|
Cosmetic dental implants used in full mouth reconstruction for patient with
50 percent missing teeth. A woman named Kim came to us, quite upset about the
fact she was missing some of her teeth. She was 47 years old, and she had
suffered from horrible dental problems since the age of 12. At that time she had
crashed her bicycle and broken off her front teeth. Constant infections had
plagued her ever since and caused her to lose many of her teeth.
Kim had experienced many episodes throughout her life where severe, painful
swelling would occur in her mouth. She would be struck by sudden and severe
toothaches, and she would have to be rushed to the emergency room at midnight.
This always resulted with her teeth being pulled because the pain and infection
in her teeth and gums were out of control. With more and more tooth loss, and no
conclusive finding as to what the root cause behind it all was, Kim could only
conclude within herself that this was all linked somehow to the accident she had
suffered so long ago as a child.
By the time she came to us more than half of her teeth were gone. Kim had all
but given up on the medical science of dentistry. She was still young, and quite
beautiful, but felt shy and reluctant to smile in front of people. As the years
went by, she simply quit going to dentists altogether, because she believed
nothing could be done for her.
Then, by some strange twist of what some might call fate (fate is not the same
for everyone), Kim learned of the Cosmetic Dentistry Center through a newspaper
ad. She read that we could replace missing teeth with dental implants through a
procedure known as full mouth restoration. After researching us further, she
learned of our outstanding reputation for patient care and comfort, and read
testimonials about how we have helped so many people with severe cases of
missing teeth. This gave her enough hope and encouraged her to call us to set an
appointment.
We used several cosmetic dental treatments to restore Kim’s lost teeth and stop
the constant bouts with infection. Using our intra-oral camera, we quickly
discovered that she had a very advanced case of periodontal disease. We would
have to deal with this before replacing any missing teeth. While it was unknown
whether or not this disease began when she had her childhood accident, the cause
was far less relevant at this point than the solution. Kim had been fortunate
enough to find a dental office that was able to treat her Periodontitis not with
typical surgery, but rather with a procedure known as LANAP performed with the
PerioLase® MVP-7. After the short post-operative period following LANAP, Kim
returned to our office for a series of root canals to completely remove all
diseased and dying root and nerve tissues that remained.
After Kim’s mouth had completely recovered, we then began replacing her missing
teeth. We used a total of 5 cosmetic dental implants to serve as anchor points
in her jaws. (Sometimes, advanced periodontal disease and deterioration of the
bone limits the number of implants we can use.) The rest of the full mouth
reconstruction was done with fixed porcelain bridges and crowns placed between
these cosmetic dental implants, resulting in a completely restored smile that
gave her a joy and confidence she had not felt since childhood.
|
