A Word About Implants Dental implants are man-made replacements for natural tooth roots. They may be placed within the jaw bone (endosteal) or just under the gum tissues and resting on the jaw bone (subperiosteal). Implants are currently the most natural replacement for lost natural teeth and they can't decay! Implants can replace one or more teeth, provide support for a partial denture, or be used to attach a full denture. Implants help support your natural jaw bone, increase chewing efficiency and confidence, provide a permanent alternative to problem dentures and help prevent further tooth loss. Dental implants can last a lifetime and are an excellent investment in dental health. Placement of dental implants is usually a minor surgical procedure performed in one or more office visits. Proper planning and preparation result in success rates exceeding 95%. Most clients need never go without teeth during the implant process, which can last up to several months depending on the situation. Pre-treatment view of ill-fitting denture Final smile after implant reconstruction! Your First Visit Electing to have any surgical procedure is an important decision--careful diagnosis and treatment planning is a must! The first step is generally a consultation visit with Dr. Swan to screen you as an implant candidate and review the desired treatment plan. Once proper diagnostic records have been obtained, Dr. Swan will review all procedures and fees and you may schedule implant placement if appropriate. More Cases: Before and After! This patient had an injury that resulted in the loss of her front tooth. The adjacent teeth were damaged as well. This is a view of her teeth before extraction of the left central incisor tooth. After tooth extraction and implant placement, the other teeth were prepared to receive porcelain veneers. The implant body can be seen at the base of the extraction socket. Here is the final case after a porcelain crown was placed on the dental implant and porcelain veneers were bonded to the damaged teeth! Congenitally Missing Teeth Missing lateral incisors can be replaced with dental implants for a natural-looking result. Here are the implants in place prior to receiving the final porcelain crowns. Final crowns in place! This is a beautiful final result that didn't require any restoration of the adjacent virgin teeth. Porcelain veneer and implant crown Right incisor was small, left incisor was missing. Esthetic dentistry and a dental implant was the ideal solution! After final restorations are in place the patient can smile confidently for the first time in her life! Single posterior crown on an implant This patient lost his lower first molar and decided to replace it with a dental implant rather than a bridge. Implants are more successful over the long term and kinder to the adjacent teeth. This is a view of the abutment post before crown placement. Here is a view of the final gold crown in place. The patient can brush and floss this restoration just as he would a natural tooth. Implants can be used to stablize a denture as well. This is the pre-treatment smile showing an ill-fitting denture with very poor esthetics. Four dental implants were placed in the lower arch and connected with a custom cast gold bar. The bar includes attachments to hold the lower denture in place. The patient can remove the denture to clean the bar. Here is the patient's new smile after the implant retained dentures were delivered! Fixed-detachable lower denture. With five implants in place we can permanently attach a bridge. There will be a cast gold bar made to connect to the implants with denture teeth processed onto the bar. Here is a lateral view of the "highwater bridge" after insertion. Amazingly enough, the space under the bridge does not collect food or affect speech. Neither does the space show during speech since it is covered by the lower lip. Here is a view from above of the final prosthesis. The screws that connect the denture to the implants are covered with acrylic. Dr. Swan can remove this bridge should service be necessary in the future. Implants can provide support for part of a total makeover! This patient was missing several teeth. His remaining teeth were severely worn and he was unhappy with his removable partial denture. After dental implants were utilized to replace the missing back teeth we gave the patient a whole new reason to smile! What if there isn't enough bone? Sometimes it is necessary to augment the bone before placing dental implants. In this case we utilized a subperiosteal implant. This implant rests on top of the jaw bone but under the gum tissue. The shiny bar above the gums connects to the implant and provides support for an overdenture. This is what the final overdenture looks like in the mouth. This was a great option for this patient and she couldn't be more pleased! What patients have to say: Dear Dr. Swan, In this day and age when everyone seems more interested in themselves, it is genuinely refreshing when someone shows genuine kindness and care for another human being. You have been so generous with your time and resources. You?ve given me hope when I was in despair over my dental condition. This has been a life long battle and you have restored my smile. I?m once again confident in my smile and I credit you and Cassie and staff. You truly are an exception and I didn?t want it to go unrecognized! Sincerely and with more gratitude than this card can express? Sophia D..... Dr. Swan, It means a lot to have a doctor who is as talented and as caring as you are?And the holidays are a good time to let you know how much you?re appreciated. Happy Holidays! Just wanted thank you for all that you have done for me. You truly are Santa Claus to me. You gave me my two front teeth (plus). Thank you for putting so much of your time and energy into my mouth. You are the best!!! Merry Christmas to you and your family, Linda S..... Dear Dr. Swan, I am very pleased with the results of the implants, and I have had many compliments from friends who have noticed the before and after look of my teeth and smile. I also must mention the functionality of having a full set of teeth for the first time in my life. Dan K... Web Design Copyright CAESY Education Systems, Inc. 2003 All rights reserved.