A new dental implant system is allowing patients
- From: "Joel M. Eichen" <joeleichen@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 1 May 2005 15:53:16 -0400
A new dental implant system is allowing patients
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Posted on Tue, Mar. 08, 2005
A lasting smile
A new dental implant system is allowing patients to leave the office without
fear of slipping dentures
BY KAREN SHIDELER
The Wichita Eagle
McPHERSON -- Wanda Phillips had potato soup for dinner that night. But she
could have had steak and corn on the cob, with a sticky, chewy caramel for
dessert.
And her denture would have stayed in place.
Because a few hours earlier, she'd gotten dental implants to hold the
denture firmly.
You read that right -- a few hours after having dental implants, she was
capable of eating steak and corn with dentures. Without pain.
That's because of a new technique being used by McPherson dentist Jon Julian
and only a few other dentists in the United States.
Traditional dentures have a molded piece that fits over the wearer's gums.
And "most people get along pretty darned fine" with traditional dentures,
said Wichita dentist Bob Beaver.
They're what Phillips, 50, had used for years, but in her case, "they
weren't too good," she said. "I've had to avoid a lot of foods."
When there is a problem, many denture wearers will tell you, it's the bottom
denture that causes the problem.
Sometimes gums recede and the jawbone changes shape. Dentures may slip and
slide, causing pain and making eating difficult.
Sometimes, Beaver said, the anatomy of a person's mouth just doesn't permit
a terrific fit.
Some people opt for dental implants -- small titanium rods that are similar
in shape to the root of a tooth and are placed in the jawbone. In general,
implants can serve as a base for a replacement tooth or for bridgework or
dentures.
For dentures, the "gold standard" has been a device called the Hader bar,
Julian said. It's a bar that joins four dental implants. The denture has
clips that snap to the bar.
To use it, the implants are surgically placed, the gum heals, then the
denture is made to fit.
The drawback in addition to time is cost. Some people try to get around that
by using only two implants with the bar. In that case, the denture sits on
gum tissue in the back, which can cause pressure problems.
Enter the Syncone Denture. It also uses four implants. But rather than being
joined by a bar, each is topped with a small male attachment; the female end
is embedded in the denture.
When they slide together, they hold so well that Phillips' biggest problem a
day after the procedure was getting the denture out again. "Isn't that
something?" she said.
The Syncone system isn't a "mini implant," a device some dentists are using.
Bone will grow around Syncone implants, just as it does with other kinds of
dental implants, and it will become a permanent part of the mouth. "These
implants are meant to last for life," Julian said.
After numbing the patient's mouth, Julian uses a laser to make a depression
in the jawbone for the implants. The laser cuts bleeding to next to nothing.
Sutures aren't needed around the implants.
Once the implants are placed, Julian tops them with the male and female
attachments. He lines the part of the denture that sits on the gums with a
quick-cure acrylic and positions the denture on top of the implants. Seven
minutes later, the female attachments are a permanent part of the denture.
"Being able to do this in a single appointment -- can you imagine?" Julian
said.
Careful positioning and physics allow the denture to be used right after the
implants are placed. The denture touches the gum tissue, but it sits on the
implants, which is why Phillips could eat without pain right away.
The worst part of the whole procedure, she said, was the pins-and-needles
tingling she felt in her mouth as the anesthetic wore off.
The new implant procedure is less expensive than the gold standard. The
Hader bar costs about $9,500, Julian said, compared with $7,500 to $8,000
for the Syncone system.
"Plan on paying for 100 percent of this out of your pocket," he said, noting
that dental insurance typically doesn't cover implants of any kind.
Phillips had the procedure Feb. 28 and a checkup two days later. Now, she'll
have periodic checkups and implant cleanings -- much like regular dental
visits.
Julian, who has used the Syncone system in six or eight patients, also is
teaching others about it, as well as about other implants and laser use.
That's why he was among the first couple of dentists in the United States
who were able to use the system after it was approved by the Food and Drug
Administration late last year.
For more information
The Syncone Denture system is for a full denture, not for an individual
dental implant or for implants to support a bridge. Only a few dentists in
the United States are using the Syncone Denture system. For more
information, reach Jon Julian at (620) 241-5000.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
Reach Karen Shideler at 268-6674 or kshideler@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Joel344
View Public Profile
Send a private message to Joel344
Send email to Joel344
Find all posts by Joel344
Add Joel344 to Your Buddy List
« Previous Thread | Next Thread »
.
- Prev by Date: Re: pain on side of gums, after extraction?
- Next by Date: Re: temporary crown....
- Previous by thread: Re: pain on side of gums, after extraction?
- Next by thread: comments of new Crest mouthwash?
- Index(es):
Relevant Pages
|
