FLUORIDE DENTAL IMPLANTS
For 25-year old Jon Delutio, it’s important to be able to flash those pearly whites this fall. “I am getting married in October. I wanted it to look better than what I have now,” explains Jon.
The dental implant he has is what’s known as a “flipper”, a temporary tooth in place of one that he lost in a fight. He’s decided to replace it with a new enhanced dental implant. “I am a good candidate because I’m very young and have a good bone structure” states Delutio.
The recently FDA approved dental implant includes fluoride as well as the traditional titanium fixture. Oral surgeon Dr. Steven Schwartz says “There’s probably a 30% to 50% increase of the rate of healing and the bonding of the dental implant and the bone together.”
A shorter healing time means the whole process of restoration will be shorter. Doctors have to typically wait three to six months before the titanium fixture becomes a part of the bone and a replacement tooth can be added on. Oral surgeon Dr. Steven Schwartz says a short healing time is only one advantage of the new dental implants. His patients are healing stronger.
Dr. Steven Schwartz explains “The body thinks dental implants are like teeth, so if you put an implant in, the body thinks it’s a new tooth. So it will maintain the bone levels. So it not only maintains the new teeth – it maintains the bone.”
That makes almost everyone, including those with weaker bones, candidates for the fluoride dental implant. “I sleep better at night because I feel more confident in the predictability of dental implants like this, particularly in those patients that don’t have good bones” says Schwartz.
And dentures are not out of the question. They require two titanium fixtures and snaps that the denture attaches to. “I have had patients come back to me and say that they’re finally able to eat salads after 25 years,” states Schwartz.
That savory bite of salad comes at a price though. Each dental implant starts at around fifteen hundred dollars. It’s important to remember that these dental implants also take time to heal, so they are still a longer-term option for patients needing new teeth, but these fluoride-enhanced ones dental implants seem to reduce the healing time a bit.