Danger #1: Bone Loss Makes You Look Older Quicker Dental Implants assist you in looking and feeling younger because they prevent bone loss. By preventing bone loss that would normally occur with the loss of teeth, your facial structures remain normal and intact. The chances of wrinkling and the look of old age before your [...]
1. Before the procedure Three teeth at back end of the mouth are missing. The only real replacement alternative is installing a fixed bridge. The bridge contains all teeth in one piece and is anchored on dental implants. 2. Installing the implants First, the implants are installed. This is normally done in a single session. [...]
Implants or Bridges? One decision that many patients have to decide upon is whether to replace lost teeth with an implant or bridge. If you are considering having a conventional bridge, please be aware that your other teeth may be compromised. To place a conventional bridge, the teeth adjacent to the site need to be [...]
So What is a Dental Implant? A dental implant can be thought of as a new root made of pure titanium. Titanium is the same material used in medicine for hip replacements and is very strong and highly biocompatible. Implants made of titanium cannot decay and do not require root canal therapy. An advantage of [...]
Teeth will continue to ‘erupt’ until they are biting against something. If a tooth is lost, the opposing tooth will grow down to replace it and when teeth move out of place, they are more likely to develop decay and gum disease. The dental term for this is “supra-eruption,” and we commonly teeth supra-erupt against [...]
Posterior bite collapse occurs when too many back teeth are lost. The remaining front teeth are subsequently unable to withstand the biting force and the front teeth are eventually pushed out. We have had many patients over the 25 years I have doing cosmetic, implant and sedation dentistry. Some have absolutely insisted that they have [...]
Why Didn’t my Dentist Tell me This? Or What Happened to My Bone! The extraction site will typically heal after a tooth is removed. The bone, however, will begin to wither away. 40-60% of the bone that once surrounded the root of a tooth will waste away from the area within the first three years [...]
Decreased Mobility A report in the Journal of American Geriatrics (March 2008) found that people age 70 or older and who have no teeth are significantly more likely to report mobility problems, such as difficulty walking or climbing stairs The authors have suggested a number of behavioral and socioeconomic factors may be related to the [...]
The medical journal Neurology (August 26, 2008) reported on research conducted at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas concerning four denture-wearing patients who developed neurological problems. All of the patients had abnormally high levels of zinc in their blood, accompanied by abnormally low levels of copper. Denture cream contains zinc, and all [...]
Dr. Thomas Gibbs is a dentist in Glen Ellyn, also serving the towns of Wheaton, Lombard, Naperville, Glendale Heights, Carol Stream, Lisle and the Chicago area. His office concentrates on cosmetic dentistry, dental implants, and restorative dentistry. He additionally is one of the few dentists in DuPage County and Cook County that is licensed and [...]
