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Ed Helms is best known for his role as the self-absorbed, Ivy League sales rep, Andy Bernard, on television’s The Office. But to millions of fans he’s also Stu, a member of a bachelor trip to Las Vegas in the 2009 movie The Hangover. In it, Stu and his friends wake up from a wild night on the Strip to find some things missing: the groom-to-be, their memories and, for Stu, a front tooth.

In reality, the missing tooth gag wasn’t a Hollywood makeup or CGI (computer-generated imagery) trick—it was Ed Helm’s actual missing tooth. According to Helms, the front tooth in question never developed and he had obtained a dental implant to replace it. He had the implant crown removed for the Hangover movie and then replaced after filming.

Helms’ dental situation isn’t that unusual. Although most of the 170 million-plus teeth missing from Americans’ mouths are due to disease or trauma, a few happened because the teeth never formed. While most of these congenitally missing teeth are in the back of the mouth, a few, as in Helms’ case, involve front teeth in the “smile zone,” which can profoundly affect appearance.

Fortunately, people missing undeveloped teeth have several good options to restore their smiles and dental function. The kind of tooth missing could help determine which option to use. For example, a bridge supported by the teeth on either side of the gap might work well if the teeth on either side are in need of crowns.

If the missing tooth happens to be one or both of the lateral incisors (on either side of the centermost teeth), it could be possible to move the canine teeth (the pointy ones, also called eye teeth) to fill the gap. This technique, known as canine substitution, may also require further modification—either by softening the canines’ pointed tips, crowning them or applying veneers—to help the repositioned teeth look more natural.

The optimal solution, though, is to replace a missing tooth with a dental implant which then has a lifelike crown attached to it, as Ed Helms did to get his winning smile. Implant-supported replacement teeth are closest to natural teeth in terms of both appearance and function. Implants, though, shouldn’t be placed until the jaw has fully developed, usually in early adulthood. A younger person may need a temporary restoration like a bonded bridge or a partial denture until they’re ready for an implant.

Whatever the method, there’s an effective way to restore missing teeth. Seeing us for an initial exam is the first step toward your own winning smile.

If you would like more information about restoring missing teeth, please contact us or schedule a consultation. To learn more, read the Dear Doctor magazine article “Dental Implants.”

If missing teeth have left gaps in your smile, you can restore your smile with dental implants. Dental implants provide a long-term and secure solution to replacing lost teeth. Not everyone is a candidate for dental implants. You must have an adequate amount of healthy bone to support placement of the dental implants. The knowledgeable and experienced dentists at CenterCare Dental Group in Phoenix can determine if you are a candidate for dental implants.

What are Dental Implants?

Dental implants can restore your smile by filling in the gaps caused by missing teeth. There are three main parts to a dental implant, which include a metal post, an abutment, and a crown. The metal post, also referred to as a dental implant, resembles a screw in appearance and functions as an anchor for an artificial tooth in the same way a root holds a natural tooth in place. The dental implant or post is placed directly in the jaw bone. The bone and the metal post will eventually fuse together through a natural process called osseointegration.

After a few months, the bone and dental implant will have permanently fused together and the dental implant will be ready to securely anchor an artificial tooth in place. The abutment portion of a dental implant serves to connect the metal post and artificial tooth. If a single tooth is being replaced, a crown will be placed on top of the dental implant. It is also possible to replace multiple missing teeth simultaneously when using several dental implants and either a bridge or implant-supported overdenture together.

Benefits of Dental Implants

Dental implants deliver several benefits. A primary benefit is that they restore your smile by replacing lost teeth. Some additional benefits of dental implants involve addressing the unwanted side effects associated with having missing teeth. The teeth help support the muscles in the face. There is less support for these muscles when teeth are missing, which can lead to facial sagging and drooping. Replacing those teeth with dental implants restores essential support and reduces sagging.

Using dental implants to fill the gaps in your smile can also improve speech. Speech sometimes changes when teeth are missing because the tongue slips into the gaps when speaking. Filling in those gaps with dental implants can correct tongue placement when speaking and restore normal speech.

