Mini Dental Implants: February 2011

No More Loose Dentures with Dental Implants ~Charlotte Today

Paresh B Patel DDS interview on Charlotte Today Show on Dental Implants to secure in a snap in upper denture.

Posted at 07:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

No More Loose Dentures ~ Mini Dental Implants by MiniMark Can Help..but not Cost Effectively

Having a set of loose or ill fitting dentures can create a whole set of problems. These problems can include cosmetic issues (the first things people see is your smile) and function(how well you can eat).

Sometimes my patients walk in what several sets of dentures they have had made over the years. The first thing all of them say is that none of them fit. I think its not that the dentures never fit it is that the dentures had nothing to hold them in place! Thus the need for dental implants to secure in dentures.

So while some people come in to get their smile back ~ others come in to be able to function (eat) again. I think with mini dental implants you can get both. The ability to smile again. The ability to eat the foods you enjoyed (salads, steaks, fresh vegetables). Your diet will improve as you no longer have to swallow chunks of food.

You self esteem will be regained as you now don't have to wonder what can I eat at the party or family outing. You now don't have to wonder are my dentures going to fall out at the sporting event as you cheer, or sing at church.

So consider mini dental implants to secure in your dentures. At around 1/2 the cost of traditional implants with little to no pain its a safe and effective procedure.

When you come to see us you only have to see one Doctor. We place the mini dental implant and fit your denture with the snaps in the same office. One Doctor means fewer visits and reduced costs.

Greatly increase the aesthetics of your smile with secure mini dental implant retained dentures. You will look years younger.

The right set of mini dental implant retained dentures will also allow you to have proper function (chewing your food properly and the ability to speak correctly).

This case was done with MiniMark Implants. 2 mini dental implants in the front and 2 traditional size implants in the back. All of the MiniMark implants have Zest Locator attachments that allow the denture to 'snap' into the mouth. Once that is done and the implants heal the denture can be converted into a horseshoe shape for even more comfort.

As a General Dentist I am pleased with the Zest Locator but I am extremely dissapointed in the price point of the MiniMark Implant. It averages about 3 to 4 times the costof a comparable mini dental implant. 3M IMTEC, Intra Lock, OCO Biomedical all make excellent mini dental implants for lower and upper dentures at a more attractive price point. With a lower price point more patients can move forward with implant retained dentures...something just not possible with the mini mark implant system.

The competitors to ACE Surgical mini mark implants offer surgical setups that allow Dentists to place a wider assortment of dental implants. I must ask why any Dentist would want to invest several thousand dollars into a system that limits their ability so much? With that kind of investment you could place minis to small diameter to larger size implants and not have to have several placement kits.

I encourage any Dentist who does not place dental implants to learn how. There are several good one day seminars on how to place mini dental implants. These include seminars from Todd Shatkin, Ben Oppenheimer or mine ( OCO Biomedical Mini Dental Implant Seminar ).

Paresh B Patel Dental Implants Charlotte NC

Mini Dental Implant Dentures

Dental Implants Hickory NC

Posted at 09:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Dental Implants to get rid of a Upper Partial Denture

If you are missing a few teeth and wear a partial denture I can empathise with your situation.

Who wants to wear all that metal and plastic in their mouth if there was another option?

Typical design of a cast metal partial denture.

Metal hooks that are visible around the teeth that it holds onto.

If this describes your situation then you should consider dental implants - mini dental implants or traditional.

My patient without her upper partial denture in. She is missing her front three teeth and the tooth behind her canine tooth.

4 mini dental implants were placed with minimal surgery (no cutting of the gum, no stitches) The temporary crown is on the mini dental implant behind the canine tooth (right side of picture).

Temporary crowns in place over the mini dental implants. My patient gets to leave without her partial denture. I will let her 'test drive' the temporary crowns for a few weeks. Any changes we want to make to the look of the crowns can then be communicated to the dental lab that will make the final mini dental implant crowns. The 'test drive' period also allows me to assess the function and phonetics (how her speach is).