Daniel's Implant

"Man, I'm so glad to get this implant crown in today. I've really been missing that tooth!"

This is what my patient Daniel said to me today as we were beginning to put in his final implant crown (the one in the middle). I could tell that he really meant what he said. As an implant dentist in Nashville, I do hundreds of dental implant procedures every year, but I never really think about how valuable a single tooth, especially a missing lower first molar, really is. Or more importantly, I never really considered how much it sucks to have a missing tooth. Why? Because I have never had to have a tooth extracted, much less actually live with a big fat hole right where I want to chew my BBQ sandwich from Edley's or enjoy the Prince William Blue Cheese Stuffed Filet from Sperry's (these are 2 of my favorite restaurants here in Nashville). If someone is missing a lower first molar, their ability to masticate is reduced dramatically, like 50%. That sucks. Not only does it take away the enjoyment of eating, it actually changes the way people have to operate. It's more than just an inconvenience, it's a real functional issue that affects many people on a much deeper level.

In Daniel's case, he lost the tooth after attempting to save it with a root canal and crown. He did everything right, just like he should have, and it still failed to the point that we had to extract it graft the socket with an EvoBone bone plug. Unfortunately, even the most advance dental treatments and technologies cannot guarantee success forever. Studies show that root canals have a success rate of about 86%, which means that there is still a significant chance for failure. Especially for molars. And in Daniel's case, that is exactly what happened. Luckily we were able to replace the tooth with an Implant One from Implant Logistics. Losing a tooth not only affects our ability to enjoy food and eat comfortably, it also has psychological and social impacts. Many people feel self-conscious about their missing tooth, leading to low self-esteem and avoiding certain social situations. It can also affect speech and cause bone loss in the jaw over time, changing the appearance of one's face. The big bad "lose all your teeth" cascade usually begins when people start losing the molars. Keep that in mind.

Because Better is Always Better

Thanks, Dr. Mark

#ImplantEvolution #EvoBone #Innovation.