Donaldson & Guenther Cosmetic Dentistry – Located in Ann Arbor, MI

How do we put an implant in? (by Kirk Donaldson, DDS)

There are several approaches. My most common way is to have my patient lightly sedated, so they are relaxed. After thorough numbing, I open the gumline so I can see the bone clearly. This helps me choose the precise orientation and height of my implant. A pilot hole is gently drilled in the bone, double checked and enlarged. The implant is then carefully rotated into place. In complex cases, I will use a CT scan and a digitally designed guide system to aid in precise implant placement.

I have seen too many poor results because implants were not carefully planned and placed. I generally prefer to close the gums completely while the patient’s bone fuses (integrates) to the implant over a period of 2 to 6 months. In the mean time, patients have a temporary tooth or teeth so they always have teeth in aesthetic areas. Back teeth are often left as just the natural gums during the integration period. The advantage to this approach is highest success rates ( high 90’s) and the best gums later.

I do some clever things to make the gums look very natural on most front teeth. This happens when we uncover the implant and make a beautiful temporary that promotes a natural looking gumline. It is one of the “art parts.”

In special carefully selected situations, we may remove a tooth, place the implant and build the temporary tooth all in one step. Placing implants and teeth all at the same time is becoming more common, but some of the precision and success rates can drop. It is a decision that is important to make with plenty of information.

Once the implants have integrated, the patient is ready to have their new teeth made. We are able to replace a single tooth or several; all the way to an entire arch. Many people do single individually flossable teeth. With two implants, we make lower dentures much more secure. With 4 – 8 implants we can make a whole arch of secure teeth that stay in place and are not removable.

Kirk Donaldson DDS MS

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Enjoy your smile again. Schedule an appointment today. Call us at (734) 971-3450.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 6th, 2007 at 4:25 pm and is filed under Ask the dentist, Dentistry as a fine art, Implants, Sedation Dentistry. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.