THANKS TO A DENTAL IMPLANT MY PATIENT GOT ONE OF HIS FRONT TEETH BACK!

Root resorption caused his front tooth to be lost; Luckily, a dental implant brought it back! Yes, for those of you who read my last blog entry on root resorption can now appreciate how its progression can lead to tooth loss!  My patient agonized over the loss of his upper right lateral incisor for years.  Root resorption, the process by which all or part of a tooth structure is lost due to activation of the body’s innate capacity to removed mineralized tissue, lead to the loss of his tooth after several attempts, over decades, to keep it in place.  Not only did it have a “hole” below the gum line visible to me as his dentist, but the incisor had lost several millimeters of bone over this span of time.  Furthermore, the adjacent teeth were also at risk of damage due to this phenomenon. Finally, we decided, together, to remove the diseased tooth and plan for its replacement using a dental implant.  Having discussed all the available restorative options, we determined that the use of a dental implant would be the most conservative approach in this case. Not having chosen a more traditional crown and bridge option saved the adjacent teeth from undergoing unnecessary preparation and restoration.  As advantageous, not having chosen a removable option as a long term prosthesis enables the patient, today, not to worry about an appliance that may move, fall out, or appear unnatural in any way. The tooth socket needed to be augmented with new bone and gum tissue so as to ready it for an implant.  Several months of treatment and healing prepared the socket for optimal placement of what would eventually be a naturally appearing and functioning implant crown that now enables a fixed and stress free resolution to my patient’s concern.  His new, beautifully crafted and fitted restoration is permanent, does not move, is custom made to match the adjacent form, alignment, and shade of his natural dentition, and simply looks and feels terrific! He is very pleased and finally ready to eat, smile, and function with confidence. In short, together with my smile team of experts, we were able to, once again, gift this wonderful patient his smile again.  He now is able to refer to his smile as one he would be proud to own! Conservative esthetic bonding was also used to restore and repair minor chips and fractures seen on the adjacent front teeth.  Along with teeth whitening and minor use of tooth colored resins, his full smile is one he “Would Be Proud To Wear…ANYWHERE!”