Archives for August 2019

Allergic to Titanium in Dental Implants

Posted on August 31, 2019 by writeradmin.

I’ve lost two teeth due to a car accident. The accident also left me with burns on my arm and shoulder. At the moment I do not feel attractive at all. My dentist put in a dental flipper at first just so my teeth wouldn’t drift, but I need a permanent replacement. I hear dental implants are the best and I want the best. From what I can see, they’re all made of titanium, which I have an allergy to. What is my next best option if I can’t have the dental implants?

Beatrice

Dear Beatrice,

I am very sorry for all you have been through. You have suffered so much. Fortunately, I think I have a great solution for you. Let’s say there was a worst-case scenario and you were not a good candidate for dental implants. In that case, the next best thing would be to get a dental bridge. Though, if your two lost teeth are adjacent to one another, that would mean you’d need a four-unit bridge. The more units you add to a bridge, the greater the stress on your teeth and greater risk of problems.

The good news is, you can still get dental implants, which will be a far superior treatment. There are metal-free dental implant options. Instead of getting titanium implants, you can get zirconia.

Zirconia is very strong and is dubbed ceramic steel. The main reason dentists are still using the titanium implants is because of the longevity of data we have with them. Because they’ve been in use for decades, we know they have a great lifespan. We have no evidence the zirconia options don’t. They just haven’t been around as long.

Your current dentist may not do them, but you will be able to find a dentist or periodontist who does. They’re out there and doing just fine.

Cosmetic Considerations with Dental Implants

You mentioned not feeling attractive at the moment. That’s perfectly normal given what you’ve been through. This may be the time to give yourself a little boost. Once the crowns for your dental implants are completed, the color is permanent. I generally encourage people to whiten their teeth before getting the porcelain crowns.

Teeth whitening is an affordable way to make your smile look years younger both quickly and affordably. Then, your crowns can be made the new brighter color. It will give you a smile you will be proud to share with the world.

This blog is brought to you by Atlanta Periodontist Dr. William Pumphrey.

Should All My Son’s Teeth Be Extracted?

Posted on August 30, 2019 by writeradmin.

My son is twenty-two years old and a drug addict. We’re getting him help. We’ve got him off the street and back at home. We’ve realized his teeth need a lot of work. I brought him to see my dentist who just wants to extract all of his teeth. That would be 27 teeth at one time. First, that seems like a lot of teeth to extract at once. Do you think this is the right plan for him?

Millie

Dear Millie,

Implant Overdentures

I absolutely do not agree with your dentist about his treatment recommendation. Your son is only 22 years old. Here’s the thing. When your teeth are removed, your body recognizes that and begins resorbing the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere in an effort to be efficient and use resources wisely. Unfortunately, this means by the time your son is in his mid to late 30s he won’t have enough jawbone left to retain his dentures. This is known as facial collapse and will make him a dental cripple. This is a horrible way for him to live out his life and will lead to malnutrition.

Your dentist is looking out for what is easy for him, not what is best for his patient. That alone would make me want to switch care givers. It is also possible he doesn’t see your son as worth the effort because of his addiction. Especially given your son’s addiction, he needs people who believe in him. People who can give him hope for his future. That is another reason to switch caregivers in this case.

The Best Options for Your Son

First and foremost, my recommendation is for you to save all the teeth you possibly can. Nothing is better for him than natural teeth. It is worth the time and effort to save all of them you can. He likely has some serious gum disease going on as well. That will probably be a good dentist’s top priority. Without treating that, he will start to lose teeth anyway.

Now, I haven’t examined your son. So, let’s say it is the worst-case scenario and his teeth just can’t be saved. Here is what I would do. When it comes to the extractions, DO NOT do all the teeth at once. The amount of Novocain necessary for that is huge. Plus, your son likely has a high tolerance to medication. I would do the extractions in stages.

Once the teeth are removed, dentures alone will be a disaster. We have already discussed facial collapse. Instead, get implant-supported dentures. These use between four to six dental implants on each arch and secure the dentures to his jaw. Not only will he be better able to eat and function, but the implants serve as prosthetic tooth roots which prevents your son from losing any of his jawbone. This will give him the best shot at a healthy bite.

This blog is brought to you by Atlanta Periodontist Dr. David Pumphrey.

All-on-4 Implant Failed After 8 Years: Normal?

Posted on August 13, 2019 by writeradmin.

About eight years ago, I went and had All-on-4 dental implants done. It was a pretty intensive process and it wasn’t cheap, but my dentist said it would give me the best results and would likely last the rest of my life. A couple of months ago, I started noticing a bad taste in my mouth. Nothing had changed for me. I’m a good brusher and I floss. I use mouthwash to stay fresh as well. I was a little self-conscious about it, worried it also meant I had bad breath too, so I mentioned it to my hygienist at my visit roughly one month ago. The doc was pretty quick to act and did x-rays then and there. He determined that one of my All-on-4 dental implants was infected and put me on antibiotics. However, he also said he was worried that the infection would come back and, if it did, it would mean the implant was a loss—I’d lose my appliance and would have to go through surgery again to redo the one that is being problematic.

The whole thing is a mess and it looks like I’m not only going to have to go through the whole process again, but have to pay for everything all over again. How common is it to have this procedure fail at this point? And, if I go ahead and start over, what’s the likelihood that the new work will fail again? I’m almost at a point where I’m ready to just have them give me a set of regular dentures and leave it at that. I’m 64 years old, if that matters.

Thanks,

Rick

Dear Rick,

All-on-4 dental implants

All-on-4 Dental Implants Have a High Success Rate

So sorry to hear about your challenges. There are a couple of ways to break down the statistics with your all-on-4 dental impalnts. One study involving 245 patients who had 980 implants placed in total followed their success rates for ten years. At the ten-year-mark, only 13 of the 245 patients had their dental work fail, which means people-wise, there’s a 94.7% success rate at ten years. Of the 980 implants placed, a total of 21 failed, resulting in a 97.8% success rate for the individual implants.

Certain Things Can Impact Success Rates

Clearly, the All-on-4 dental implants procedure works well for lots of people, but it doesn’t work well for everyone. A few things that can lead to dental implant failure include:

1. Periodontal Disease
2. Health Conditions (Diabetes, Inflammatory Diseases, etc.)
Smoking
3. A Placement Problem.

After Eight Years, It’s probably not a placement problem

If something was off about the way the procedure was performed or how your body adapted to the treatment, you would have started having issues much sooner. Think in terms of months or maybe a year or so after. Given the length of time that’s passed, something else likely contributed to the infection. If you don’t fit into one of the high-risk groups, it may be impossible to determine what caused the infection or contributed to the failure.

Redoing the Work is a Personal Decision

If a cause can’t be determined and your dentist doesn’t have any insights, it’s really a personal decision whether you want to do the work again. Unfortunately, there aren’t any really good studies that look into longevity after a redo. But, bear in mind, three of the placements are still solid and holding strong, which is a great sign and also means you will pay considerably less for any additional work needed. For added assurance, you may want to visit a specialist, such as a periodontist, to get a second opinion.

Dental Implants are Far Superior to Dentures

Dentures come with a whole other set of problems. They reduce your chewing capacity by at least 50%, even with the best fitting dentures. The worst problem with dentures, however, is facial collapse. Without the dental implants, your body recognizes there aren’t any teeth there and begins to resorb the minerals in your jawbone to use elsewhere in your body. After about ten or so years, you won’t have enough of your jawbone left to even retain your dentures.

This blog is brought to you by Atlanta Periodontist Dr. David Pumphrey.

This blog is sponsored by Atlanta All-on-4 dental implant provider Dr. David Pumphrey.