Dental Implants

Dental implants have become our favored way to replace missing teeth. Acting as a substitute tooth root, implants bond with the bone to form a stable foundation for permanent replacement teeth that look, feel, and function like natural teeth.

There are numerous advantages of dental implant treatment over other traditional treatment options. For instance, it is not necessary to grind down the adjacent teeth for a bridge, or secure a partial denture to them with clasps that can eventually loosen the natural teeth. By utilizing dental implants, people who are missing teeth may be spared the many problems associated with traditional false teeth.

When a tooth is lost, it is normal for the boney ridge to shrink leaving a defect. The dental implant actually helps preserve the gum ridge and the jaw bone density by providing the stimulation that was previously provided by the natural tooth roots. This helps maintain the integrity of facial structures.

IMPLANT PLANNING

Dr. Fondriest works very closely with local specialists who surgically place the implants. He then places the permanent restorations over the implants, which are not made with "one size fits all" universal parts off the shelf but rather are custom made to maximize the esthetics, cleansability, and longevity as well as producing a perfect bite.

Planning to use implants is a highly collaborative and complicated process.   High surgical skills are required when placing implants to make sure they are placed in the exact location within the boney ridge. Ideally,  appropriate scans of the jawbone are taken and evaluated for bone quality and quantity by both the surgeon and restorative dentist teammates.  Together, they will determine the ideal type and size of implant and the exact placement location/s.  The restorative dentist then will often make a guide for the surgeon to help ensure the proper placement of the implant/s.  Depending on the circumstances of prior treatment, there may not be a sufficient amount of bone volume at the desired location for an implant.  Gum and bone grafts are frequently done months prior to implant placement to create the ideal circumstances.   Success rates for quality full protocol implant restoration is very high, in the 96% rate for the upper jaw and 98% for the lower jaw. 

Consumers must be cautious of heavily marketed fast implant treatment.  Some implant teams will compromise standard and accepted treatment protocols to shorten treatment.  Too good to be true treatment speeds usually are too good to be true.  Outcomes may be compromised esthetically and success rates can be lower.

How dental implants work

When the future location of an implant has been determined and quality and size of the boney ridge has been deemed sufficient, the surgeon places the titanium implant/s into the bone.  Although the surgery can often be very technically difficult, it rarely is very traumatic to the patient.  The vast majority of implant placements are much easier than the original tooth extraction.  The healing process after placement consists of the gum and bone growing around and attaching to the implant. The gum heals in one to two weeks but it takes much longer for the bone to attach or grow into the surface of the submerged implant.  Until it does, the implant ideally should be left undisturbed and unloaded (not subjected to any torque or chewing forces) to get maximum boney in-growth. Technological improvements to the surface of implants is shortening the time it takes for full integration of the implant in the bone. Some implant fixtures placed into the lower jaw can be loaded after only 3 months of healing.

Once the bone has grown into the side of the implant, then a prosthodontist or specially trained restorative dentist will connect a crown to the implant with an intermediate connector.  This intermediate connector, called an abutment, can be a generic mass produced "stock" item or a custom made "UCLA Abutment" that maximizes the esthetics, occlusal function, and hygienic cleansability of the restored implant crown.  Your dentist will choose the amount of customization that is put into the intermediate abutment as well as the crown placed on top of it.  The cost of the lab bill and overall service generally matches the market and quality niche of the dentist.