Month: January 2016

Installing dental implants involves more than the mechanics of placing them into the jawbone. Ultimate success — a natural and beautiful smile — requires painstaking attention to detail and artistry.

Here are a few of the factors we must consider to achieve a smile with dental implants you’ll be proud to display.

The amount of available bone. For the permanent crown to appear natural, it’s crucial to position the implant precisely. To achieve this precision requires an adequate amount of bone to be present. Unfortunately, bone loss is quite common after tooth loss; to minimize this we place bone grafts in the empty socket if at all possible after extraction to encourage bone growth. It’s also possible in some cases to perform bone grafting surgery before implants to build up bone volume.

Your genetic gum tissue type. There are basically two types of gum tissue people are born with: thin or thick. Thin tissues are more subject to wear, difficult to work with during surgery and can make it difficult to hide the metal components of an implant. Thicker tissues are easier to work with, but can have a tendency to overgrow.

Achieving a natural “emergence profile.” To look natural, the implant crown must appear to seamlessly emerge from the surrounding gum tissue. To achieve this, we must carefully plan and place the implant in the precise location in the bone, taking into account the implant shape and how far it should be placed within the bone to match the position and height of adjacent teeth and gum tissues.

Blending color shades with adjacent natural teeth. When it comes to color, everyone has subtle differences in tooth shades and hues. In fact, there are slight color variations within individual teeth, from the root to the tip of the crown. To make sure the implant blends in with adjacent teeth, it’s important to match the color incorporated into the porcelain crown with the natural crowns beside them.

These and other factors require both technical expertise and a sense of artistry. Carefully considering all of them will help ensure your dental implants result in the smile you want.

If you would like more information on smile transformations with dental implants, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Matching Teeth & Implants.”

Magician Michael Grandinetti mystifies and astonishes audiences with his sleight of hand and mastery of illusion. But when he initially steps onto the stage, it’s his smile that grabs the attention. “The first thing… that an audience notices is your smile; it’s what really connects you as a person to them,” Michael told an interviewer.

He attributes his audience-pleasing smile to several years of orthodontic treatment as a teenager to straighten misaligned teeth, plus a lifetime of good oral care. “I’m so thankful that I did it,” he said about wearing orthodontic braces. “It was so beneficial. And… looking at the path I’ve chosen, it was life-changing.”

Orthodontics — the dental subspecialty focused on treating malocclusions (literally “bad bites”) — can indeed make life-changing improvements. Properly positioned teeth are integral to the aesthetics of any smile, and a smile that’s pleasing to look at boosts confidence and self-esteem and makes a terrific first impression. Studies have even linked having an attractive smile with greater professional success.

There can also be functional benefits such as improved biting/chewing and speech, and reduced strain on jaw muscles and joints. Additionally, well-aligned teeth are easier to clean and less likely to trap food particles that can lead to decay.

The Science Behind the Magic

There are more options than ever for correcting bites, but all capitalize on the fact that teeth are suspended in individual jawbone sockets by elastic periodontal ligaments that enable them to move. Orthodontic appliances (commonly called braces or clear aligners) place light, controlled forces on teeth in a calculated fashion to move them into their new desired alignment.

The “gold standard” in orthodontic treatment remains the orthodontic band for posterior (back) teeth and the bonded bracket for front teeth. Thin, flexible wires threaded through the brackets create the light forces needed for repositioning. Traditionally the brackets have been made of metal, but for those concerned about the aesthetics, they can also be made out of a clear material. Lingual braces, which are bonded to the back of teeth instead of the front, are another less visible option. The most discrete appliance is the removable clear aligner, which consists of a progression of custom-made clear trays that reposition teeth incrementally.

How’s that for a disappearing act?!

If you would like more information about orthodontic treatment please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about the subject by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “The Magic of Orthodontics.”