5.500.000 εμφυτεύματα σε ένα χρόνο στις ΗΠΑ
από τη JANE LIAW
http://worldental.org
Τα τελευταία 20 χρόνια, οι επεμβάσεις οδοντικών εμφυτεύσεων έχουν βελτιωθεί κατά πολύ και έχει αυξηθεί και ο αριθμός των ασθενών που τα επιλέγουν. Σύμφωνα με την American Dental Association, έχουν χρησιμοποιηθεί πάνω από 5.500.000 εμφυτεύματα στις ΗΠΑ, μέχρι το τέλος του 2006, σε ένα χρόνο, όπως μαρτυρούν τα στατιστικά στοιχεία.
Dental implants are permanent titanium tooth roots used to support false teeth. On top of the roots, a dentist will place a post and, over that, a crown. If several teeth are being replaced, a bridge can be used instead of crowns.
The results usually look indistinguishable from the patient’s real teeth.
Dental implants require teamwork between an oral surgeon or periodontist — an expert on the supporting structures of teeth — and a restorative dentist, who makes the post and the false teeth. Sacramento, Calif. restorative dentist Dr. Jeffrey Vernon and periodontist Dr. Gordon Douglass worked together to make Hancock’s implants.
Adults young and old can consider dental implants, but experts do not recommend them for growing children whose bones are still changing. When a young person whose bones might have stopped growing comes into his office, Vernon takes X-rays of her mouth and asks her to come back in six months. On the second visit, Vernon takes another set of X-rays and compares the two for changes. Only if the two sets of X-rays are identical does he proceed.
People who have lost only one tooth and have a low level of dental disease are especially good candidates, since an implant does not disturb adjacent teeth, while other options, such as bridges, require adjoining teeth to be cut down.
As with any surgery, there are risks of infection and some discomfort. Hancock attests that “when they actually put the screw into the bone, there’s a tapping and pounding” that she found disturbing, but afterward “it was not horribly painful.”
After the titanium roots are implanted, the bone and gums must heal for several months before dentists can attach permanent false teeth. Meanwhile, the patient wears temporary crowns.
The modern dental implant was developed in the 1950s by Dr. Per-Ingvar Branemark of Sweden, who discovered that titanium bonds irreversibly with living bone tissue. He used this knowledge to develop titanium tooth roots that integrate with bones in the mouth.
Dental implants used decades ago were designed to hold dentures in place, not to anchor aesthetic implant attachments, Douglass said.
Then, techniques were also primitive. Dentists were limited by whether the patient had enough bone in the affected site. Now the site can be improved with grafts that build up enough bone to anchor the implant.
Most people don’t have dental insurance that covers dental implants, which cost thousands of dollars.
Since implants have become the standard of care for dentists, when patients are not able to afford them, Douglass and Vernon said dentists may be able to work with patients to set up a payment plan for the patient – perhaps doing part of the work in the current year and part of the work the next year.
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