Repairing Your Teeth: The Dental Implant

Repairing Your Teeth: The Dental Implant
Five years ago I was faced with the daunting task of
finding a Beverly Hills dentist near where I lived to
figure out how much money my teeth would cost me to repair
after about ten to fifteen years of neglect. I had been a
smoker, and didn't floss. I had helped my own Mother spend
about 10k on her mouth about five years before she died ?
and I decided that if I accomplish this task some twenty
five years earlier ? in my fifties ? I would have at least
that much longer to enjoy the results of the money I will
have spent on my dental restoration.

Around this same time I received a marketing call from a
Los Angeles dentist who promised free teeth bleaching and
whitening if I came in for a consultation. A perfect
solution, as I knew that having quit smoking, this might
just be the trick to make my teeth look better and keep
cigarettes out of my mouth in the future. I took the
plunge and went in to one of the offices owned by Los
Angeles-based Dr. Bijan Afar, an oral surgeon. I also
looked him up on the Internet using the words, "cosmetic
dentist los angeles."

My teeth required deep cleaning which could only be done
one half of the mouth at a time, and would also require
irrigation with antibiotics afterwards to help my gums
heal. I learned that I would require an implant to replace
a decaying baby tooth, which had never come out. Several
molars would require crowns, as would my three front teeth.
I had dental crowns on my two front teeth since an
accident in high school, and since dental veneers were new
back then, I had one put over a crack in an eye tooth in my
late twenties. And thanks to years of chewing, my chompers
were not as straight as in my youth.

The first step in my treatment plan was to put crowns on
three of my molars. Sometimes referred to as caps, this
procedure covers teeth that have been severely damaged,
decayed, chipped, discolored or misaligned. The procedure
required two visits per crown.

Just about as I was ready to have the front teeth done, I
got a tooth infection in that baby molar and it had to go.
Prior to the tooth being pulled, Dr. Afar gave me
antibiotics, and the extraction went smoothly. He packed my
tooth and sent me home with a prescription for pain killer
to soothe the pain that night, as well as his cell phone
number in case I needed to talk to him.

An expert in dental implants in Los Angeles, Dr. Afar then
planted the post deep into my jaw bone, first grafting some
synthetic bone powder onto the bone to build up lacking
bone tissue. This would eventually serve as the foundation
for the screw in implant tooth. Healing time? Three
months. Depending on the patient, dental implants can take
anywhere from several months to a year or more.

As an oral surgeon, Dr. Afar carefully explained the
procedure. The height and width of your jawbones are
measured to make sure there's enough bone to hold the
implant. Next the gums are examined for signs of
periodontal gum disease, and in cases where this is present
they must be treated first before implants can be placed.
Gums are also checked to make sure there's enough firm
tissue to surround the implant. Imaging tests are also part
of the dental evaluation, making it possible to learn more
abut the quantity and quality of bone in the mouth, and to
view parts of the mouth and head that cannot be seen during
an examination.

Dr Afar explained possible risks and complications
including a bleeding gum, infection, and failure of the
implant where the jawbone doesn't fuse to the implant, and
possible injury to the adjacent teeth or sinus, nerves or
muscles. He explained the importance of good hygiene during
the entire implant process.

The next step was to fit what's called the prosthesis, or
the new tooth. Depending on how many teeth are missing, you
may have a single, partial or complete prosthesis. I just
needed a single, while a partial is used as an alternative
to a bridge. There is also a complete denture prosthesis,
used as an alternative to a traditional complete denture ?
and these come as either removable or fixed complete
prosthesis.

Next Dr. Afar placed the healing abutment, one of two kinds
that are used. Healing abutments also known as healing
cuffs, help the gum tissue from the removed tooth heal
around the implant site. Once the gum has healed, the final
abutment is placed so that the prosthesis can be joined
with the implant. It took about 4 to 6 weeks for the gums
to heal around the abutments.

Once the gums have healed around the abutments, Dr Afar
began making the custom prosthesis, requiring several
office visits. When ready, he fit my fixed prosthesis, made
adjustments, and told me not to eat crunchy or hard foods
for several weeks.

Today I am very happy with the comfort of the new teeth in
my mouth including the crowns and my dental implant. I have
since had my front upper eye tooth crowned, and my teeth
whitened. I now have a full set of beautiful whiter teeth.
The only thing remaining is the crowns of my two front
teeth ? which I hope to have by Christmas of this year.

----------------------------------------------------
Kristin Gabriel is a Los Angeles-based writer and PR
professional,while her oral surgeon, Dr. Bijan Afar is also
based in Los Angeles, and owns five clinincs. For more
informaiton, visit http://www.oralimplants.com .