This week’s Expert Interview looks at dental implants, dentures, and related procedures. DentalFind spoke with Dr. John Heimke, who offers general dentistry procedures alongside an extensive array of cosmetic applications.
When is a fixed partial denture more appropriate than an implant?
If there’s not enough bone, then a fixed partial denture may be an option. Also, when teeth have a substantial amount of mercury filling. There might also be cost considerations.
| "We can always do a potpourri of services for one patient, depending on the circumstances." |
Can I choose among different types of implants? Do you make this choice, or is it a patient choice?
That’s for the dentist to consider and then discuss the different options with the patient. There are conventional implants and mini implants.
I have heard about Clear Choice for implants or dentures. What is it?
Clear Choice is a franchise implant center and basically it uses an all-on-four implant concept, where four to six implants are placed and then immediately a denture is screwed onto the implant. So the patient has teeth essentially in one day.
Are implants frequently optimized by supplemental dental procedures?
It can vary. Sometimes we do a case where there are implants and also veneers, crowns, bridges. We can always do a potpourri of services for one patient, depending on the circumstances.
Are there special ways to take care of implants?
Obviously brushing and flossing are the basics, and coming in for an annual exam, to be properly evaluated. There are also some special flosses that can help with basic hygiene.
Over the course of several years, do implants yellow more slowly or quickly than natural teeth?
Yes they can. The teeth are always aging, the mouth is a dynamic place, things are always changing things are just not static.
If I need an extraction before my implant, will these be done at the same visit?
We can. It’s becoming almost 50/50 now, with immediate placement of the teeth at the time of extraction. The other way is the tooth comes out and the implant is placed later, so in our practice it’s about 50/50.
Patients frequently want to know ahead of time what they will look like after a procedure. Is there anything you can do for them?
Yes, we can do a prototype or “trial smile.” This allows the patient to sort of test drive the smile before the procedure.
Do patients usually make adjustments after this period?
Rarely do significant adjustments need to be made, because the prototype smile is custom made. But it permits the tweaking of the smile, so much so that this is what creates the very natural look that most patients are seeking.
Can you talk about a cosmetic approach to dentures?
We do cosmetic dentures, where I use all the principles that we use for veneer smile cases and incorporate them in the dentures, so that denture patients can have gorgeous white denture teeth instead of yellow denture teeth. We are getting a high degree of patient satisfaction on that.
