Maintaining your Groovy Grin

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maintaining your groovy grin dental implants have become a popular option for boomers

BABY BOOMERS HAVE ARGUABLY SEEN MORE TECHNOLOGICAL developments in their lifetimes than any other generation before them.

Advances in television, computers, medicine, and music have advanced tenfold over the last few decades.

So it might come as a bit of a surprise to know that one of today’s most useful methods for achieving an attractive smile—the dental implant—has actually been in the United States since the 1980s in its modern form. And earlier variations of the devices can even be traced back to the ancient Egyptians.

But as the boomer population continues to age, many more patients

WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY Megan Joyce

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now prefer dental implants over traditional dentures and bridgework for missing teeth.

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The implant is as strong as or stronger than their natural teeth, so there’s not really any significant limitation to eating.

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“Baby boomers often have some missing teeth or sometimes complete dentures,” said Christian Silvaggio, DMD, a prosthodontist in Lancaster.

“Basically, for people that have partials and want them replaced with something more like their natural teeth, implants are an option.” Implants are beneficial for replacing single teeth, serve as an alternative to bridgework, and can be used to stabilize dentures.

Implants also allow a single tooth to be replaced without affecting the teeth on either side of it—another considerable benefit. Traditionally, to do a bridge, the teeth on either side of the vacant space must be crowned, causing unnecessary trauma to teeth that are often healthy otherwise. “In those situations, it’s usually better to do an implant,” said Michael Eckhart, DDS, whose practice is also based in Lancaster. “That way, you’re not asking those other teeth to support more, you’re not crowning teeth that don’t need to be crowned, and you’re getting a titanium root in there that’s stronger than the natural tooth.”

The titanium component of dental implants, which resemble tiny screws, is the key to their success rate. “Titanium is a metal that the body likes,” explained Silvaggio. “The bone will integrate with and grow up to and fuse with that metal.” Because bone will integrate with titanium, there is no risk for decay.

With a bridge, however, the bone under the replacement tooth is often resorbed into the body, which creates a slowly growing gap between the replacement tooth and the gums.

The implantation process obviously varies with the needs of each patient, but in general, a small hole is made in the gum and a hole is drilled into the jawbone to the precise size of the implant in diameter and length. The titanium implant is placed in the hole. The procedure is performed under local anesthetic and, in the simpler, one-tooth cases, the entire process can take as little as 15 to 20 minutes.

Water-cooled drills are used to prevent the bone from overheating.

Complete healing can take anywhere from two to four months, but “post-op pain, in many cases, is very minimal—usually less than when a person has a

Dr. Silvaggio, DMD, a board-certified prosthodontist, holds a demonstration model of dental implants, a procedure his patients have found extremely satisfying.

tooth extracted,” Silvaggio said. More complicated cases, which might involve

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Dr. Michael Eckhart, DDS, views threedimensional images derived from x-ray scans of a patient’s teeth which show each step in a patient’s implantation plan.

bone grafting to areas that don’t already

patients walking in with a denture, and

is removed, the area is cleaned, and

have sufficient bone to receive the

then an hour later, walking out with

another implant is inserted. “It’s not like

implant, might be sore for a longer

something that screws in permanently,”

an organ being rejected; it’s just that it

period. But Silvaggio said that, for the

Eckhart added.

doesn’t fuse with the bone, so it’s

most part, the patient shouldn’t feel any discomfort after a week has passed.

Dental implants are also very useful

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Silvaggio.

because you need bone to put the implant

by plan, so check with your provider.

upper-jaw denture that snaps firmly into

in,” Eckhart explained. “But there are

Some insurance companies will cover a

place. “If you go to four to six to even

patients that we can create bone [for

portion of the procedure, such as the

eight implants, then you can have a fixed

them] with bone grafting. We can make

surgical aspect. But despite the potential

bridgework that is basically a fixed

almost anybody a candidate for implants

cost, both doctors said the vast majority

denture that goes in place, so it doesn’t

nowadays, but it’s easier and nicer if

of their dental implant patients have been

move around at all,” said Silvaggio. “It’s

someone already has enough bone.”

extremely satisfied—which makes them

The care of a patient’s implants doesn’t differ from everyday dental

Insurance coverage for implants varies

satisfied, too.

“You’re giving something to a lot of

hygiene routine—brushing and flossing—

people where they’d have no other option

you put enough implants in that they can

and the strength of the titanium allows

than a removable appliance,” Eckhart

have teeth that stay in all the time—it’s

the patient to eat normally as well. “The

said. “People that wear lower dentures

like having teeth again,” said Eckhart.

implant is as strong as or stronger than

that don’t stay in—we put in just two

Computer technology has quickened

their natural teeth, so there’s not really

implants and they have a denture that

the process and made it visual for both

any significant limitation to eating,”

snaps in. They’re really happy.”

doctors and patients. Three-dimensional

Silvaggio said.

images derived from x-ray scans of a

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go back and place another one,” said

“The best candidates are people that already have a lot of preexisting bone

“You can also take somebody to where

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is a good candidate for dental implants.

implants, a patient can have a lower- or

looks like your natural teeth.”

unscrewed, allowed to heal, and then we

for denture wearers. With as few as two

elevated slightly off the gum tissue and it

20

Both doctors agree that almost anyone

Occasionally, an implant can fail,

“In many cases, the satisfaction is wonderful,” said Silvaggio. “For some

patient’s teeth show each step in a

meaning the implant did not integrate

people, what they say is that it feels like

patient’s implantation plan. “We have

with the bone. If that occurs, the implant

the strongest thing in their mouth.” ) ) )

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