How does an implant work?

Many people are still nervous to get an implant. 

One of these factors is that they don't know how an implant works.

Here is a step by step of what the process is like. 

#1 A patient comes to the office with a tooth broken off to the gums. A bridge is possible, but that would mean shaving down the teeth on either side of the broken one. They are great teeth and that doesn't make a lot of sense. So an implant is chosen.

#2 After the tooth is removed a drill is placed into the hole. This is very important. No new hole is drilled. There is a hole there already. We simply shape the hole to fit the implant. Extraction is more stress on patient then the shaping of the hole.

#3 The implant is placed in the hole. A temporary tooth was glued into the empty space. No on ever leaves with a hole in their smile ; ) After 12 weeks of healing the new, permanent, tooth will be placed on the implant and all will be well.

Implants are an amazing way to simply, that's right I said simply, replace missing teeth. If you have concerns I have plenty of patients that have been through this procedure that could tell you all about it. Let me know if you have any questions.

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Dental Implant may be the solution.

"I've got 2 bad teeth on the same side! What can I possibly do?" Well, lets get creative. On the far left side of both of these pictures is the very back tooth in this person's mouth (so moving to the right would be towards the front of the mouth). The 2nd tooth forward is very painful and would need a root canal and crown to fix. The 3rd tooth up is broken off at the gum line. The solution? Remove the 2nd and 3rd teeth. Place an implant in the 3rd tooth spot. Then make a bridge from the implant to the 1st tooth. Result? All painful and broken teeth are gone. New teeth put in their place. Full functionality restored. No matter your problem, it is more then likely that we have a solution.

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Failing Root Canal?

Root Canals are like any other medical procedure. 

Sometimes they don't work.

So what do you do then?

One option is an Apicoectomy.

If you have no idea what that is then you are not alone.

In this day and age of implants this procedure has fallen out of favor.

But it should still be a very viable option in some cases.

Here is an apicoectomy we did just this morning. 

The tooth in the middle of the screen has the root canal.

You can tell by the white line running down the center of the root.

The white line isn't to the end of the root, and that may have lead to 

the continuous pain and discomfort that this patient was feeling.

You can tell from this photo that the root looks much shorter.

We surgically removed it.

We then cleaned out the infected area, placed a bone graft, 

and threw in a few stitches.

This procedure should allow the patient to maintain her 

original tooth while also getting rid of her pain.

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Cosmetic Bonding - Closing the Gap.

Fantastic case of Gap Closure with Cosmetic Bonding.

Young man from Saudi Arabia, about 25.

Didn't like gap in front teeth. 

Also thought that they were too long.

Before

About 30 minutes. 

No shots.

The same cost as a couple of fillings.

Added material to the sides of both and shortened them.

After

Happy happy patient.

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Re-growing teeth from stem cells

There has been a lot of news lately about stem cells and the

re-growth of new teeth.

In this short video clip I discuss what is going on with that.

Dr Ellis discusses regrowing teeth from stem cells.

Dental Tooth Implants

This is a great case to show. 

First of all it shows a before and after of an extraction then an implant.

But it also shows the longevity of an existing implant.

The before picture shows a failing root canal on the right.

The after picture shows the tooth extracted and an implant placed.

We were able to place a nice 10mm long and 4.7mm wide implant.

What both of these pictures also show is an older implant on the left.

This implant has already had the crown placed on it.

The bone levels show that although this implant was placed several

years ago that it continues to be very strong.

Implants are a fantastic way to deal with the loss of one,

or several, of your natural teeth.

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Gum Recession Fix

Many people deal with gum recession. 

For some it is a mild irritation but for others 

it can be very painful and effect the way you eat.

The enamel (white stuff) that covers your teeth only

goes as for as the gum line. 

If/when the gum line ever moves away from the enamel 

then root surface of the tooth is exposed.

Root surface is mush more sensitive to hot, cold, sweet, sour, etc 

then any other part of the tooth.

Sensitivity toothpastes can help.

But those must be used for the rest of your life and

if they are discontinued the sensitivity can return almost immediately. 

Toothpastes will also not cover up the discoloration that

can occur with recession.

A more permanent fix is to get a filling placed where the gums

have moved away from the enamel.

Here is a tooth experiencing recession.

The enamel is no longer going all the way to the gums.

The brown portion between the enamel and the gums

is the root structure.

Here we have the same tooth after a filling has been placed.

There is no longer a brown line. 

The filling will now isolate the root structure.

The sensitivity should now be gone and the aesthetics is much better as well.

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