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Repairing Your Teeth - The Dental Implant

Five years ago I was up against the daunting task of finding a Beverly Hills dentist near where I lived to work out how much money my teeth would cost me to repair after about ten to fifteen years of neglect. I had been a smoker, and didn't floss. I had helped my own Mother spend about 10k on her behalf mouth about five years before she died - and I decided that when I make this happen task some twenty five years earlier - in my fifties - I would have at the least very much longer to take pleasure from the results of the amount of money I may have spent on my dental care.


For this same time I received a marketing call from a Los Angeles dentist who promised free teeth bleaching and whitening if I came in for a dental consultation. A great solution, as I knew that having quit smoking, this might you should be the secret to create my teeth look better and keep cigarettes out of my mouth in the future. I took the plunge and went directly into one of many offices owned by Los Angeles-based Dr. Bijan Afar, an oral surgeon. I also looked him on the Internet using the language, "cosmetic dentist los angeles."

My teeth required deep cleaning which may only be achieved one half of the mouth at any given time, and would also require irrigation with antibiotics afterwards to greatly help my gums heal. I found that I'd require an implant to replace a decaying baby tooth, which had never come out. Several molars would require crowns, as would my three front teeth. I had dental crown on my two front teeth since an incident in senior school, and since dental veneers were new in those days, I had one put over a crack in an eye fixed tooth in my late twenties. And because of years of chewing, my chompers were not as straight as in my youth.

The first faltering step in my treatment plan was to put crowns on three of my molars. Sometimes known as caps, this procedure covers teeth that have been severely damaged, decayed, chipped, discolored or misaligned. The procedure required two visits per crown.


Just about as I was ready to really have the front teeth done, I obtained a tooth infection in that baby molar and it had to go. Ahead of the tooth being pulled, Dr. Afar gave me antibiotics, and the extraction went smoothly. He packed my tooth and sent me house or apartment with a prescription for pain killer to soothe the pain that night, along with his cell contact number just in case I had a need to speak with him.


A specialist in dental implants in Los Angeles, Dr. Afar then planted the post deep into my jaw bone, first grafting some synthetic bone powder onto the bone to produce lacking bone tissue. This would eventually serve as the foundation for the screw in implant tooth. Healing time? Three months. Depending on the patient, dental implants will take anywhere from almost a year to annually or more.

Being an oral surgeon Abu Dhabi, Dr. Afar carefully explained the procedure. The height and width of your jawbones are measured to be sure there's enough bone to carry the implant. Next the gums are examined for signs of periodontal gum disease, and in cases when this really is present they should be treated first before implants can be placed. Gums are also checked to be sure there's enough firm tissue to surround the implant. Imaging tests are also part of the dental evaluation, making it possible for more information abut the quantity and quality of bone in the mouth, and to view parts of the mouth and head that can not be seen during an examination.

Dr Afar explained possible risks and complications including a bleeding gum, infection, and failure of the implant where the jawbone doesn't fuse to the implant, and possible injury to the adjacent teeth or sinus, nerves or muscles. He explained the importance of good hygiene during the whole implant process.


The next thing was to suit what's called the prosthesis, or the new tooth. Depending on what many teeth are missing, you could have a single, partial or complete prosthesis. I just needed a single, while a partial can be used as an alternative to a bridge. There is also an entire denture prosthesis, used as an alternative to a traditional complete denture - and these come as either removable or fixed complete prosthesis.


Next Dr. Afar placed the healing abutment, one of two kinds that are used. Healing abutments also known as healing cuffs, help the gum tissue from the removed tooth heal round the implant site. Once the gum has healed, the last abutment is positioned so the prosthesis can be joined with the implant. It took about 4 to 6 weeks for the gums to heal round the abutments.

Once the gums have healed round the abutments, Dr Afar began making the custom prosthesis, requiring several office visits. When ready, he fit my fixed prosthesis, made adjustments, and explained not to eat crunchy or hard foods for many weeks.


Today I am happy with the comfort of the new teeth in my mouth like the crowns and my dental implant. I've since had my front upper eye tooth crowned, and my teeth whitened. I are in possession of a full group of beautiful whiter teeth. The only thing remaining could be the crowns of my two front teeth - which I really hope to possess by Christmas of this year.


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