Dental Implants
Millions of Americans are living toothless. For people with money this problem can be solved. Our teeth are important tools; it's how we chew, they affect our speech, and let's face it, we are judged by our teeth. Teeth exit our heads for many reasons, either because of old age or in some cases because of accidents. In recent years dentists-have developed dental implants to free toothless Americans from denture bondage.
Replacing a lost tooth with a bone-anchored device is not an entirely new concept. The Egyptians tried it with ivory and gold, and south American civilizations extracted teeth from live human subject to replace the teeth of kings and other prominent members of the community. What's new are the materials dentists use and the time it takes for the procedure to be completed. In the past years the implant could be in limbo for up to 13 months; now you can have a new tooth as quickly as 30 days.
"We use a titanium alloy screw that is implanted directly into the jaw bone," said Dr. Sui Ye Kow. Dr. Kow is a dental surgeon with an office in Manhattan. "The procedure does not require the patient to undergo Anestisia, and it takes a total of about 2 to 5 hours." Dr. Kow explained that the most difficult part of the procedure is getting the bone to accept the screw. "Sometimes the screw does not take, this can cause inflammation of the gums and it very painful. When this happens we have to take out the screw, and let the bone heal before we try it again." Dr. Kow went onto explain the attachment of the porcelain tooth. "After the screw has taken, we go back and open up the incision and attach a porcelain cap to the screw," she said. "We match the porcelain to the color of your existing teeth…no one can ever tell the difference."
Of course a dentist will tell you that a procedure he or she has preformed is cutting edge, painless, and quick. The true judge of the dental implant is someone who has received one. Brett Queener, a sophomore at Herkimer County Community College, recently completed his implant procedure. "It was pretty simple. I went in and they gave me a combination of nitrous and Novocain. It hurt for like the first week, but the swelling went down and I could finally eat solid food." Queener summed up his experience, "my dentist said my surgery was model, he even took pictures of my finished smile. I can't even tell that it's not my real tooth, so I'm not sure other people can't.
Medicine is constantly making advances and this is also true of dental technologies. Dr. Kow was enthusiastic about a new procedure that is still being perfected where the whole procedure is finished in one visit. It is appropriate termed an immediate.