My mouth was making me sick. Physically sick. I opted for having 25 teeth/roots removed, bone augmentation and 14 implants done including 2 zygomatics. Temporary teeth screwed in the same day. The first week or so was rough. It entails soft foods until the permanents are screwed in. This is a long process. Mine took 6 1/2 months. Care is more involved. A water flosser twice a day along with an electric toothbrush and mouth rinse is required. It takes vigilance and commitment. Now tat I can eat anything, I have taken a liking to fried chicken. Something I was never fond of. Strange. I enjoy salads, sushi, a sandwich and just about anything crunchy. It is liberating. My teeth are beautiful and has changed the structure of my face. I am very happy with my result. I you are just starting his process, remember, it's a process and one that will pay off in time. Take extra care in picking out your permanents. Look at thousands of photos online. Don't rush this part. If there is something you do not like when the wax try ons are made, make changes. You get one chance to do it right! Glad I did!! Updated on 9 May 2015: Updated on 13 Aug 2015: Here is my update. I am just over a year from my surgery (6 months from my permanents being installed. Wow has life changed. I just had a check up/cleaning 2 days ago. Everything is well. I do not have pain and have the freedom to go out to dinner and order anything I want. I have taken a liking to fried chicken and corn on the cob. Two things that have been off limits for many years. I'm just loving my smile and am more confident than ever! I welcome your questions! Updated on 21 Oct 2015: My update is fabulous! Loving life and smiling all the time!
To put it simply, at our facility we try to place 6 implants on the upper and 4 on the lower rather than all-on-4, for added stability. Of course it depends on the patient and the size of their jaw, but 6 seems to be the magic number for stability.
At our facility, our procedure has a success rate of 99.9% for a non-smoker and 98% for a smoker. Titanium is an extremely biocompatible material, meaning the body does not reject it. Titanium is used in other common procedures like hip and knee replacements. It is rare for an implant to fail if done in the right facility.
You could look into a 3-tooth implant-supported bridge, which is a non-removable bridge that will act and function as close to natural teeth as possible. Bone grafting may be necessary, with up to 6 months of healing time. Then the implants will be placed and there will be about 5-6 months till the implants are fully healed. They can be customized to look like your old teeth, or you can tweak them to your liking.
First, make sure your natural tooth cannot be fixed; that would be the best way to preserve bone. But, a dental implant should not cause bone loss. When the titanium implant is placed, it will fuse with the bone through a process called osseous integration. By doing that, it will actually promote bone growth.
You can place a full set or upper set of implant-supported teeth without sinus lifts or bone grafting using zygomatic implants. Thanks to modern research leading to the advancement of zygomatic dental implants, patients who have been told they are not candidates for conventional dental implants, can be treated successfully. Designed specifically for patients with bone loss, zygomatic implants are tilted and much longer than traditional dental implants. While traditional implants are placed in the jawbone, zygomatic dental implants are placed in the cheekbone which is very dense and provides excellent support.
