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Posts for category: Dental Procedures

By Advance Family Dental Care
January 19, 2020
Category: Dental Procedures
Tags: dental implant  
ImplantFailureIsRarebutPossibleHereAreaFewWaystoAvoidIt

Dental implants are all the rage—and for good reason: They’re incredibly “tooth-like,” both in appearance and function. They also have a stunningly high success rate: More than 95% of implants still function after ten years. This means out of thousands of implants installed each year, only a handful fail.

But although that’s an amazingly low number, they’re still failures for real people who’ve suffered a loss. If you’re considering dental implants the chances of that being your experience are quite low. But it could still happen.

Here’s a few things you can do to make sure your implants don’t fail.

Stop smoking. Of the small percentage of implant failures, an inordinate number are smokers. A smoker’s chances of implant failure are roughly double those of non-smokers. Smoking, and to some degree any tobacco use, can make your mouth an unhealthier place: Not only can it increase your dental disease risk, but it can interfere with the healing process after implant placement and increase the chances of early failure.

Manage your health. Diabetes and similar systemic conditions can interfere with the healing process too, which could impact your implant attachment to bone. Diabetics thus run a slight risk of implant failure—but actual failures mostly involve patients who don’t have good control of their symptoms. If you’re a diabetic, properly managing your condition will lower your risk of implant failure to nearly identical that of someone without diabetes.

Treat gum disease. Implants in themselves are immune to disease—but the underlying bone that supports them isn’t. A gum disease infection could eventually weaken and diminish the implant-bone attachment. If this happens around an implant, its stability can be severely compromised. The best strategy is to prevent gum disease through daily, thorough brushing and flossing to remove disease-causing dental plaque. And if you see any symptoms like gum swelling, redness or bleeding, see your dentist as soon as possible.

Your implants could serve you well for decades. Just be sure you’re doing the right things to ensure their longevity.

If you would like more information on dental implants, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Dental Implants: A Tooth-Replacement Method That Rarely Fails.”

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By Advance Family Dental Care
January 09, 2020
Category: Dental Procedures
DoYouHaveAdequateBonetoSupportanImplant

Besides their life-likeness, implants are also prized for their high success rate. More than ninety-five percent of implants continue to function effectively after ten years.

Implants’ advanced technology explains some of their reliability and longevity—they’re as close to natural teeth as we’re now able to achieve. But their impressive success rate also owes to the detailed protocols that dentists follow to install them. One critical part of these protocols is ensuring a patient has enough bone in their jaw to support and precisely situate the implant for the best functional and aesthetic outcome.

Unfortunately, there are situations where a patient doesn’t have enough bone to achieve a satisfactory result. This often happens if there’s been months or years between losing the tooth and considering an implant. The reason why relates to the nature of bone as living tissue.

Like other cellular tissues in the body, bone has a life cycle: Older, worn-out cells die and are absorbed by the body, and new cells form to replace them. The growth cycle in the jaw receives stimulation from the forces generated when we chew, which travel up through the teeth to the bone.

However, this stimulation stops after tooth loss for the related area of bone, which can slow new bone growth. Over time, the volume and density of the bone around a missing tooth gradually decreases, enough eventually to make an implant impractical.

Insufficient bone volume, though, doesn’t necessarily mean an implant is out of the question. We may be able to address the problem by attempting to regenerate the bone through grafting. This is a procedure in which we insert graft material into the affected area of the jawbone. The graft then becomes a scaffold upon which bone cells can grow.  After several months, we may have enough regenerated bone to support an implant.

If there’s been too much bone loss, we may still need to consider another form of restoration. But if we can successfully build up the bone around your missing tooth, this premier restoration for replacing lost teeth could become a reality for you.

If you would like more information on dental implants, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation.

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By Advance Family Dental Care
December 10, 2019
Category: Dental Procedures
Tags: dental implant  
GettingaNewToothinOneDayWillDependonYourBoneHealth

If you've thought the ads for a “new tooth in one day” seemed too good to be true, we have…sort of good news. You can get a new “tooth” in one visit, but only if your dental situation allows it.

The restoration in question is a dental implant, a metal post (usually titanium) surgically imbedded into the jawbone. They're especially durable because bone cells naturally grow and adhere to an implant's titanium surface, a process called osseointegration. Over time this process creates a strong bond between implant and bone.

Usually, we allow a few weeks for the implant to fully integrate with the bone before attaching the visible crown. With “tooth in one day,” though, we attach a crown at the same time as we install the implant, albeit a temporary crown. It's more aesthetic than functional, designed to avoid biting forces that could damage the implant while it integrates with the bone. When that process finishes, we'll install a permanent porcelain crown.

The health of your supporting bone and other structures will largely determine whether or not you're a candidate for this “tooth in one day” procedure. Your bone must be sufficiently healthy, as well as the gums surrounding the implant and the tooth's bony socket.

