Until three months ago, Meleah Gray had very little incentive to smile.
Loose lower dentures caused by significant bone loss in her jaw made both smiling, speaking and even eating more of a nasty ordeal than a pleasure.
“I did not feel comfortable speaking or eating,” said the Melbourne resident.
Denture wearers are all too familiar with Gray’s troubles, for denture adhesive often doesn’t hold and even when it does, it tastes terrible. Should adhesive not provide the necessary bonding between jaw and denture, there is very little recourse beyond the human tongue to keep the dentures from flapping in the wind.
“Many of these people end up holding their dentures with their tongues,” said Melbourne implantologist Dr. Richard Leong.
“If you go to nursing homes, you can see how the residents struggle with their dentures. They can’t chew, they can’t talk. It’s miserable for them.”
Earlier this year, Gray had discovered mini dental implants, an option in implant dentistry that doesn’t get much press. Gray opted to have Leong fit her with four permanent tiny steel posts—two on the top and two on the bottom of her jaw. Her dentures snap neatly over the four implants, and Gray is good to go.
The results have been life-changing, says Gray.
“It’s made a big difference in my life,” she added.
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While dental implants are mainstream, small diameter implants remain somewhat of a best-kept secret. The latter offers a viable treatment option for patients who are not candidates of conventional implants due to bone loss, or even because they cannot afford the larger implants. At around $500 a mini implant, they are a fraction of the cost of traditional implants. A few insurance companies cover the procedure, but many still don’t.
For many patients, mini implants are the best alternative to conventional implantation or the traditional use of dentures.
“For a lot of patients they are the best option, because they no longer have the bone for conventional implants,” said Leong.
Source: http://www.floridatoday.com/story/life/wellness/2015/12/07/mini-implants-hot-dental-trend/75532588/
In other dental news: Aurident offers the Optimet DS 6000 Scanner which uses patented proprietary conoscopic holographic technology to generate highly accurate and consistent scans.
The DS 6000 Scanner can be used for all dental applications such as copings, full contour crowns, bridges up to 14 units, implants, implant bars and dentures.
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