Dental Implants in Vancouver, WA

Hello my name is Dr Roman and I'm a doctor at Pacific Park Family Dental and today I'm going to answer all your questions about implants.

What are dental implants and how do they work?

Dental implant fundamentally is a screw and instead of going into the wall, it goes into your jaw bone. How is this relevant to you? So basically, when an implant gets integrated into the bone, we are looking for a good fixation. We know that an implant is fixated when we are tightening it down and we feel some back push onto the implant. When that happens, we know it's going to survive for a long time, it's going to integrate, and it's going to help you chew in the long run.

What would be the dental implant procedure in short?

At my office, I always tell patients that putting in implants is actually easier than extracting teeth. When you're extracting teeth, you feel all the forces; you hear funny crackling sounds and sensations, and patients often find that extremely unpleasant. With implants, it's a completely different story. The process is a little bit more gentle and steady, takes about 30 minutes to place an implant, and patients don't feel a thing when I do that. Of course, after the procedure, I give them antibiotics and pain medications so they feel nothing when the procedure is done.

Who would be a good candidate for a dental implant?

As far as candidacy for implants goes, pretty much anybody is a good candidate for implants as long as you have bone and you're pretty healthy otherwise. There's no limit to how many implants you can receive. Hard no's on implants are anybody who has extreme bone diseases such as Paget's. You wouldn't know that you have them until your doctor told you that you do, or if you have diabetes that is out of control. Diabetics who are within normal range of sugar control are totally good candidates for implants. People who do not control their diabetes are not great candidates for implants. So really, pretty much anybody would qualify as long as they have bone and a willingness to get an implant.

What is the difference between a mini implant and full implants?

Aha, so a great question that people ask me: mini implants versus regular size implants. A mini implant was a fad some years ago when people would put in implants, and they are literally mini. Instead of having a big nice fixture that can support a chewing load over a long period of time—we want the implant to function for the next 30 years, not just two years and then break—we want a thicker fixture. A mini implant is just a really, really thin implant. Why do people use it? It was marketed to general dentists because they didn't have to do bone grafts. It's easy to place and you can place so many of them to support virtually any structure that you want. Over time, we see these things kind of flex and fail, and that's why they kind of go out of fashion, so to speak, in the dental world. Now what we do is we use thicker fixtures and we put them in more creative ways. Just like in a house, you have pillars; in our structure, in our facial structure, we have pillars of bone that are extremely hard, and we can implant into those pillars and support virtually any type of restorations. So now that we know these things, we are more creative and intelligent about implant placement.

What is the dental implant process from start to finish?

Okay, so the way I do implants is a little bit different than most doctors. I am quite communicative with my patients, so they come in, you know, we make a few jokes, we chat a little bit, and I always tell my patients that if they need to stop, they only need to raise their hand for any reason and everything stops. I'll make them comfortable if they're not comfortable. If they need a break, they'll take a break; it's not a big deal. So an implant procedure is not something that we absolutely cannot stop once we started it. No, it's a procedure for the patient. I make sure that you're comfortable when you're with me. So once we get you numb, we get started, and we prepare a site with some drills. Then I'll show you the implant if you're curious how it looks, and I'll let you know when I'm putting it in. Most people actually find it quite curious how an implant is being placed. Once I'm done, 90% of the time I get the question, "Oh, that was it?" I'm like, "Yes, okay, go home now," and that's kind of the implant placement.

How long do dental implants last?

Okay, so my favorite story is this one: I had a patient who came in from like the 1950s, way back when implants were just getting started. She went to an oral surgeon to get two implants, and those two implants would support a clip-on denture for her. Seventy years later, those implants were still functioning and I had to take them out because I couldn't find any parts. The company that created those implants dissolved, they sold their stuff, and the parts are no longer produced. I couldn't use the implants that were perfectly good, but because of the absence of parts, I couldn't do anything without them, so I ended up extracting perfectly good implants. Unfortunately, but that's how long they last. Unbelievable.

I hope I was able to answer some of your questions about implants. If you want to know more and learn more and talk to me about all your implant questions, please come visit me at Pacific Park Family Dental or call me at (360) 803-3546.