If, on the other hand, you have significant bone loss, gum recession or socket damage, we may first need to deal with these, usually by grafting tissue to the affected areas to stimulate new growth. Your implant, much less a temporary crown, will likely have to wait until the affected tissues have healed.

The bone can also be healthy enough for implant placement, but might still need time to integrate with the implant before attaching any crown. Instead, we would suture the gums over the implant to protect it, then expose and attach a permanent crown to the implant a few weeks later.

Obtaining even a temporary crown the same day as your implant can do wonders for your appearance. A more important goal, though, is a new tooth that you can enjoy for many, many years. To achieve that may mean waiting a little longer for your new beautiful smile.

If you would like more information on restoring missing teeth with dental implants, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Implant Timelines for Replacing Missing Teeth.”

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By Advance Family Dental Care
December 05, 2019
Category: Dental Procedures
DakotaJohnsonandHerMissingToothGapSparksOnlineDebate

Celebrities’ controversial actions and opinions frequently spark fiery debates on social media. But actress Dakota Johnson lit a match to online platforms in a seemingly innocent way—through orthodontics.

This summer she appeared at the premier of her film The Peanut Butter Falcon missing the trademark gap between her front teeth. Interestingly, it happened a little differently than you might think: Her orthodontist removed a permanent retainer attached to the back of her teeth, and the gap closed on its own.

Tooth gaps are otherwise routinely closed with braces or other forms of orthodontics. But, as the back and forth that ensued over Johnson’s new look shows, a number of people don’t think that’s a good idea: It’s not just a gap—it’s your gap, a part of your own uniqueness.

Someone who might be sympathetic to that viewpoint is Michael Strahan, a host on Good Morning America. Right after the former football star began his NFL career, he strongly considered closing the noticeable gap between his two front teeth. In the end, though, he opted to keep it, deciding it was a defining part of his appearance.

But consider another point of view: If it truly is your gap (or whatever other quirky smile “defect” you may have), you can do whatever you want with it—it really is your choice. And, on that score, you have options.

You can have a significant gap closed with orthodontics or, if it’s only a slight gap or other defect, you can improve your appearance with the help of porcelain veneers or crowns. You can also preserve a perceived flaw even while undergoing cosmetic enhancements or restorations. Implant-supported replacement teeth, for example, can be fashioned to retain unique features of your former smile like a tooth gap.

If you’re considering a “smile makeover,” we’ll blend your expectations and desires into the design plans for your future smile. In the case of something unique like a tooth gap, we’ll work closely with dental technicians to create restorations that either include or exclude the gap or other characteristics as you wish.

Regardless of the debate raging on social media, the final arbiter of what a smile should look like is the person wearing it. Our goal is to make sure your new smile reflects the real you.

If you would like more information about cosmetically enhancing your smile, please contact us or schedule a consultation. To learn more, read the Dear Doctor magazine articles “Space Between Front Teeth” and “The Impact of a Smile Makeover.”

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By Advance Family Dental Care
November 30, 2019
Category: Dental Procedures
Tags: partial dentures  
WithProperCarePartialDenturesareaViableToothReplacementOption

When you hear the word “dentures” you probably think of an appliance that replaces all the teeth on a dental arch. But there is another type: a removable partial denture (RPD), which can be a viable option for replacing a few missing teeth.

An RPD rests on the bony gum ridges that once held the missing teeth and are secured with clasps or other attachments to adjacent teeth. While lightweight, RPDs are designed to last for many years — they’re made of vitallium, a light but very strong metal alloy that reduces the RPD’s thickness. Recently, metal-free partial dentures are being used that don’t have the fit or longevity of the vitallium partial dentures, but are considered more of a cosmetic solution.

RPDs are custom-made for each individual patient to accommodate the number, location and distribution of teeth missing throughout the mouth. Their design must also reflect the health and stability of the gums and remaining natural teeth to ensure they won’t move unduly during normal mouth function, and will be as lifelike and unnoticeable as possible.

RPDs have been a mainstay in dentistry for many years and represent a less expensive tooth replacement option than implants or fixed bridgework. But they do have their downsides: because of their method of attachment to the remaining natural teeth they tend to accumulate plaque, which increases the risk of both periodontal (gum) disease and tooth decay. Their fit requires that they attach to the adjacent teeth that will cause some damage and lead to their looseness over time.

If you wear an RPD, there are some things you can do to decrease these problems. First and foremost, you should clean your RPD thoroughly every day, as well as brush and floss your remaining teeth to reduce plaque buildup especially at contact points. Be sure to remove the RPD at night while you sleep. And keep up regular dental visits not only for additional plaque removal but also to allow us to inspect the RPD for problems or wear.

An RPD is a viable option for improving mouth function and restoring your smile after multiple tooth loss. With proper care and maintenance, your RPD can serve you well for many years to come.

If you would like more information on removable partial dentures, please contact us today to schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Removable Partial Dentures.”

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Naperville, IL Dentist
Advance Family Dental Care
1567 N Aurora Road, Ste 143
Naperville, IL 60563
(630) 358-9899
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