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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
(
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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