Mini Dental Implants

The Mini Implant has Arrived ~ Dentures, Crowns, Bridges & More...

I think someone told me that Dr. Christensen said that in an article in 2006....well its been 4 years since that statement and the mini dental implant is good for lots more than holding down a lower denture.

Mini Dental Implants can stabilize lower dentures of course.  But they can also do the same for upper dentures.  However I think most Dr.s and patients are missing the boat if they don't think that mini implants can be of service in other areas.

Mini Implants I think have their best uses to replace missing teeth.  That can be in the form of a mini implant crown or a mini implant bridge. 

Our patient who has come in with a broken tooth that has had a root canal and a missing tooth behind it.  Great spot in my mind for a mini dental implant instead of removing the gold crown on the molar to place a bridge.  In addition the mini dental implant will...hold bone and gum tissue in place and remove lots of stress on a root canal tooth by not having to place a bridge.

I like to place two mini dental implants to hold a molar sized crown.   You can see how little tooth we have left on the broken down premolar. 

2 Intra Lock Mini Implants in this case.

But all mini dental implants work...IMTEC, OCO Biomedical, etc...

Porcelain to Metal Crowns in place.  The molar crown is on 2 Mini Dental Implants.  The premolar crown is on the root canal tooth.   

All in all I must say that I have been impressed with the ability of mini dental implants to solve so many issues for such a large set of dental patients. 

Paresh B Patel DDS - Dentist Mooresville NC

http://www.dentalminiimplant.com 

http://www.lkndds.com

Mini Dental Implants Upper Fixed Denture~Bridge

Our next patient came to see us because she had some lower minis placed.   She could not stop talking about how she was now able to actually wear her lower denture and chew.  Wonderful....so what could I do to help her? 

I did notice that the entire time she was in the dental chair talking she kept gagging and several times her eyes watered up like she was getting ready to vomit.  Hopefully I was not that hard on her eyes that the thought of looking at me would make someone want to hurl.....

But after some questioning it was discovered that her upper denture just made her want to gag....no matter how many she had made, how much of the denture was cut back she just could not tolerate the buildup of saliva. 

She had seen a patient of mine that had mini dental implants and a fixed hybrid bridge (a set of teeth over a cast metal bar that is not removable by the patient.  It is cemented over the mini dental implants). 

Her words to me were "I'm confused; I want that fixed set of upper teeth not that fixed hybrid car thing you were talking about."  So I guess I did a poor job taking mumbo jumbo dental talk into usable ideas for my patient.  From now on I am going to start calling the fixed hybrid bridge what it really is:  fixed teeth for people who have no existing teeth. 

The total cost for the mini dental implants and fixed tooth bridge allowed her to move forward with dental treatment.  The other options she had been give prior would just not fit into her budget.

Intra Lock 2.5 x 13mm mini dental implants were used in this case.  4 were placed on each side for a total of 8 minis to support a fixed set of teeth.

Photo day of mini dental implant placement....notice lack of bleeding and no gum had to be cut.

I will update the post with the metal frame, and try in photos in a few week.

Paresh

http://www.dentalminiimplant.com

 

 
 

OCO Biomedical I mini i micro 2.2 & 2.5mm dental implant for fixed crowns~bridges~dentures

OK...since I first found about the OCO i mini (i micro)dental implant in the 2.2 and 2.5mm diameters I have been dying to try some.  A square crown and bridge head is just what I had looking for in the Intra Lock offering; but sadly enough they did not take me up on my suggestion. 

In my hands I find more uses for a dental implant less than 3.0mm in size so the OCO i micro and i mini were a welcome addition.  Each size comes in 10,12,14 and 16mm lengths and comes in either the square crown head or o-ball for denture use.  Another good point about the OCO micro implants is that they use the same Imtec MDI or Intra Lock MDL drivers.

Alright enough of the nuts and bolts of mini implant sizes and companies...they all work so use what you like I guess.  Now on to the main event.

My new patient came to see us to see if mini implants could help him either wear his upper denture again or to get rid of it totally and give him a fixed solution that he would not have to remove.  After the appropriate discussions, diagnostic xrays and records we decided on a cost effective solution....8-9 mini implants to support a fixed hybrid cement retained upper bridge (or in simple terms a bridge made of metal, porcelain or resin teeth, and pink acrylic to replace the missing gum tissue)  Even that is a mouthful to say (or put in!)  Although the upper ridge looked wide and felt like it should have miles of good bone his maxillary sinuses had pneumatized (enlarged sinus cavities with little bone present). 
OCO Biomedical mini implant size 2.5 x 12mm were used in this case
Since I am used to the Intra Lock packaging where there is no finger plug on the mini I did not particularly care for it and made the insertion into the bone a bit cumbersome for me.  I think the Intra Lock mini implant direct to implant handpiece for insertion makes more sense.   

However in the end I do like the OCO product...the mini or micro implant feels sturdy and the thread pattern cuts and condenses bone very nicely.  By the 3rd one I had gotten used to the finger driver step before seating the implant fully with the implant handpiece.

I was able to get 9 OCO mini implants in place...a post op iCAT scan was taken to ensure that I got them in bone.  We reamed out holes in his upper denture to cover the OCO imicro implants. 

A PVS impression was taken in a duplicate denture we made in our Lang duplicating flask.  That way the lab has the correct vertical dimension for his bite, and a guide for his tooth setup.  Once the case is mounted the crown abutments will be adjusted in the mouth with a reduction jig for draw and room. 

I will post the impression, metal work tryin, final product soon.

 

Paresh B Patel DDS - Dentist Mooresville NC

Mooresville NC  http://www.dentalminiimplant.com or http://lkndds.com