Root Implants
By Joseph Preziosi Jr., DMD
Implants are root replacement therapy. Implants are used to replace the roots of missing teeth and are used as anchors to secure and support a variety of restorations. Implants thus allow for fixed restorations in cases where previously they could not be done due to lack of supporting tooth structure.
Implants also have the additional benefit of preserving the patient's jawbone, which in the long run is their greatest asset. Restorations can be changed, redone or upgraded as the patient's needs desires or financial situation dictates and technological advances warrant only as long as there is adequate healthy jaw bone present to support these new restorations. So implants not only allow for the restorations of today but also the restorations of tomorrow.
Implant treatment starts with and is controlled by your restorative dentist, either a general dentist or prosthodontist. This is because all implant treatment must be designed with the final implant restoration in mind. This means the first step in implant treatment is to decide what type of final implant restoration is right for you. Only after this has been determined can the number of implants and their position be properly determined. Since the restorative dentist is the one who is going to design and have the implant restoration made it is incumbent on them to coordinate the case between any and all specialists and the dental laboratory.
To ensure proper implant case control, impressions of the patient's mouth are taken along with a bite registration that relates the upper teeth to the lower teeth. Then a face bow transfer is taken so that the patient's existing bite plane can be related to the horizontal plane of their eyes. This also relates the distance their front teeth are from their ears which represents their hinged jaw joint. This allows the models to be mounted on a fully adjustable articulator that reproduces all the chewing motions the lower jaw goes through. Then all necessary modifications to the patient's bite are first done on the models. After this the dental laboratory can then wax up what the final restoration will look like. These wax models will be used as a guide to determine implant numbers and locations in the patient's mouth, a guide to fabricate a surgical implant stent for the surgeon for the proper implant placement, a guide for the laboratory to fabricate an implant provisional restoration, a guide for the surgeon for soft tissue (gum surgeries) and a guide for the laboratory for fabricating the final implant restoration.
The part of the implant that is surgically placed in the jawbone is called the fixture. After fixture placement the implant is allowed time to heal and integrate with the jawbone. Once this occurs a post called an abutment is screwed into the implant fixture. This post is what the implant restoration is secured to and supported by. The implant restoration can ether be screwed to the abutment or cemented to the abutment, but either way it should be retrievable so if it needs to be redone or upgraded the implant fixtures and implant abutments will not be damaged.
The advantages of implants are many. Starting with the fact they are the only known therapy that preserves the patient's jawbone and therefore prevents them from becoming a dental cripple. Implants and their associated restorations can never decay, implants are the only treatment that allows for fixed restorations, those patients can not remove from their mouths, when there are no teeth that can be used for anchor abutments. Implants are the only way to change full dentures into restorations that fit comfortably and are totally secure. Implants eliminate the need to prepare, cut down, healthy teeth to replace a missing teeth for fixed bridge work and after seven years actually become less expensive than fixed bridges, since if an implant restoration fails then only that one restoration has to be replaced, while if a fixed bridge fails the entire bridge, at least three units and possible more needs to be replaced.
About the Author:
Joseph Preziosi Jr., DMD
New Jersey Cosmetic Dentist
phone. (908) 654-7100
fax 908-654-8764
email: Drpreziosi@aol.com
url: http://www.preziosidentistry.com/
