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maintainingyourgroovygrindental

implants

have become

a popular

option

for

boomers

WRITTEN ANDPHOTOGRAPHED BY Megan JJoyce

BABY BBOOMERS HHAVE AARGUABLY SSEEN MMORE TTECHNOLOGICAL

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

now prefer dental implants over traditional dentures and bridgework for

missing teeth.

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Dr. Silvaggio, DMD, a board-certifiedprosthodontist, holds a demonstration

model of dental implants, a procedure hispatients have found extremely satisfying.

“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

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

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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dental iimplants

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bone grafting to areas that don’t already

have sufficient bone to receive the

implant, might be sore for a longer

period. But Silvaggio said that, for the

most part, the patient shouldn’t feel any

discomfort after a week has passed.

Dental implants are also very useful

for denture wearers. With as few as two

implants, a patient can have a lower- or

upper-jaw denture that snaps firmly into

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

eight implants, then you can have a fixed

bridgework that is basically a fixed

denture that goes in place, so it doesn’t

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

elevated slightly off the gum tissue and it

looks like your natural teeth.”

“You can also take somebody to where

you put enough implants in that they can

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

like having teeth again,” said Eckhart.

Computer technology has quickened

the process and made it visual for both

doctors and patients. Three-dimensional

images derived from x-ray scans of a

patient’s teeth show each step in a

patient’s implantation plan. “We have

patients walking in with a denture, and

then an hour later, walking out with

something that screws in permanently,”

Eckhart added.

Both doctors agree that almost anyone

is a good candidate for dental implants.

“The best candidates are people that

already have a lot of preexisting bone

because you need bone to put the implant

in,” Eckhart explained. “But there are

patients that we can create bone [for

them] with bone grafting. We can make

almost anybody a candidate for implants

nowadays, but it’s easier and nicer if

someone already has enough bone.”

The care of a patient’s implants

doesn’t differ from everyday dental

hygiene routine—brushing and flossing—

and the strength of the titanium allows

the patient to eat normally as well. “The

implant is as strong as or stronger than

their natural teeth, so there’s not really

any significant limitation to eating,”

Silvaggio said.

Occasionally, an implant can fail,

meaning the implant did not integrate

with the bone. If that occurs, the implant

is removed, the area is cleaned, and

another implant is inserted. “It’s not like

an organ being rejected; it’s just that it

doesn’t fuse with the bone, so it’s

unscrewed, allowed to heal, and then we

go back and place another one,” said

Silvaggio.

Insurance coverage for implants varies

by plan, so check with your provider.

Some insurance companies will cover a

portion of the procedure, such as the

surgical aspect. But despite the potential

cost, both doctors said the vast majority

of their dental implant patients have been

extremely satisfied—which makes them

satisfied, too.

“You’re giving something to a lot of

people where they’d have no other option

than a removable appliance,” Eckhart

said. “People that wear lower dentures

that don’t stay in—we put in just two

implants and they have a denture that

snaps in. They’re really happy.”

“In many cases, the satisfaction is

wonderful,” said Silvaggio. “For some

people, what they say is that it feels like

the strongest thing in their mouth.” ) )) )

Dr. Michael Eckhart,DDS, views three-dimensional imagesderived from x-rayscans of a patient’steeth which show eachstep in a patient’simplantation plan.

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