Dental implants are the gold standard for replacement of a single missing tooth or a tooth that needs to be extracted. Dental implants are extremely versatile and can be used in ways that were never thought possible at their inception.

In its simplest form, a healed, empty space in the mouth can be replaced with a dental implant. The surgical procedure is fast and simple. Care and expertise is utilized to ensure that preparation of the bone for the implant is precise and will appropriately house a restoration for many years to come.

Once the dental implant is placed, it is allowed to heal for 4-6 weeks. During this time, the surrounding bone will fuse to the surface of the implant through a process we call osseointegration. Once fully integrated, the implant will be tested for stability and then you can then be referred back to your general dentist for fabrication of the custom crown.

Single implants are wonderfully natural looking and function as normal teeth. They are maintained as natural teeth and have the benefit of never developing decay! Regular maintenance includes brushing and flossing as well as examination during your cleaning appointments. Yearly x-rays of the implant are recommended.

If a tooth is present that needs to be extracted prior to the placement of a dental implant, a bone graft may be recommended to rebuild and preserve the existing bone width. This procedure is called Socket Preservation. Other conditions exist that allow for placement of a dental implant immediately following extraction of a tooth. Immediate Dental Implants are perfectly safe and utilized when conditions are appropriate and success is predictable. To learn more about these techniques, visit "Immediate Dental Implants" and "Socket Preservation".

An immediate dental implant refers to a dental implant that is placed immediately following an extraction of a hopeless tooth. It is important to first understand that not all teeth that need to be extracted will qualify for immediate dental implants.

Most of the time, the determination of whether an immediate implant is recommended is a logical process. Simply put, there are times that the hole in the bone following a tooth extraction is larger than the hole that is prepared for a dental implant. Since the bone is used to stabilize the implant during healing, this must be taken into consideration. Most single-rooted teeth are candidates for immediate dental implants; however, each tooth is considered individually at the consultation to determine its predictability and prognosis for success.

Immediate dental implants save time, minimize the number of surgical procedures and speed up the healing process. As with other dental implants, once placed, they will require 4-6 weeks for healing prior to placement of a crown. Temporary devices such as Transitional Partial Dentures (we call them "flippers") can be custom made and worn while an implant is healing.

There are many options for temporary replacement. The decision will be made together and serve in your best interest until the implant can be restored with a crown.

In addition to replacement of single missing teeth, dental implants can be utilized to restore multiple missing teeth. Obviously, in the scenario of multiple missing single teeth, traditional procedures are performed to treat each site as a single missing tooth. In addition, dental implants can be used to replace multiple missing, neighboring teeth.

In most cases, each missing tooth will merit a single implant. However, other conditions exist that allow for the bridging of multiple teeth between fewer implants. This saves money and is equally acceptable and predictable. Traditional bridges fail when their supporting teeth (we call them abutments) fail due to fracture or decay. Implants neither fracture, nor decay. If done properly, as many as 4 or more teeth can be restored with just 2 implants!

There are many conditions that can affect the possibility of multiple adjacent implants. An evaluation of the underlying bone and anatomical structures will be performed during the exam and consultation. All options will be presented and factors such as cost will certainly be taken into consideration.

Traditional upper dentures are large and bulky. They cover the entire roof of your mouth and affect the taste of food. Millions of people use traditional upper dentures; however, many people cannot due to problems such as anatomy or severe gagging. A full implant-supported denture can be fabricated that attaches to multiple dental implants to keep them in place and increase bite force. Since the implants will stabilize the denture while eating, this prosthetic does not require the suction to the roof of the mouth and can be shaped like a horseshoe. This means less acrylic in your mouth and food tastes normal again. Dramatic increase in chewing function will be apparent right away!

Traditional lower dentures are often poor-fitting and are challenging to eat with. With the use of only a couple of dental implants you can have drastically improved fit and stabilization. Again, the denture will snap onto the implants and resist movement while eating and speaking. With implants as stabilizers, the denture flanges can be trimmed down to take less space in your mouth and between the gum and tongue.