Another side effect of missing teeth is that remaining teeth can become worn down more quickly by taking on extra work. Restoring your smile with dental implants can reduce the excess strain on the natural teeth. The skilled and friendly dentists at CenterCare Dental Group in Phoenix can explain all the ways dental implants could benefit you.

If you are ready to restore your smile with dental implants, we can help. To learn more about how dental implants can help you, schedule an appointment with one of the dentists at our office in Phoenix by calling CenterCare Dental Group at (602) 671-3956.

Some patients who wear dentures face a kind of Catch-22: their denture fit may have loosened and become uncomfortable over time due to continued bone loss, yet the same bone loss prevents them from obtaining dental implants, a superior tooth replacement system to dentures.

But there may be a solution to this dilemma that combines the stability of implants with a removable denture. A set of smaller diameter implants — “mini-implants” — can support a removable denture with less bone than required by a conventional implant.

Like all living tissue, bone has a life cycle: after a period of growth, the older bone dissolves and is absorbed by the body, a process known as resorption. The forces generated when we bite or chew are transmitted by the teeth to the jawbones, which stimulates new bone formation to replace the resorbed bone. When the teeth are lost, however, the stimulation is lost too; without it, resorption will eventually outpace bone growth and repair, causing the bone mass to shrink.

Removable dentures also can’t supply the missing stimulation — bone loss continues as if the dentures weren’t there; and due to the compressive forces of a denture, bone loss accelerates. As the jawbone structure used to originally form the denture’s fit eventually shrinks, the denture becomes loose and difficult to wear. It’s possible to adjust to the new jaw contours by relining the dentures with new material or creating a new set of dentures that match the current bone mass. Without adequate bone, fixed crowns or bridges anchored by conventional implants may also be out of the picture.

On the other hand, mini-implants with their smaller diameter need less bone than the traditional implant. A few strategically placed within the jaw are strong and stable enough to support a removable denture. One other advantage: these mini-implants can be installed in one visit with local anesthesia and usually without the need for incisions or stitches.

If you would like more information on dentures supported by mini-implants, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “The ‘Great’ Mini-Implant.”

Compared to other dental restorations—a few of which have been around for over a century—implants are a relatively recent development. But even though it’s just now entering its fourth decade, recent advances have catapulted implant therapy well beyond where it began.

That’s due mainly to digital technology. Two examples of this, computed tomography (CT) and 3-D printing, are increasing the accuracy and efficiency of implant placement.

Properly placing an implant is one of the most important elements in achieving a natural and attractive result. But finding the best location is often difficult due to a lack of suitable bone volume, the patient’s bite or the proximity of anatomical structures like nerves and blood vessels. CT imaging, especially Cone Beam CT scanners (CBCT), is helping to make implant placement planning easier.

Unlike the static, two-dimensional views of standard x-rays, CBCT takes hundreds of images and digitally blends them together to create a virtual 3-D model of the patient’s jaw and face. Dentists can view this highly detailed model on a computer monitor from various vantage points and better identify possible obstructions. With better information about what “lies beneath,” they can more accurately pinpoint the best implant site.

Creating the ideal plan is one thing—successfully implementing it is another. Dentists often create a surgical guide that helps them drill in precisely the right positions during surgery. The guide, which resembles a mouthguard, fits over the gums and contains marker locations for drilling.

Many dentists are now using 3-D printing to create these surgical guides. A 3-D printer turns a digital model of the guide based on measurements of the patient’s mouth and proposed implant locations into an actual physical object “printed out” layer by layer of special polymer material. The end product can be more precise than guides created by other means.

These and other technological developments are helping implant therapy rise to a new level of success. With the resulting increase in accuracy, efficiency and less treatment time, tomorrow’s implant patients will be the ultimate beneficiaries.

If you would like more information on restoring missing teeth with dental implants, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “How Technology Aids Dental Implant Therapy.”

