Surprise (602) 842-4864 Prescott Valley (928) 277-0076 Chino Valley (928) 589-1776 Prescott (928) 443-1200 |
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Who is Not an Ideal Dental Implant Candidate? |
Posted on 1/25/2021 by Candice |
| Dental implants have become the most popular option for replacing teeth that have been lost due to decay, gum disease, injury, or aging. An implant is a titanium rod that is surgically placed in the jaw and fuses with the jawbone over time, creating a strong foundation for a crown, dental bridge, or dentures. Dental implants are a permanent way to restore the look of your smile as well as your full ability to eat, speak, and care for your teeth properly. However, dental implants are not the best option for everyone. Here are some categories of patients for whom implants may not be suitable. People with Gum Disease Patients need to have healthy gums in order to get dental implants. When gum disease progresses, it causes your gums to pull away from your teeth. This gum recession not only allows bacteria and plaque to build up in these spaces and contribute to infection, but it also weakens your bones and causes your teeth to loosen. Therefore, someone with gum disease would have a high chance of implant failure. We always screen patients for active gum disease before recommending dental implants. You can also still develop gum disease after getting dental implants. For this reason, people with an increased risk of developing gum disease—including smokers and people with diabetes, heart disease, and rheumatoid arthritis—are not ideal candidates for dental implants. People with Significant Jawbone Loss In addition to having healthy gums, you also need to have sufficient jawbone mass to support dental implants. Jawbone deterioration can be the result of a misaligned bite, gum disease, not having natural teeth in your jaw, grinding your teeth, osteoporosis, or just natural aging. Dentures may be a better option for older patients with poor bone density, whereas younger patients with healthy bones and gums are usually great candidates for dental implants. Bone graft surgery is also an option for patients with bone loss who still want to have implants placed. If you are interested in dental implants but are unsure if you are a good candidate, our office can help. Call us today.... Read more... |
What We Do if We Suspect Oral Cancer |
Posted on 1/11/2021 by Candice |
| Oral cancer is common, especially in individuals who smoke or use tobacco. However, you do not need to worry since if detected early, the disease is manageable. If our team suspects oral cancer during your regular exams, they will conduct a physical exam and biopsy, after which they will recommend the appropriate treatment. Physical Exam After suspecting oral cancer, our team will do a physical examination on your mouth, cheek, neck, and throat areas to check for abnormalities. These abnormalities include irritation areas, lumps on your neck and cheeks, and sores on the soft tissues of your mouth. They will also look out for chronic hoarseness, difficulty in swallowing, chewing, and jaw movement. If they find open sores and lumps, they will give you a one to two-weeks break and prescribe medication to allow the sores to heal on their own. After the two weeks, our team will reexamine your mouth to check whether the questionable sores are healing and whether the lumps are still present. If they still find the suspicious sores and lumps present, they will recommend a biopsy. Biopsy Biopsy comprises the removal of the suspected cancer tissues to be checked for cancer cells in the laboratory. If our team suspects oral cancer during reexamination, they will take samples from your mouth tissues and examine them under a microscope for cancer and precancerous cells, which pose a risk for cancer in the future. They will then pass on the results to a pathologist who will tell whether it is cancer. If they confirm cancer, they will do further tests to confirm the cancer stage before commencing any treatment. Our team will then link you to cancer professionals to ensure you commence treatment as soon as possible. For more information on oral cancer diagnosis and treatment, contact our office today.... Read more... |
Why Some Teeth Require a Surgical Extraction |
Posted on 12/21/2020 by Candice |
| A tooth extraction should be your last resort after exhausting all other options to save your teeth. This recourse comes in when dealing with a tooth that is damaged beyond repair. The damage may involve a tooth that is broken, fragile, cracked, or impacted. Sometimes you may have to extract your teeth due to overcrowding, trauma, diseases, or when they don't respond to crowning or root canal treatment. This is where surgical tooth extraction comes in to make the work easier and save other teeth. Reasons Why Your Teeth Require Surgical Extraction You can opt for a surgical tooth extraction if a significant part of your teeth is broken or missing. The remaining pieces may be extremely difficult to remove using other tooth extraction methods. A surgical extraction will be required to get rid of all other pieces that might cause damage to your mouth. Any fragile or cracked teeth can also be removed surgically to save them from getting fractured during the normal extraction. Also, you can choose surgical extraction when dealing with teeth that have long, curved or large roots. These types of teeth pose many challenges due to their curved crooked or hooked roots. The use of excessive force to pull them out may cause bone damage or tooth breakage. The same case applies to teeth with thin and fragile roots. Such roots are likely to break when using non-surgical methods to extract the affected teeth. So you will have to go for a surgical extraction method just in case you are dealing with teeth that have fragile roots. Finally, you can turn to a surgical extraction option to safely take out impacted teeth. The three forms of impacted teeth are usually soft tissue impaction, partial-bony impaction, and full-bony impaction. If you want additional advice on surgical tooth extraction methods, call us or visit our office.... Read more... |
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