Dental Health Watch: Dental Implants and Their Applications

Dental Health Watch: Dental Implants and Their Applications
August 14, 2008
By Miles Yacker, D.D.S.
5 Towns Jewish News

Most dental implants are made from titanium alloy and are designed in the shape of a screw. A local anesthetic is given for patient comfort and the dental implant is surgically placed. The implant serves as a foundation to support prosthetic replacement teeth. Before the modern era of implantology, if an individual would lose some or all of his teeth, either a removable or fixed (doesnÌt come out of the mouth) prosthesis to replace the missing teeth would be fabricated. The fixed prosthesis would necessitate modifying natural teeth with dental drills and, in some cases, overstressing these teeth to gain support for the artificial teeth, or fabricating a removable prosthesis that in some instances required additional support that wasnÌt available.

With the advent of dental implants, instead of utilizing surrounding teeth or other oral structures alone, a significant degree of support for the tooth replacement prosthesis can be achieved. People today can enjoy a higher level of comfort, confidence, and function than ever before due to the many technological advancements in implantology. Today, with cone-beam computed tomography, which allows us to take detailed images of the jaw bone structure with minimal radiation (a safety feature for patients), coupled with advanced interactive software, an entire surgical and prosthetic treatment plan can be formulated. These interactive software programs allow for highly accurate computer-simulated surgeries to be planned before the actual implant surgeryÛallowing for a safer, faster, and more accurate implant procedure.

Patients often ask me, in my private office as well as at the university where I teach: How long have implants been around, and are they predictable? The answer to this question is that implantology is not new. What is new is that the technology and research have made this treatment modality highly predictable in most instances. A detailed diagnostic workup is an essential step in the delivery of quality implant dentistry care. Not only can patients today enjoy the functional benefits of implant dentistry, but they can also help preserve the supporting bone via a dental implant. The normal loss of bone in the oral cavity after tooth extraction via bone remodeling appears to be slowed down when a patient receives a dental implant. This is another benefit dental implants offer. Bone grafting is also an area of intensive research and development for the patient who lacks an adequate quantity of bone for an implant. Today, bone grafting may offer added advantages for the patient in need of implant therapy. As technology and research continue, new fields of study emergeÛopening new opportunities for the advancement in oral health.

Dr. Miles Yacker can be reached at The Long Island Center For Dental Specialties in Lawrence at 516-239-7432. Dr. Yacker is a clinical associate professor at the Ashman Department of Post Graduate Periodontology and Implant Dentistry at New York University College of Dentistry, a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology, and a Diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics. He is also an inventor and lectures both nationally and internationally to dentists on various fields and specialties in dentistry. He has a private practice in Lawrence.