Generations have depended on dentures to effectively and affordably replace lost teeth. But they do have a major weakness: They contribute to jawbone loss that creates not only mouth and facial problems, but can also ruin a denture’s fit.

Bone loss is a normal consequence of losing teeth. The biting forces normally generated when we chew stimulate new bone to replace older bone. When a tooth is missing, however, so is that chewing stimulation. This can slow bone replacement growth and gradually decrease the density and volume of affected bone.

While dentures can restore dental appearance and function, they can’t restore this growth stimulation. What’s worse, the pressure of the dentures against the gum-covered jaw ridge they rest upon may irritate the underlying bone and accelerate loss.

But there is a solution to the problem of denture-related bone loss: an implant-supported denture. Rather than obtaining its major support from the gum ridges, this new type of denture is secured by strategically-placed implants that connect with it.

Besides the enhanced support they can provide to a denture restoration, implants can also deter bone loss. This is because of the special affinity bone cells have with an implant’s imbedded titanium post. The gradual growth of bone on and around the implant surface not only boosts the implant’s strength and durability, it can also improve bone health.

There are two types of implant-supported dentures. One is a removable appliance that connects with implants installed in the jaw (three or more for the upper jaw or as few as two in the lower). It may also be possible to retrofit existing dentures to connect with implants.

The other type is a fixed appliance a dentist permanently installs by screwing it into anywhere from four and six implants. The fixed implant-supported denture is closer to the feel of real teeth (you’ll brush and floss normally), but it’s usually more costly than the removable implant-supported denture.

While more expensive than traditional ones, implant-supported dentures still cost less than other restorations like individual implant tooth replacements. They may also help deter bone loss, which may lead to a longer lasting fit with the dentures. Visit your dentist for an evaluation of your dental condition to see if you’re a good candidate for this advanced form of dental restoration.

If you would like more information on implant-supported dentures, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Overdentures & Fixed Dentures.”

If you know anyone with a dental implant, you may know it can be a long process in getting one. Several weeks or months can pass between removing the old tooth and placing the implant, and then several more weeks before affixing the permanent crown.

But with recent advances in implant technology, some patients don’t have to wait as long for a new implant and crown. In fact, one procedure commonly known as “tooth in one day,” allows patients to walk in with a problem tooth and out the same day with a new “one.”

Not every implant patient, however, can undergo this accelerated procedure. If you’re considering implants, the state of your bone health will determine whether or not you can.

Implants need a certain amount of available bone for proper placement. But bone loss, a common consequence of missing teeth or dental disease, can reduce bone volume to less than what’s needed to place an implant. The patient may first need to undergo grafting to regenerate the bone or choose another restorative option.

If your supporting bone is sound, your dentist might then proceed with the implant. But you will still have to wait a while for your new crown. The implant needs to integrate with the bone to improve its hold. This integration process can take anywhere from a minimum of six weeks to more commonly twelve weeks. After the attachment is mature, the dentist may need to undo the gum covering before taking impressions for the formation of the new crown.

But it is possible to have a tooth or teeth in a day. For a single tooth, your dentist may be able to immediately attach a crown right after implant surgery if the implant is very stable. Even so, this crown will need to be temporary, slightly shorter than a permanent crown so that it won’t make contact with other teeth and put too much pressure on the new implant. After further healing from bone integration, impressions will be taken so that you’ll receive your permanent crown shortly.

Immediate crown placement can allow you to have the cosmetic and limited functional benefit of a new tooth right from the start. If multiple implants are placed in one arch in a day, it’s possible to have immediate teeth if enough implants are attached together with a temporary restoration.

This is different from a single implant replacing a single tooth and does create confusion for patients when they read about teeth in a day. Regardless, no final tooth crown can be placed at the time of an implant—only a temporary restoration.

If you would like more information on your options for dental implants, please contact us or schedule an appointment for a consultation. You can also learn more about this topic by reading the Dear Doctor magazine article “Same-Day Tooth Replacement with Dental Implants.”