Schedule an Implant Restoration if Yours Becomes Damaged

We can conduct an implant restoration if your dental implants become damaged.  Dental implants are an excellent way to permanently replace missing teeth.  Given how common it is for adults to lose at least one tooth during their lifetime, we find that this procedure gives people the ability to have a fully functioning set of teeth.  In a dental implants procedure, a metal post is implanted under the gums and secured to the jawbone.  Through a natural process called osseointegration, the metal post, and bone will fuse together to create a new synthetic root system. The new root is incredibly durable and as strong as a natural one would be but without the risk of infection. 

The tooth portion of the dental implant is actually a ceramic or porcelain crown that is attached to the metal post at the surface of the gum line.  While the post remains implanted and is virtually impossible to damage, the crown is exposed to the elements just like your other natural teeth are.  While a crown is also strong, it is not unbreakable.  If you chew on something that is not actually food, like a pencil, it can cause the crown or your surrounding teeth to break or chip.  Simultaneously things like ice can also cause your teeth to become damaged. As such, we recommend that you exercise the same caution with your implants as you would with natural teeth.  

If your implant (the crown) becomes damaged, we can restore your it without needing to remove the metal post.  This is ideal because the metal post is the pieces that have to be surgically implanted.  When possible, we want to leave that in place so that there is no further irritation or need for an invasive procedure.  By correcting or replacing the crown alone, we can complete the restoration without bothering your surrounding teeth or gum tissue.  While we can provide you with sedation in order to remain comfortable, you may not need any.  We will, however, need to take an impression of your tooth so that a replacement crown can be created.  This is fairly easy and comfortable to do.  Once the details have been sent to the dental lab, the new crown will be created, and once completed, we can attach it your implant. 

We recommend that if you are having difficulty with your implant, you give us a call in order to have it examined.  We can then determine the best way to either replace it entirely or to restore it in place.  Our goal is to complete the procedure with as minimal irritation to the surrounding teeth and gums as possible.  We are experts at doing so and ensuring that you continue to enjoy the benefits of your dental implants without needing to schedule another surgical procedure.  This way you can get back to life without delay.   

Family Dentistry Tips for Forming Healthy Habits

In our family dentistry office, we know that the families who visit us have unique and often individual challenges. There are also similarities that run in families based on genes, learned habits and taught behaviors. This makes being a family dentist extremely interesting and gives us the additional ability to diagnose and treat problems more quickly. Treating generations of the same family is a unique and privileged position that allows us to work with the newest children in the family as well as the patriarch and matriarchs of the family as they get older. For us, the goal is always the same, get the family to a level of health where all they need is a biannual cleaning. While this may seem, to some, like an ambitious goal there is a sense of accomplishment when we can get a patient to be this healthy. 

Children, typically, love the family dentist. This is not because they are  unafraid of the dental process, much to the contrary, but it is because they get to see a familiar face and work with someone who can explain the process to them. As a family dentist, one of our main charges, in working with children, is to reduce the child’s fear and perhaps overcome what may become a lifelong fear of dentistry in the early years. This is one of the main reasons why we recommend that parents bring the child in early, often as soon as the first tooth has broken the surface. Allowing us to become part of the equation will help your child become more comfortable, and will enable us to participate in giving your child great oral habits so that they may never have to visit us in pain or for serious gum disease. Each childhood visit is an opportunity for us to give you the tools you need, and your child the guidance they need, to ensure strong, healthy, and vibrant teeth that will stay healthy for years to come.

Building a strong relationship with the child, also allows us to help you with some of the more difficult parenting tasks like getting younger children to brush twice per day. The number one complaint we get from parents, in our family dentistry office, is the lack of desire most children have to every brush their teeth. Over the years, we have learned and shared best practices with our families to help overcome this. One practice that seems to work particularly well, especially with younger children that are first-time brushers, is to make tooth brushing an adventure and incorporate it into story time. Some parents make up stories about fierce dragons that live in the mouth; others create plaque monsters that are attacking the tooth kingdom. Whatever the story, this helps to engage the child’s imagination and makes brushing the teeth more about an adventure and less about the boring task of standing around rubbing their teeth with a brush.  In our family dentistry office, we understand that these small changes can make a big difference.