When I started to focus on implant dentistry
over 20 years ago during my residency, it was a new specialty and
the process was long and tedious for patients - and often painful.
Patients went home with no teeth after the implant posts –
which substitute for the root portion of a tooth - were put in place.
Unfortunately, they had to live like that for many months before
the permanent teeth could be set on top of the posts. It’s
no wonder why many people turned away from dental implants.
Even today, so many individuals who could benefit greatly
from a set of new, completely comfortable teeth turn away.
Who can blame them? No one wants to have bad teeth –
or missing teeth – but no one wants to face others with teeth
missing while their mouths are healing for months before they can
have the permanent teeth put in place.
Imagine how embarrassing and demoralizing this would be
for someone who needs 8 new teeth … or 12 or more. It’s
no wonder that so many otherwise attractive individuals put up with
the inconveniences, imbalance in facial features and discomfort
that become “life as usual” for those with dentures
or bridges. They break. They move around. Sometimes they hurt. Worst
of all, they often don’t work. This makes eating many preferred
foods a frustrating problem instead of a pleasure. And it makes
facing the world with an unattractive mouth and compromised smile
a daily burden. No one should have to live this way.
So during my early years of practice, I spoke with many
people who turned away from dental implants, preferring to deal
with the hassles they already coped with than to put themselves
through yet another process that would be lengthy, frightening and
exhausting. My patients told me that they’d rather live with
poorly fitting bridgework or badly constructed dentures that don’t
stay put than to face the world with even one large gaping space
where a tooth should be. And many had simply given up, having been
told that they couldn’t have dental implants at all because
they didn’t “have enough bone”.
I knew that I wanted to find another way to help people
with bad, or missing, teeth: to give them what so many of us take
for granted – a strong mouth that’s healthy and fully
functional and an ease and confidence that comes from facing the
world with an attractive facial structure and smile. I was convinced
that there had to be a way for my patients to obtain the permanent,
attractive teeth they so desired without having to take dozens of
appointments over 6 months or a year to reach their goal.
I found the answer I was seeking when a procedure called
immediate
load restoration was described in an article I read in 1990.
Asking questions and learning more over the next 5 years, I gained
enough knowledge to bring this technique to my practice. A few understanding
patients with a strong desire to accelerate their treatment stimulated
me to perform the first immediate loading procedures. After experiencing
a 100% success rate - development, documentation and refinement
accelerated.
Today, in our practice, patients come from around the country and
abroad for their TeethToday® procedure. They walk in feeling
self-conscious and apprehensive, with a mouth that doesn’t
function properly and a facial appearance that doesn’t look
right. They walk out with new teeth and can actually go out and
eat that night!
It’s like a miracle for our patients and it is still
a thrill for me every time someone looks in the mirror and sees
their new teeth for the first time. They can’t believe it
happened so quickly. They can’t believe it didn’t hurt.
They can’t believe they’ve given themselves a second
chance to look great and go through life knowing their mouth is
healthy, strong and appealing.
While the majority of dental implants are still done the traditional,
time-consuming way, I believe that in the years to come these older
methods will be a thing of the past. I am grateful that I have the
opportunity to do this work. It’s become my mission –
to let people know that their dream can come true and that it can
be done quickly and with great gentleness and ease. During my early
years as a practicing dentist, my patients demanded better options
and I knew they deserved a better solution. Now they have it.
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Watch Dental
Expert Jeffrey Ganeles, DMD speaks on today's advanced dentistry,
dental implants, the role of the periodontist, and more.
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