Sound Bites: Learn About Dental Implants | health

However, it is important that patients are well informed before deciding whether implants are right for them. Over the past few months, I have seen many patients for second opinions on dental implants that have already been placed and restored.

I am writing this column to help my readers avoid the frustrations these patients have had.

Along with anything new in an industry, we often see growing pains. Most patients have complete trust and confidence in their dentist. Even a patient new to a dental office often feels comfortable with their dentist’s suggestions.

Make sure you are fully informed and have all your questions about dental implants satisfactorily answered – especially in the types of situations below.

To follow are the types of cases in which I have seen the most problems:

The use of two implants to hold a lower prosthesis.

These cases are more fair if all the teeth are already gone. My experience is that those who need extractions prior to implant placement are the most difficult patients.

The other situation is the one advertised on TV all the time; that is, teeth in a day.

Although this can certainly happen, it actually rarely does. I have seen many patients who ended up with a final result far less than expected. This is not limited to teething in one day, but also biting and cosmetics, to name a few areas of concern.

Another area of ​​concern is when implants are placed without consulting a restorative dentist.

I have had patients come to me with implants placed elsewhere and ask me to restore them. In many cases, things were placed well for me, but in many cases the result was less than ideal due to where and at what angle the implants were placed.

The possibility of redoing the implant is always there; however, I have yet to have a patient agree to this. In those cases, I explain the limitations and what my vision for the end result will be.

The patient either agrees to this or seeks help elsewhere. I have also refused to reinstate a case because I knew the end result would end up being unacceptable.

With all of the above said, please know that I have witnessed implants being used to replace teeth over the past 30 years. When things are designed for success, things go very well.

Don’t be afraid of dental implants, just be informed. I hope this has helped some of you.