Cosmetic Dental Implants Used in Full Mouth Reconstruction for Patient with 50 Percent Missing Teeth
A patient by the name of Kim came to us, quite distraught about her severe case of missing teeth. She was 47 when we met her, and she had suffered tremendous dental problems since she was 12 years old. She had crashed her bicycle one day, and had broken off her front teeth. Since that time, she reported, she not only experienced missing teeth, but suffered from constant infections in her mouth.
She had been through many episodes in her mouth where a variety of dental ailments afflicted her. Severe swelling would arise in her mouth, accompanied by intense pain. She would develop toothaches that were so sudden, and so severe; she would have to be rushed to the emergency room at midnight. Dental emergency treatment almost always ended with teeth being pulled because of the degree of pain and infection in her teeth and gums. This only resulted in more tooth loss, and seemed to never resolve the root cause of the infections which appeared mysteriously linked to her childhood accident.
By the time more than half of her teeth were gone; Kim had all but given up on dentistry. The heartache of being young and attractive, but having so many missing teeth, made her shy about smiling, or even opening her mouth at all in front of people. Years went by, and she never went to a dentist, believing nothing at all could be done to restore so many missing teeth or cure the infections that kept developing in her mouth.
Then, by some strange twist of serendipity, Kim learned of the Medical Center Dental Group through a newspaper ad we ran in the Houston Chronicle. She read about our commitment to patient care and comfort, and how we have helped so many people with complex and challenging problems, including severe cases of missing teeth. This gave her enough hope and courage to schedule an appointment with us.
We used a combination of treatments to restore Kim’s lost teeth and remedy the constant bouts with infection. Our intraoral camera revealed advanced periodontal disease, which appeared to have been the cause of so many teeth becoming infected to the point they had to be pulled. Whether or not this periodontal disease resulted from her bicycle accident as a child remained a mystery. Nevertheless, were able to successfully treat her periodontal disease with LANAP. We also performed a series of root canals to ensure that all diseased and dying nerve and tooth root tissue were completely removed from Kim’s mouth.
Once her mouth had completely recovered, and there were no remaining symptoms of toothaches or periodontal disease, we then began the cosmetic phase of dental treatment. We used a total of 5 cosmetic dental implants to replace missing teeth in key areas of her jaws that needed strength and support. (Sometimes, advanced periodontal disease and deterioration of the bone limits the number of implants we can use.) The remainder of her full mouth reconstruction was done with fixed porcelain bridges and crowns, creating a new, healthy, natural looking smile she had not enjoyed since childhood.
Besides the obvious cosmetic improvements, Kim can now eat more comfortable, speak with more confidence, and be proud of her smile instead of holding her hand over her mouth all the time.
She had been through many episodes in her mouth where a variety of dental ailments afflicted her. Severe swelling would arise in her mouth, accompanied by intense pain. She would develop toothaches that were so sudden, and so severe; she would have to be rushed to the emergency room at midnight. Dental emergency treatment almost always ended with teeth being pulled because of the degree of pain and infection in her teeth and gums. This only resulted in more tooth loss, and seemed to never resolve the root cause of the infections which appeared mysteriously linked to her childhood accident.
By the time more than half of her teeth were gone; Kim had all but given up on dentistry. The heartache of being young and attractive, but having so many missing teeth, made her shy about smiling, or even opening her mouth at all in front of people. Years went by, and she never went to a dentist, believing nothing at all could be done to restore so many missing teeth or cure the infections that kept developing in her mouth.
Then, by some strange twist of serendipity, Kim learned of the Medical Center Dental Group through a newspaper ad we ran in the Houston Chronicle. She read about our commitment to patient care and comfort, and how we have helped so many people with complex and challenging problems, including severe cases of missing teeth. This gave her enough hope and courage to schedule an appointment with us.
We used a combination of treatments to restore Kim’s lost teeth and remedy the constant bouts with infection. Our intraoral camera revealed advanced periodontal disease, which appeared to have been the cause of so many teeth becoming infected to the point they had to be pulled. Whether or not this periodontal disease resulted from her bicycle accident as a child remained a mystery. Nevertheless, were able to successfully treat her periodontal disease with LANAP. We also performed a series of root canals to ensure that all diseased and dying nerve and tooth root tissue were completely removed from Kim’s mouth.
Once her mouth had completely recovered, and there were no remaining symptoms of toothaches or periodontal disease, we then began the cosmetic phase of dental treatment. We used a total of 5 cosmetic dental implants to replace missing teeth in key areas of her jaws that needed strength and support. (Sometimes, advanced periodontal disease and deterioration of the bone limits the number of implants we can use.) The remainder of her full mouth reconstruction was done with fixed porcelain bridges and crowns, creating a new, healthy, natural looking smile she had not enjoyed since childhood.
Besides the obvious cosmetic improvements, Kim can now eat more comfortable, speak with more confidence, and be proud of her smile instead of holding her hand over her mouth all the time.
Labels: alternative to dental surgery, cosmetic dental crowns, cosmetic dental procedures, full mouth reconstruction, LANAP, missing teeth, root canal
posted by Dental Expert at
11:28 PM
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