Ask the Dentist Your Own Question!
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Dear Dr. Winter,
Dear Dr. Winter, I am missing many teeth and want a permanent solution to my problem, but my dentist says I don’t have enough bone for dental implants. What can I do as I am in my 50’s and don’t want to wear partials or dentures for the rest of my life!
Dear A,
Dear A., one of the biggest problems we face in implant dentistry today is the lack of education for patients that have advanced periodontal disease or loss of teeth. If we can graft areas right after teeth are removed, we often can help patients have the bone they need for implants.
When many years have passed, and the bone erodes and shrinks we must either augment or regrow the missing bone or use short implants.
I had an article published this month in November’s Dentistry Today entitled: “Managing Mandibular Atrophy (severe bone loss) with Short Implants!” Please go to https://hamptondentalassociates.com under publications to read this great option for patients with deficient bone.
Sometimes sinus lifts and advanced bone grafting can be avoided along with this added cost and surgical risk by using shorter implants as the technology has moved forward greatly in this area.
When short implants are not an option the options that remain are grafting by taking blocks of bone from elsewhere in your mouth or body and placing it in the mouth to regrow some of the bone that has been lost. Or tent screw grafting to also try and regrow bone volume. Sinus lifts are a way to add bone in the back of the upper jaw. This surgery involves making a small window and lifting the sinus membrane to add bone that will grow over 7-9 months and allow for implant placement in most instances. Any way we discuss bone grafting the one truth is that growing height of bone is unpredictable and cannot be guaranteed.
Some doctors perform procedures that place long implants through the sinuses into the cheek bone or zygoma to bypass this sinus lift procedure but again there are different risks for each of these options that your dentist should be able to explain to you for informed consent.
When the bone has really deteriorated one of the last options, we have is called a sub-periosteal implant. These are frames that are made with a CBCT or CAT scan to sit on top of the bone and provide studs to support a denture or bridge. Again, these options and their success depend greatly upon the skill and knowledge of the doctors performing these procedures.
We offer 24 month interest free financing through Care Credit and provide financing through I- Care to insure this is affordable!
Please call 414-464-9021 to schedule your comprehensive examination today. I hope this helps! We would love to have you join our dental family.
Dear Dr. Winter,
Dear Dr.’s Winter, what sets you apart from other dentists and why should I come to your practice?
Dear Lisa,
That’s a great question and if you spend some time on our new website I think we have really differentiated ourselves from other practices.
New Technology: We utilize the latest in digital x-rays “Dexis” to allow us to see cleaner sharper images for diagnoses. We also have a digital intra- oral camera called DexCam to blow images up on our flat panel monitors to show you exactly what we see when we discuss cavities, cracks, gum diseases, etc.
We have a new technology called Cari-Vu which uses lights to see through your tooth and capture images to give us another way to view cracks, cavities and mal-formations in your teeth!
We have a laser called lightscalpel which is the most studied CO2 laser on the market today!
Dr. Richard Winter published an article this month in the highly acclaimed Dentistry Today which highlights how this Laser is used in his advanced reconstructive dental practice to provide more comfort and better results to his patients!
Things this laser allows us to do are excision of lesions, bumps and lumps for biopsy. We can provide minimally invasive crown-lengthening to allow us to save teeth that many other dentists would simply extract. This laser allows us to treat people for being tongue tied or people that have frena (flaps of skin that can make denture or partial denture wear very uncomfortable) by simply removing these with a procedure called frenectemy.
If you go to https://hamptondentalassociates.com you can read this latest article under publications as well as all of the other articles published by Dr. Winter.
Dr. Richard Winter is one of only 535 doctors in the United States to achieve the DABOI or Diplomate in the American Board of Oral Implantology as well as holding a Diplomate in the International Congress of Oral Implantologists and Associate Fellow in the American Academy of Implant Dentistry so you know we keep up on the latest information and materials to better serve our dental family.
We utilize Piezo-electric devices for sinus augmentation and many other tools to insure our patients have the best instrumentation to perform their implant treatment.
But probably the best reason to come to us at Hampton Dental is that we care!
We have been serving Milwaukee through my Grandfather –Dr Morris Paschen, my father; Dr. Charles Winter and now Bruce and Richard Winter for 94 years! Dr. Bruce’s son is a dentist and Dr. Richard’s daughter is starting her third year of dental school in September so we have been here and will continue to be here for many years to come. We are not a dental factory where you don’t know who you will see each time you come to our family dental practice.
I hope this helps! We would love to have you join our dental family.
We offer 24 month interest free financing through Care Credit and provide financing through I-Care to ensure this is affordable! Please call 414-464-9021 to schedule your comprehensive examination today.
Dr. Richard Winter MAGD, DICOI, DABOI/ID FAAID
Master Academy of General Dentistry
Diplomate International Congress of Oral Implantologists
Diplomate American Board of Oral Implantologists
Fellow American Academy of Implant Dentistry
Dr. Bruce Winter Board MATC
Associate Professor Marquette Dental School