September 7th, 2010
Question:
My husband had a sinus lift with a bone graft. Recently he had the surgery to have 5 posts inserted. 4 of the posts are the same (they all extend from the gum a bit) but 1 is actually flush with the gum and skin has tried to grow over it a bit. Would this require the post to be redone or removed? My husband is 67 and we live in a small city with only a couple of Dentists that do implant surgery.
Answer:
After healing of the dental implants placed into that area where bone was grafted, sometimes the heads of the implants are covered with tissue, sometimes they are not… or they are partially covered as you describe. Either way works fine. Usually there are multiple layers – implant first, then prosthetic head second, then bridgework or crown as designed by your Houston dentist. Sounds like he is well on his way to having a good result from this project.
Chuck Campbell, DDS
Dale Brant, DDS
(713) 795-5905
Posted in Houston Cosmetic Dentistry | No Comments »
September 7th, 2010
Question:
Hi. I wore braces as a teenager, and did not take care of my teeth well. I have white stains with a “picture frame” effect as a result of decalcification.
I have 2 questions:
1. Is there anything I can do to remove these stains?
2. More specifically, will over-the-counter teeth whitening products, such as crest whitening strips, remove these?
Answer:
Thanks for your enquiry. Unfortunately, this happens a lot to patients who do not take care of their teeth properly when they have braces. This is due to the age of the patient. Most early teens do not clean their teeth properly and this is when most orthodontic work is started and completed. The white stain is a decalcification. The first thing that we have to determine is that there is no tooth decay present. Once we determine that, then we can proceed to removing or making the decalcification less noticeable. There are several procedures available to us in order to accomplish this. One is to use abrasive material to polish the stain away and the other option is to bleach your teeth. Unfortunately, the over the counter bleaching material will not accomplish this. This can only be done with a combination in office and tray bleaching. I hope this information helps you out.
Thanks,
Dale J. Brant, DDS
Charles Campbell, DDS
888.790.0309
Posted in Houston Cosmetic Dentistry | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2010
Queastion: I have a full upper denture and no teeth on the bottom. What is a ball park figure to have a lower and upper implant done? Would I need to have upper implants or can the current denture be used with a bottom implant.
Answer: Wow – lots of good questions here, Gloria. It is more complicated than it seems, but there are usually many different ways to use implants to stabilize dentures. Much of it depends on how much bone you have left. After the teeth are removed, the bone begins to shrink, and it can shrink dramatically, sometimes so much that dental implants are not a good choice.
There are times when the existing lower denture is in good shape and there is plenty of bone that only 2 denture mplants can make a huge difference. If the denture is in good shape, it can sometimes be modified to fit implants and have a simple solution.
More commonly, there is a lot of bone that has been lost, and the existing denture is not really usable for a new project. In these cases, a more complicated routine works well, but as you can see, it requires more dental implants and more elaborate denture prosthetics. This is often the best way to strengthen a difficult lower denture situation.
Tags: dental implants, Denture Implants, Dentures, houston dentist
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