For many people who use partial dentures, they can be bulky and rely on the support from other existing teeth. These teeth can be stressed over time and worsen as the partial places force that the teeth were not otherwise designed to withstand. Dental implants are however designed to withstand these forces. Attachments can be utilized to stabilize your partial denture and give you confidence when you smile and eat.

As you can imagine, placing multiple implants can be challenging. Through the use of a technology called CT guided surgery, we are able to make this procedure simple, faster and with far less discomfort than only a few years ago. This technology utilizes the latest in x-ray technology called Cone beam CT (computerized tomography). This is similar to a CAT scan that you would receive in a hospital only far less radiation and only of your upper and lower jawbone. We have access to this technology at our offices and will utilize these special 3-D scans of your skull to plan your case prior to surgical treatment.
Traditional lower dentures are often poor-fitting and are challenging to eat with. With the use of only a couple of dental implants you can have drastically improved fit and stabilization. Again, the denture will snap onto the implants and resist movement while eating and speaking. With implants as stabilizers, the denture flanges can be trimmed down to take less space in your mouth and between the gum and tongue.

Socket Preservation is one of the more common surgical techniques performed in our periodontal office. When it has been determined that a tooth is hopeless and needs to be extracted, a decision needs to be made regarding the restorative future of that space. Socket preservation refers to a bone grafting technique that involves filling the empty socket (following extraction of a tooth) with a bone graft in attempt to preserve the height and width of the existing bone.

Socket preservation is performed primarily when a tooth needs to be extracted and there is a plan to replace the tooth with a dental implant. Since the dental implant will utilize this bone for stability in the future, we want to ensure there is adequate volume to house the implant. Socket preservation utilizes a bone graft and a membrane to facilitate healing and preservation of the jawbone height and width for future implant placement.

Socket preservation is not always necessary for implant placement. However, most of the time, the socket that remains once a tooth is extracted is larger or not ideally located for implant placement. In this case, socket preservation is performed so that implant placement can be precise or ideal for the future crown. In other instances, the socket that remains is smaller or more shallow than the implant that will replace it. In this case, an implant can sometimes be placed immediately. See "Immediate Dental Implants" to learn more.

Connective tissue grafting is one of the more traditional tissue grafting therapies that we preform at our periodontal office in Eutis. This process involves harvesting a piece of tissue from the roof of the mouth and transplanting this tissue to the area that has recession. The tissue is sutured into place and covered with the existing gum tissue when it is repositioned.

The transplanted tissue will become part of the recipient site and thicken the existing tissue. This procedure is typically performed in the presence of adequate volume of keratinized tissue but a very thin tissue thickness. The resulting tissue will not only cover the recessed area, but also thicken to prevent further tissue recession in the future.

The wound in the roof of the mouth will be protected with a clear plastic retainer that is fabricated from models of your upper jaw. This guard will keep your tongue as well as food from irritating the wound.

The limitations of this technique is volume of tissue. There is a limit to how much tissue can be harvested from the roof of the mouth. This technique is good for treating 1-3 teeth, but would require multiple procedures to cover more teeth.

Alloplastic tissue refers to tissue that is from the same species but a different donor. This tissue was initially developed for burn victims and is purchased from the same tissue banks as our bone grafts. This tissue was donated and is very safe and very useful.

This type of procedure is difficult for people to understand because they are concern with the fact that it is donated tissue, but the truth is, it is very safe. All of the donor's cells including DNA, RNA and proteins have been removed from this product during processing. Essentially, all that is left is the tissue matrix. This matrix provides a scaffolding for your own tissue to weave in and out of the material. Over a period of a couple of months, your body will completely resorb this material and replace it with your own tissue.

The overwhelming benefit of this tissue is that you can order as much of it as you want. This material is ideal for treating multiple teeth with recession in one procedure. In addition, it is unnecessary to make a wound in the roof of the mouth. The recipient site is prepared using an incisionless technique called a tunnel technique. The graft tissue is placed under your existing tissue and is used to thicken it. The success of this technique depends on the material remaining covered by your own tissue; therefore, you will never see the material. It is buried and will remain covered until your body resorbs the tissue graft. Significant root coverage and tissue thickening can be achieved with this material.

