A patient came to see us looking for options to fill the gaps in the back of his mouth. He had not been to see a dentist in 5 years as he had a bad experience at his last visit. He found that chewing food was difficult as he had lost a number of his back teeth due to tooth decay and there was another large cavity in another back tooth.
On discussion with the pateint, he was looking for a fixed option to repalce the gaps in his teeth. He was not keen on dentures and had heard about dental implants. The first thing that we had to found out was why he was getting decay and what was causing his teeth to break.
We discovered that he had not been to see a hygienist in over 5 years and he had advanced gum disease in multiple areas of his mouth. He also had a diet of hard food that resulted in his teeth breaking. The first step was to stabilise his dental health. Placing dental implants in a mouth with active dental disease is a receipy for disaster.
After intensive gum (periodontal) therapy to stabilise his dental health we would then look at his options for placing dental implants.
Dental implants are titanium roots that replace the roots of teeth that have been lost due to dental disease such as gum disease or tooth decay. Implants have success rates of 95% and are excellent for replacing single or multiple teeth. The dental implant is placed into the bone by a specialist implant surgeon. A crown is then attached to the implant using special abutments. The amount of bone present is crucial for the success of dental implants. This is assessed by the implant surgeon.
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by Dental DesignSite last updated: September 2024
