Ninety million people in the US don’t see a dentist because of fear. One million people have conquered that same fear with safe, effective oral sedation dentistry. It’s not just a trend. It’s a new level of dental care.
There are many things that please me deeply as a dentist. One of those is watching patients warm up, relax, grow in trust and simply have more fun as they get to know us. Most people have a bad dental experience in their past that has left them afraid, nervous and even suspicious of dentists. My whole career, I have tried to help people get past “dental guilt and fear” imposed by someone in their past and to help them enjoy good health and a beautiful smile; all as they experience comfort throughout their care.
Many patients come to our office requiring dental gum treatment. To ensure patient comfort and allow me to be thorough, I commonly numb up the area I am working on. Many patients have a fear of the shot because of their previous experiences. They describe a horrible past experience that was very uncomfortable.
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.