A coronally positioned flap is when you manipulate the existing gum tissue and move it toward the tip of the tooth. This procedure is performed with virtually every soft tissue graft; however, this technique entails using only the existing tissue with the addition of a product called Emdogain.

Emdogain is a product that is purchased and comes in the form of a gel. This gel contains proteins and enzymes that induce tissue growth. The proteins are harvested from pigs and can be used to help regenerate lost bone or in this case, tissue growth.

The tissue is prepared in the site of the recession until it can be repositioned adequately. Then the tooth is treated with the gel and the tissue is sutured on top of the recessed tooth. The gel is then oozed all over the remaining site.

This technique works well and the surgical site is localized without having to make a wound on the roof of the mouth. There is minimal discomfort and requires only to be left alone during healing. Dr. Richardson will be very thorough about the post-operative instructions in order to ensure success.

Socket Preservation is one of the more common surgical techniques performed in our office. When it has been determined that a tooth is hopeless and needs to be extracted, a decision needs to be made regarding the restorative future of that space. Socket preservation refers to a bone grafting technique that involves filling the empty socket (following extraction of a tooth) with a bone graft in attempt to preserve the height and width of the existing bone.

Socket preservation is performed primarily when a tooth needs to be extracted and there is a plan to replace the tooth with a dental implant. Since the dental implant will utilize this bone for stability in the future, we want to ensure there is adequate volume to house the implant. Socket preservation utilizes a bone graft and a membrane to facilitate healing and preservation of the jawbone height and width for future implant placement.

Socket preservation is not always necessary for implant placement. However, most of the time, the socket that remains once a tooth is extracted is larger or not ideally located for implant placement. In this case, socket preservation is performed so that implant placement can be precise or ideal for the future crown. In other instances, the socket that remains is smaller or more shallow than the implant that will replace it. In this case, an implant can sometimes be placed immediately.

Guided Tissue Regeneration is a surgical technique used to treat bone loss around teeth caused by periodontal disease. As discussed in other sections, periodontal disease leads to chronic bone loss around the roots of our teeth. There are several presentations of bone loss in a periodontal patient. Guided Tissue Regeneration is used to treat what we refer to as intrabony defects.

As you can imagine, it is difficult to grow bone in space and/or around teeth specifically. However, when the bony defect is more vertical in nature, a bone graft can be placed into the defect and allowed to regenerate the lost bone from around that particular tooth. There are multiple techniques to graft intrabony defects. Dr. Richardson will utilize the particular technique that best suits your individual needs.

There are many factors that affect the success of Guided Tissue Regeneration. These factors must be taken into account when selecting the appropriate technique, material, and long term prognosis of each procedure. Following an exam and review of current x-rays, Dr. Richardson will individualize the treatment to best suit your clinical and financial needs.

Guided bone regeneration refers to a series of bone grafting techniques that are utilized to replace bone that is missing in a toothless area of the jawbone. If this area of the jaw does not have enough bone that is adequate for the placement of a dental implant, then a variety of bone regeneration techniques will be recommended.

Horizontal and Vertical Bone Augmentation are the two primary types of guided bone regeneration. Both are advanced techniques and often require special products and materials that are designed to induce bone growth in the jaw. Many of these bone grafting techniques have been learned from orthopedic surgery. These techniques have proven successful and require a considerable amount of training prior to performing.

Horizontal Ridge Augmentation is the easier of the two techniques. This technique is recommended when the jawbone intended for a dental implant is not wide enough to support the implant. This technique is performed by utilizing special bone materials such as putty-style grafts and structure supporting membranes. These grafts usually require 6 months to heal fully before a dental implant can be placed.

Vertical Ridge Augmentation is the more difficult of the bone grafting techniques and is only recommended when Dr. Richardson feels there is a good chance of success. This procedure is recommended when the jawbone does not have enough vertical height to house a dental implant. The procedure is performed by stacking bone graft material vertically; however this is very difficult and requires the use of more expensive and advanced materials. A minimum of 6 months is recommended prior to implant placement. Sinus augmentation is a form of vertical ridge augmentation and is far more predictable.