The Dental Spa at Garden City

The most natural use of dental implants is basically the replacement of the root of a tooth necessary to support a cap (crown) or permanently cemented bridge. If you have lost one or more teeth, dental implants can be used to replace those teeth, acting as the support for your new restoration.

 

The case shown to the left demonstrates how dental implants can be used to avoid the need for removable dentures or other types of prostheses.

 

Dental implants were place in the front of this patient's mouth. Healing required 6 months. During that period of time the patient wore a temporary prosthesis. At no time did he go without teeth. Once healing occured, the healing caps seen in the above figure were placed.

At his next visit impressions were taken and custom abutments were placed. These abutments are used in much the same way that natural teeth are used to hold permanent caps, crowns or bridges. The lower front teeth in this photograph show the tooth preparations that occurs when teeth are being capped or crown. Notice how similar the implant abutments are to the tooth preparations.

 

 

At the next visit, we inserted the final, "permanently" cemented bridge as well as the crowns (Caps) on the lower teeth. It is important to understand that when caps or bridges are cemented to implants we always use a transitional cement rather than a true permanent cement. Since implants cannot become decayed a permanent cement is relatively unnecessary. Additionally, should the screw that holds the abutment to the implant come loose, the bridge can then be removed with ease. For the most part, you can rest assured that this type of prosthesis will function normally with little or no concern about it becoming loose or dislodged. The transitional cement is just a protective measure used to make sure that your investment is secure.