After providing satisfactory technical and clinical evidence to that agency that the product was safe for public use and in fact had beneficial attributes, the FDA granted its formal consent to market the Mini Dental Implant device not only as a transitional or temporary dental product, but significantly, as an on-going item.
When critically needed for support purposes, and where solid bony adaptation (integration) has clearly occurred, mini implants can function as long-term supporting structures rather than as short-term or medium term devices. In fact, some have been successfully functioning in patients’ jaws for several decades.
The most effective use of this unique dental product is stabilization of a lower denture. There are approximately 50,000,000 people in the United States who are edentulous (literally meaning lacking teeth) who struggle daily with prosthetic devices. A majority suffer a great deal of discomfort as a result of loose or ill-fitting dentures. Many denture wearers simply withdraw from any type of social engagement as a result of being compelled to wear them. Moreover, it’s not uncommon for family members to complain about a denture wearer’s disagreeable breath as a result of food being trapped and decaying under their denture prosthesis. Successful placement of the Mini Dental Implant addresses and solves all of these social and practical problems.
The standard insertion protocol for mini dental implants calls for four of them to be gently screwed into the front of a patient’s lower jaw. This is a relatively painless procedure that can be performed by a general dentist, requiring only a mild anesthesia. The mini dental implants, which are approximately the size of wooden toothpicks, are placed about five millimeters apart in the patient’s mandible. The patient’s denture is then carefully adjusted by the dentist to allow it to snap onto the four mini implants. The result? A tight fitting, completely reliable system that allows a patient to speak and eat with confidence. The Mini Dental Implants are placed in about an hour’s time. Because of the unique, minimally invasive procedure, the minute size of the implants, and the characteristic placement area, the typical Mini Dental Implant patient can enjoy a light meal an hour after having the mini implants placed.
It must be recognized that all implant systems as well as natural teeth are subject to potential failure due to natural causes, including osteoporosis, poor oral hygiene, wear and tear attrition, poor health, heavy, stressful biting habits, and lack of follow-up dental maintenance care. Mini implants similarly do not carry any actual or implied guarantee as to longevity. However, the loss of a Mini Dental Implant is a far less critical event to the patient since it may be replaced at relatively minimal cost compared to conventional implants, and with minimal associated bone or gum deterioration.
As a revolutionary departure from routine dental implant methods, Mini Dental Implants are so narrow they are typically inserted directly through the overlying gum tissue and into the bone underneath. Consequently the need to surgically cut and flap open the gum tissue, routinely required for standard implant systems, may be avoided in most Mini Dental Implant applications. As a result, post-insertion patient irritation and soreness is significantly reduced. While all dental implants require care during insertion to avoid encroaching on vulnerable nerve, sinus or bony structures, the ultra small width of the mini implants offers a much more comfortable margin of safety.
A single, minimally invasive surgery is needed for insertion of the Mini Dental Implants. The implants are then put into immediate biting or loading function thanks to their self-tapping design, thereby anchoring a fixed bridge system. As a result, it is often possible to provide the complete mini implant service in a single office visit. Mini dental implants clearly represent an enormous breakthrough for the dental implant specialty as the most patient-friendly, cost-effective, proven dental implant system available today.
Leave the denture in place until bedtime. You should not experience any excessive bleeding. There will be discomfort but this should be minimal and controlled by the recommended pain medication. The denture should feel secure. You may eat as soon as you wish to, but avoid excessively hard or sticky foods at first. Upon removing the denture, rinse your mouth with an antiseptic mouthwash and clean around each implant fixture with a cotton swab and toothpaste. Use a cotton swab for the first three days. After that, use your ACCESS toothbrush. It has been designed to clean your implants and gently stimulate the surrounding gum tissue.
The Mini Dental Implants and O-ring fixture must be clean and free from debris. Grasp the denture with both hands and lightly seat the denture, feeling that the O-rings are resting above the ball head of the implants, then press down firmly and equally on both sides. Make sure that you feel the implant heads easily fitting each O-ring. You will feel the denture snap into place. If you have trouble seating your denture, first make sure that the denture and implants are absolutely clean. Secondly, make sure that you feel the implants resting over each O-ring. A light touch will give you the best results. Remember to push downward equally on both sides. If you are still experiencing difficulty, see if a family member can give you assistance. To remove the denture, place your thumbs under each side of the lower denture rim and push both sides upward at the same time.
As with all dental applications, there’s a short adjustment period during which time you become comfortable placing and removing the denture. Typically, this involves removal of the lower denture in the morning, brushing the gums and implant area with an ACCESS curved bristle toothbrush, rinsing the mouth, rinsing the denture itself, then replacing it.
You must clean and brush the ball of the implant as if they were your natural teeth. As with natural teeth, food and bacterial debris must be removed or it will cause inflammation of the gums. In addition, food and debris can be forced into the O-ring fixture causing improper seating and loss of retention. The O-ring fixture must also be cleaned out.
The result is a normal day’s activity for you, including eating, talking, taking a nap, etc. Then, in the evening, the denture is usually removed again, the ACCESS brush is used, and the mouth thoroughly rinsed. The result is a fully functioning dental appliance that works.
Mini Dental Implants are surprisingly affordable, at a fraction of the cost of traditional implants. By choosing the Mini Dental Implant, you’ve chosen an enhanced way of life free of a lot of the discomforts and heartaches of a loose or ill-fitting denture. That’s worth a lot.
