Dental Implants Fort Worth TX dentist Dr. Snider shares a personal story about a previous patient that changed their life with dental implants.
A few years back I had a patient that suffered from a horrible, genetic gum disease and lost several teeth. She was first considering porcelain veneers since she was assuming she would keep losing her teeth throughout her life, but she realized that dental implants offer much more permanent and healthy options compared to veneers. I actually had a great friend that specialized in gum disease and referred her to him. I did not see or hear from Danielle for about a year or so, when I finally got a call that her gum disease was completely healed and she was ready to come back in.
Unfortunately she suffered from intense damage to her jawbone from the deterioration of her gum tissue, so I had to perform a bone graft on her when she came back. This is a bone tissue transplant procedure in which the dentist replaces the fractured and damaged bone with new and healthy osseous tissue in a few hour long procedure.
Danielle needed quite a bit of bone to perform this procedure so she used donor bone to rebuild the structure and strength of her jaw to successfully receive the dental implants. I performed the procedure and told her to avoid alcohol, cigarette smoking, soda, and sports drinks for at least the first month of the 4 months she needed to heal. Throughout this time the new jawbone integrated naturally into the mouth and was able to function just as well as her original jawbone once the months passed.
After 4 ½ months Danielle came back so I could re- examine her jawbone progress and fortunately she followed all of my instructions so I was able to approve her for the procedure. We were both happy to see that her newly healed gum tissue had also done well throughout the process. So I made tiny incisions into the spaces in the gums where the dental implants needed to be placed and gently placed the biocompatbile titanium screws into the jawbone.
This initiates the process of osseointegration, in which the titanium fuses naturally into the jawbone to provide a permanent and comfortable fit for the patient. This process generally takes 4-6 months for the patient to heal and recover from, as well as allow the dental implants to fully integrate into the oral cavity. Patients are required to follow all instructions regarding eating, drinking, resting and exercising throughout this time and are warned to avoid using a straw to drink beverages. Straws can poke against implants and ruin the integration process.
The very last stage in the process is the placing of the tooth- colored, porcelain crowns into the mouth. The dentist’s laboratory staff spends a great deal of time matching and comparing each dental implants to the patient’s natural teeth to ensure the look, fit and feel of their new smile. We even match the color to blend the two to become indistinguishable. Danielle was so happy with her new smile and could not have been happier to kick her almost life- long gum disease.
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Providing successful and life- changing dental implants for patients like Danielle is why I got into this business in the first place. Our dental and oral health must be maintained and cared for to ensure a longer and healthier lifestyle. Call us today to change your future with dental implants today at (817) 697-3488.