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No More Loose Dentures ~ Mini Dental Implants by MiniMark Can Help..but not Cost Effectively

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Having a set of loose or ill fitting dentures can create a whole set of problems.  These problems can include cosmetic issues (the first things people see is your smile) and function(how well you can eat).

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Sometimes my patients walk in what several sets of dentures they have had made over the years.  The first thing all of them say is that none of them fit.  I think its not that the dentures never fit it is that the dentures had nothing to hold them in place!  Thus the need for dental implants to secure in dentures.

 

So while some people come in to get their smile back ~ others come in to be able to function (eat) again.  I think with mini dental implants you can get both.  The ability to smile again.  The ability to eat the foods you enjoyed (salads, steaks, fresh vegetables).  Your diet will improve as you no longer have to swallow chunks of food. 

 

You self esteem will be regained as you now don't have to wonder what can I eat at the party or family outing.  You now don't have to wonder are my dentures going to fall out at the sporting event as you cheer, or sing at church.

So consider mini dental implants to secure in your dentures. At around 1/2 the cost of traditional implants with little to no pain its a safe and effective procedure. 

When you come to see us you only have to see one Doctor.  We place the mini dental implant and fit your denture with the snaps in the same office.  One Doctor means fewer visits and reduced costs.

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Greatly increase the aesthetics of your smile with secure mini dental implant retained dentures.  You will look years younger.

 

 

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The right set of mini dental implant retained dentures will also allow you to have proper function (chewing your food properly and the ability to speak correctly). 

 

MiniMark Implants

This case was done with MiniMark Implants.  2 mini dental implants in the front and 2 traditional size implants in the back.  All of the MiniMark implants have Zest Locator attachments that allow the denture to 'snap' into the mouth.  Once that is done and the implants heal the denture can be converted into a horseshoe shape for even more comfort. 

As a General Dentist I am pleased with the Zest Locator but I am extremely dissapointed in the price point of the MiniMark Implant.  It averages about 3 to 4 times the costof a comparable mini dental implant.  3M IMTEC, Intra Lock, OCO Biomedical all make excellent mini dental implants for lower and upper dentures at a more attractive price point.  With a lower price point more patients can move forward with implant retained dentures…something just not possible with the mini mark implant system.

The competitors to ACE Surgical mini mark implants offer surgical setups that allow Dentists to place a wider assortment of dental implants.  I must ask why any Dentist would want to invest several thousand dollars into a system that limits their ability so much?  With that kind of investment you could place minis to small diameter to larger size implants and not have to have several placement kits. 

I encourage any Dentist who does not place dental implants to learn how.  There are several good one day seminars on how to place mini dental implants.  These include seminars from Todd Shatkin, Ben Oppenheimer or mine (  OCO Biomedical Mini Dental Implant Seminar ).

Paresh B Patel Dental Implants Charlotte NC

Mini Dental Implant Dentures

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Mini Dental Implants to Replace Missing Back Molar Teeth

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Missing a back molar?  Don't want to wear a partial denture?  Have you been told you will need a sinus lift for a traditional implant?

In some cases all of these issues can be solved with a mini dental implant.

 

 

 

 

Robert pre micro

 

X-ray of the missing upper teeth.  Notice on the upper jaw the limited amount of bone that is left.

 

 

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4 OCO crown and bridge head mini dental implants in place to anchor two molar size crowns.  A lot of times Dr.s ask me why are you putting in two mini implants to replace one tooth instead of one larger one?  My answer (best worded by my friend Dr. Chow) is lets replace the upper molar tooth by replacing it with the most anatomically and biologically correct position of the missing roots.  2 or 3 implants to disperse the force the way the body originally had it.

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The 4 mini dental implants are inserted with 2 engaging the palatal(roof of the mouth side) slope of bone.  The other 2 engage the buccal(cheek side of the bone).  This way we avoid the sinus cavity and have primary stability from the day of placement.  This is the original positions of the roots the mini dental implant will replace.  These mini dental implants had over 40ncm of torque day of placement.

