New Dental Implants Build Bone, Speed Healing

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New Dental Implants Build Bone, Speed Healing
Apr 26, 2005
Mary Ann Childers
CHICAGO (CBS 2)
The Food and Drug Administration has given the green light to a new fluoride-coated dental implant that may save smiles everywhere. The fluoride actually helps build bone and speeds healing.
Sandy Strouse hasnǃÙt always been a big fan of the dentist. ǃ?I had some bad experiences when I was younger and it stuck with me,ǃ? she said. But for the past few years, sheǃÙs been willing to brave the chair to save her smile.
ǃ?This is a big step for her. She has had a lot of dental disease because of fear,ǃ? said Dr. Scott Gradwell, D.M.D.
Gradwell is replacing one of SandyǃÙs front teeth with an OsseoSpeed dental implant. ItǃÙs just approved and fluoride coated.
ǃ?Astra Zeneca has placed TioblastÇ—¢ on the outside of their implant, which has been shown to fuse the jaw bone three times quicker. Now theyǃÙve added fluoride, that household name that we all know about in our toothpaste into the Tioblast, which is allowing the implant to fuse much quicker,ǃ? Gradwell said.
Since the implant fuses quickly, SandyǃÙs implant is strong enough to support a custom-made temporary tooth.
ǃ?She doesnǃÙt have a gaping hole for three months. And she doesnǃÙt have to wear something thatǃÙs removable,ǃ? Gradell said.
The OsseoSpeed implant was developed and studied extensively in Europe. Gradwell is one of the first in the US to use it.
ǃ?What the studies have shown and theyǃÙre five years in the making now, is that the fluoride stimulates the clot cells and the jaw bone cells to grow more jawbone cells. And the quicker the bone adheres to the dental implant, the more bone fuses to it and the stronger the bone fuses to it, therefore we have a longer prognosis, the implant will last longer,ǃ? he said.
Allowing Sandy a long lasting smile.
In addition to allowing patients the chance to leave the office with a fixed temporary tooth, Gradwell says the implant can also be used for patients who couldnǃÙt have implants in the past, like those with osteoporosis or other bone compromising conditions. The OsseoSpeed dental implants run about the same cost as traditional implants.