Written by William Y.S. Hung, D.D.S., J.D.                                                                        Prosthodontist, USC Faculty

Since Dr. Branemark introduced the technology of the dental implant to North America in 1982, millions of patients have enjoyed the services of Implant Dentistry every year. Implant Dentistry not only provides comfort, ease, effective and immediate restoration of occlusal function, but also improves the esthetics of our patients' smiles.

Our experience in implant dentistry over the many years have shown that both patients and doctors cannot tell the difference between dental implant restorations and natural teeth.

Immediate Implant Placement

Prosthodontists or periodontists can avoid frequent surgical procedures and reduce the waiting period (shortening treatment time by 4 to 6 months), by placing implants immediately after extracting unrestorable teeth. This procedure not only can reduce the psychological distress from losing a tooth, but this technique can also restore esthetics and occlusal function in a right away. In the mean time, we have found the success rates of immediate implant placement to be close to 99%.

Immediate Loading

If the volume of remaining jaw bone of the patient is enough to house a wide or long implant and to provide good primary stability, the patient may receive an implant restoration (temporary or permanent restoration) and enjoy the benefit of eating and chewing on that same day. However, if there is only a limited amount of jawbone remaining, we still suggest a 4-6 month waiting period before a restoration is placed.

Osteotome Sinus Lift

Osteotome sinus lift was originally introduced by Dr. Summer in 1994 and 1995. He published four articles regarding the sinus lift method. His techniques effectively increased the success rate of implant placement, which particularly benefits patients who have lost their teeth and large amounts of jaw bone due to periodontal disease. By applying this technique, we can preserve and condense limited amounts of remaining bone. Implants can be placed at the same time (within 10-20 minutes following completion of the procedure). Patients usually feel little pain or no pain at all. In addition, this technique can effectively lift the maxillary sinus for the patients who suffer from pneumatization of the sinus. The Osteotome technique has helped millions of patients to avoid complicated bone grafts and open sinus surgeries (Caldwel-Luc Approach) that may require much more extensive surgical procedures and healing time before implants can be placed. In the past years, we have experienced many exciting results; patients who received these services had a success rate close to 100%.

Conclusion

Contemporary research and applications of Implant Dentistry have been very successful. Many of the dental implants placed by Dr. Branemark in the 1960's are still providing effective services to many of his patients. In summary, Implant Dentistry is the best and most advanced service for restoring missing dentition for our patients.