 

 

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I often get asked questions on how can patients keep the crowns clean.  Each crown has a 'flossing groove' built into the anatomy.  This will help the patient guide the water pic or floss threader. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Floss in between the mini dental implants to confirm removal of excess cement and to demonstrate to the patient how to use the floss threader or water pic.

 

 

 

 

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Crowns in place and floss removed. 

Implants are not teeth.  The assumption that a dental implant should be the size of the root it replaces should be reexamined.  Titanium alloy provides a level of strength in a smaller size than a tooth root does.  We should place into our patients the minimum amount of foreign substance (titanium dental implants)  required to maximize the vital bone supporting and surrounding the implants.  For a good class on learning how to place implants click here:  Simple Implant Placement Course & Hands on Seminar

 

 

Paresh B Patel Dental Implants Charlotte NC

Mini Dental Implants

Dental Implants Hickory Boone Asheville NC

Mini Dental Implant Bridge ~ Full Arch Roundhouse Crowns for Fixed Teeth

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What do patients that have no teeth really want?  Is it dental implants?  Crowns?  Implant supported dentures?  NO…they want their teeth.  For right now that is not something that dentistry can give back to them…  However we can get pretty close with some mini dental implants and a well thought out and fabricated full arch roundhouse bridge of porcelain crowns. 

Cosmetic upper denture

When we decide make a full arch of teeth over mini dental implants I like to make a well fitting denture to begin with.  It is our blueprint for what the final crowns should look like.  The patient can approve in the denture the color, size, esthetics, function, speech, etc….all before we make the investment in the final porcelain bridge.

 

 

 

 

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Once the provisional denture is approved by the patient all the diagnostic information is sent to the Dental Lab for the final planning. This case was done with Evolution Dental Lab.  A guide stent is made for the placement of the mini dental implants.  This is done off the Cone Beam 3D x-ray scan to ensure the dental implants are placed in sound bone and will allow for the crowns to be placed in the correct approved position.

 

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A wax mock up of the final design is made on the stone cast over the mini dental implants.  This mock up will be duplicated in putty so I can make the patient in their mouth a temporary set of teeth to confirm everything once more.

 

 

 

 

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Surgical guide for the placement of the mini dental implants.

 

 

 

 

 

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OCO Biomedical Mini Dental Implants in place ready to have the temporary bridge made.

 

 

 

Denture Chairside temp bridge

 

The temporary is made…notice how similar it looks to the approved denture.  Since we have worked out most of the details of esthetics and function in the denture all I need to do is place the dental implants the the predetermined positions and copy the denture into the temporary bridge.  The patient leaves that day without the denture.  He has a fixed set of teeth to chew and smile with.  Any slight changes, if needed, are made and the dental lab can make the final bridge.

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The final mini dental implant bridge was made in two pieces.  There is an exact fit to this bridge.  Notice the multicolor pink porcelain to frame the porcelain crowns. 

 

 

 

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Back teeth for the mini dental implant roundhouse bridge.

 

 

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Final bridge over the OCO Biomedical dental implants. 

 

 

 

 

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Mini Dental Implant Bridge cemented in patients mouth…day of placement.

 

 

 

 

 

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Lip retracted view of the mini dental implant bridge.  Notice the intimate fit of the pink porcelain to the gum tissue.  The patient can floss or waterpick between each mini dental implant. 

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Steve with his new teeth the day of placement.  He has a full arch of mini dental implants and a fixed non removable set of Porcelain crowns.  Solutions similar to this start at $12,999.  This includes the implants and the crowns. 

What a wonderful way to get rid of your dentures and get back to living you life enjoying the things you want to do. 

Without the advent of mini dental implants solutions like this would require a commitment of around $20,000 with more time/discomfort.

Paresh B Patel Implant Dentist Charlotte NC

Mini Dental Implants

Dental Implants Hickory Wilkesboro Asheville NC

Dental Implant Education Seminars