dental implants
Jennifer LW Siders
Hi -
I have a question about dental implants? A member of my family is considering
getting dental implants (entire lower set) and would like to hear from others wh
o
may have experienced this procedure and what their opinion of it is. If you're
like
me and hadn't heard of dental implants, they implant titanium screws into the ja
w and
let the bone grown around and through the screw creating `roots' for man-made te
eth,
single teeth, or entire dentures. Its a costly procedure which is why we're loo
king
for more information before she goes through with it.
If you have any information, opinions, experiences I would really appreciate it
if you
could respond to me at
Thank you!
Jennifer Siders
Edward Paul Yerex
Jennifer,
I can tell you a bit about dental implants, also called ISM
implants. I have four of the titanium gadgets and a stainless steel bar
in my lower jaw to hold dentures in place. The same implants can be
used to hold individual or whole sets of artificial teeth.
In general, they're worth the money. Here in Canada, just getting
the four gadgets put in cost a thousand bucks each for the screws. Add
to that the cost of dentures (in my case) plus the costs for an oral
surgeon, hospital, drugs, etc.
If the implants are to hold dentures, as mine are, there are some
things you need to know. First, you have to get in the habit of double
tooth brushing, not only cleaning the dentures, but scrubbing the
implants as if they were teeth. Not a big deal, but the stainless steel
and titanium do some strange things that I don't think the dentists
even thought of. Two different metals and the acids in food and drink?
Remind you of anything? Right, a battery!
Besides the danger of a plaque buildup like one has with teeth,
your mouth produces about 1.2 volts DC at about one-tenth milliampere.
This causes, believe it or not, electrolysis, the formation of a
similar white deposit you see on a car battery! You don't normally
notice the electricity, but I sometimes get the metallic taste,
especially if I'm drinking orange juice.
Now you can stop laughing :) I'm telling the truth. Again, this
phenomenon is no biggie, but I find I have to rinse my mouth with
baking soda occasionally. It works. Just a good scrub with a stiff
toothbrush a couple of times a day does most of the job.
Expensive? Yes. Worth it? Yes, if you ensure that the dentures are
well made. Don't skimp on them. The first set I got, the clips that
hook onto the implant broke fairly soon. The set I have now is tight
enough that I have to pry them out for cleaning.
:) Just a final smiley for you. When I go through airport security I
set off the bells and whistles at the metal detector. I now carry a
card from my dentist to avoid having to take out my teeth, open my
mouth and say, "Aaah" for the rent-a-cops in front of a line of people.
Good luck with this, Jennifer.