Reconstructive Dentistry
There are basically three ways a missing tooth can be replaced:
Dental Implants
Dental Implants are root forms made up of Titanium that are placed directly
in the jawbone. After a few months, there is actual unification of the Titanium surface with
the bone. (This is called Osseo-integration.) Unlike what it sounds like, dental implants
are completely painless and actually totally devoid of any sensation. This is because
there are NO SENSORY NERVES inside the bone. The natural teeth are suspended in bone through
ligaments that have nerve endings and are responsible for the various sensations that we experience.
This is at times a disadvantage because the person having implants has no idea how much pressure
he/she places on the implants.
There are two phases associated with dental implants. During the first phase the root form is surgically placed in the bone and is allowed to unify with the bone for about 4-6 months. The second phase or the restorative phase consists of placing a crown/bridge over the implant end.
Bone grafting
Gone are the days that we were limited to the existing jaw bones for implant placement. If there is not sufficient bone where we need to place the implant, we can bone graft the area to create a suitable bed for implant placement. Dr. Zadeh has placed thousands of dental implants in the past 20 years. Bone graft procedures are routinly done as a site development preparation for implant placement. Dr. Zadeh uses a variety of bone harvesting techniques for autogenous grafts. Where needed, he uses a combination of human allografts and zenografts for optimal results. Dr, Zadeh has created bone grafts by mixing Calcium Tri-phosphate with the stem cells extracted from hip bone with great success.
Immidiate placement- Immidiate loading implants
Traditionally we had to wait 4 to 6 months following the surgical placement of the implants for the titanium to osseo-integrate. During this period, the patient either went without a tooth or had to wear a removable flipper to show teeth.
Through our better understanding of the osseo-integration process and Dr. Zadeh's expertise in both the surgical placement of the implants and their prosthetic restoration, he can reliably remove a broken/infected tooth, place the implant and restore it all in the same sitting! This is an ideal process for a broken front tooth(teeth). With this procedure, the patient will never be toothless and she would never have to put up with the hassle and discomfort of the flipper during the healing period.
Sinus elevation:
As mentioned earlier, we are now able to place implants in almost every position in the mouth. In case of upper back teeth, there is often inadequate thickness of bone for the minimum length of implants. In these cases, the maxillary sinus drops down too close to the surface of the bone hence reducing the thickness of bone.
Dr. Zadeh has years of experince and numerous successful cases in which he has elevated the floor of the sinus in order to make room for the dental implant. There are mainly two different procedures that is used for sinus elevation depending on the amount of existing bone. 3D cone beam radiography is an indispensable tool for proper treatment planning of sinus elevation procedures.
How long do dental implants last?
Root Form Dental Implants have been in the US market for over 2 decades now. There has been tremendous amount of research and enhancement to the materials and techniques. With proper training, dentists have learned how to place and restore implants very predictably and reliably. Earlier (1980s) failures were mostly associated with improper handling and restoring of the implants. Thousands of implants that were placed during those initial years are still in service.
On average an 87-90% success rate was acceptable although the 5-year success rate is currently around 97%. I received my initial training in 1988 and have been restoring implants since then.
I have been using a technique that is being more popularized recently in which dental implants are treated as normal teeth when crowned. Consequently, there is no screw holes or metal showing on the top of the implanted teeth.
Implants in Dr. Zadeh’s Office
Dental implants have proven to be so reliable and predictable that they have become my preferred method of tooth replacement. I have one my treatment rooms specially equipped and dedicated to perform implant surgeries. I have hundreds of implants from two leading manufactures IN STOCK.
| Steve had lost his teeth about 15 years ago and had been wearing removable dentures since then. He was tired of having to remove his dentures every night. He inquired about implant dentistry. I was able to replace all the lower missing teeth with 6 dental implants. |  |
In more complex cases I team up with a Board Eligible Periodontist Dr. M. Rostami for best results. With her help and bone augmentation techniques like “sinus lift”, we have overcome traditional limitations of the implants. In the past we placed implants only and where bone was present. Now we place implants where we want them by building a bony bed at its site.
A great advantage in having both the surgical and restorative phases done in the same office is the fact that one office takes full responsibility for the outcome.