The Perfect Smile

Most everyone I know dislikes something about themselves, with me it’s my smile. So I’m working on making my smile my best feature. My teeth are really bad, so bad that I have to be in braces for two years and then I need surgery to fix some of the problem. After my surgery this summer I will still need quite a bit of work done. My first step will be to get crowns done on my front two teeth. I’m going to have my Dentist use a product called Zirconia. It is one of the strongest products on the market to make teeth from. Zirconia is an All Ceramic material, which is important if you are allergic to metal. I’m not allergic, but Zirconia is a beautiful product and I figure that if I’m going to have the perfect smile I want the best material out there.

After I take care of my front teeth I will need some work done on my back teeth, because no matter how much I brush I still get the occasional cavity (it’s probably my huge sweet tooth’s fault). I will need a couple crowns on the back teeth and I’m going to choose Zirconia for them also, because it is one of the strongest materials, and that is important on back teeth. It is stronger then most metal/porcelain crowns, which I think is a big selling point.

So wish me luck on my journey towards the perfect smile, and to everyone who thinks that they can not get a better looking smile, you should check out the Zirconia crowns.

Tanya

Bone Loss

If you are looking into Implants but have been told that you don’t have the bone necessary to support a normal Crown and Bridge restoration on top of the Implants, here is a cool alternative. I make teeth for a living, and I specialize in the difficult Implant cases that no one wants to do. I did a case where the patient was missing her four front teeth, but she didn’t have enough bone left to support a fixed Crown and Bridge after getting Implants placed and was placed lingually. So the Doctor and I decided to try something different.

After the Implants were placed and the patient had healed, we made a screw-retained stayplate. Which means that we made a denture for just those four teeth out of acrylic and we put screw’s in it to attach it to the Implants. We used Tru Bite Bioform teeth to match the patient’s natural teeth and customized the tissue to match the patient’s natural gums as close as possible. The result was astonishing, it looked like that patient wasn’t missing any teeth and she had been born with a perfect smile. The patient was thrilled when she received the final product.

Are impressions leaving a bad taste in your patients’ mouth?

With technology on the rise in dentistry today, the big buzz seems to be around Digital Impression Technology. There are a few major companies that are developing the hardware and software to make this dream a reality. One such company already has the inter-oral scanning capability and by the end of 2008, will have the model making capability ready for production. That company is Cerec by Sirona. They have recently introduced a platform for doctors to transfer digital impressions to the lab of their choice for single unit full crown, inlay, and onlay products. This is available now and it is called Cerec Connect. Any doctor or lab can sign up for the platform by going to www.cerec-connect.com and best of all, it is completely free! Imagine not needing to take an impression on these types of cases tomorrow. As I told you before model making capabilities will be available by the end of 2008 and Cerec Connect will serve as the platform for that as well.

Do the Current Economy, Gold Market, and Even Gas Prices Have a Hold on Your Dental Practice?

It seems as though nothing is financially stable in the U.S. economy today. As if the Real Estate Market and the cost of Gasoline weren’t enough, Precious Metals are higher than ever. This is a great thing if you invested in gold while it was low and are able to cash in now that it is extremely high, however most dental professionals are not that lucky.

All of the factors that contribute to our economy crisis are driving patients further away from any elective and even some maintenance dental work. This is resulting in slow business in the dental industry. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the rising cost of precious metals are driving the cost of crown and bridge restorations higher than ever, minimizing the profit margin of the dental professionals both Laboratory Technician and Dentist alike. There are some very good alternatives in metal free restorations. Zirconia, All Ceramic, and Composites are the basic three alternatives. They are all very nice restorations but are higher priced than PFM restorations, and most require special cementation.

A more recent addition to the Metal-Free lineup is IPS e.max from Ivoclar Vivadent. This revolutionary material is nearly four times stronger than any other all porcelain crown yet is fifty percent kinder to the natural dentition. It is so strong that it can even be conventionally cemented. It can be used for single unit posterior full crown, inlay / onlay, and up to three unit bridge in the anterior region. It is a remarkable material with the beauty of all ceramic and strength greater than the veneering porcelain on a PFM or Zirconia. As if this weren’t good news enough, the cost of producing this restoration is lower than any other metal free restoration resulting in most labs charging similar prices to that of a PFM on base metal (Non-Precious).