Zygomatic Implants: A New Hope for Some Patients Seeking Dental Implants
Conventional individual dental implants are the gold standard when it comes to replacing missing or damaged teeth. However, for many patients, traditional dental implants simply aren’t possible for many reasons including existing health concerns, an unwillingness or inability to cope with lengthy recovery periods or a lack of adequate existing jaw bone. The latter is a particularly pernicious and widespread problem for older patients or for those who waited to seek treatment for edentulism.
"Zygomatic implants bypass the upper jaws entirely and attach to the cheek bones, or zygomatic bones, saving both time and money."
--- NAVID SENEHI, DDS. MD.
Resorption, Deterioration, and Atrophy --- Oh My!
One of the biggest barriers to conventional individual dental implant therapy is a simple lack of adequate existing jaw bone to accommodate the dental implant. Traditional dental implants consist of a titanium post that is embedded into a patient’s jaw bone at a depth of between 5 to 18mm. However, as a result of a process known as resorption, or bone atrophy, many patients suffering from tooth loss or missing teeth don’t possess the necessary jaw bone thickness to ensure a successful traditional dental implant procedure.
Typically, healthy teeth transfer the forces of mastication (chewing) from the teeth and gums into the jaws via their roots. This stimulates the jaw bones letting your body know that it needs to maintain jaw strength to accommodate chewing, biting, and eating. When a tooth is missing, the stimulating forces are no longer transferred to the bone beneath the missing tooth. As a result, the bone begins to deteriorate and atrophy until there is only a minimal amount of bone remaining. This process is called resorption.
Resorption can have devastating effects on dental patients. Strong cheek and jaw bones help fill out a person’s face lending an appearance of youth. Without adequate bone volume, patient’s facial features develop a markedly shrunken and aged look. Worse, because resorption makes traditional dental implant procedures impossible, there is only one painful and expensive course of action - bone grafts.
Bone grafts can be somewhat painful and pricey. Bone grafting involves taking healthy bone from one part of your body or from a variety of sources and bonding it to the area lacking bone thickness. This process can add additional time (in many cases 6+ months) to the conventional dental implant procedure waiting for the bone graft to transform and create additional healthy bone to support a conventional dental implant.
Recent technological advances in implant dentistry, allow patients a nearly painless dental implant solution with a drastically reduced recovery period. These new advances also do not require upper jaw bone grafts; the alternative solution is zygomatic implants.
Zygomatic Implants Is A New Solution
Traditionally, bone grafts were the procedure of choice for creating an adequate substructure for conventional dental implants. Particularly in the upper jaw, the process of grafting bone beneath the floor of the sinus proved to be challenging, costly, and time-consuming. The conventional process required not only a bone graft but often a sinus lift as well before the placement of actual dental implants and dental prostheses.
However, with new zygomatic implants, doctors and patients bypass the first two prerequisite procedures, saving both time and money. Zygomatic implants bypass the upper jaws entirely and attach to the cheek bones, or zygomatic bones. This revolutionary approach to dental implants has three key advantages over conventional dental implants.
3 Main advantages of Zygomatic Implants
- Zygomatic Implants Save Time
Zygomatic implants in the upper jaw bypass the need for a bone grafting procedure and sinus lifts. This can save six months or more in lost recovery time than conventional dental implant patients must allow for the bone graft to set and heal adequately. That means that individuals who would have had to receive preliminary preparatory surgeries can now immediately have dental implants put in place. Better yet, zygomatic implants also allow for immediate attachment of a dental prosthesis (the teeth) upon completion of the zygomatic implant surgery procedure. Some patients, depending on the extent of the dental treatment necessary, can receive a brand new set of teeth within a single day. - Zygomatic Implants don’t Require Healthy Jaw Bone Thickness
Zygomatic implants are an excellent alternative for patients who lack the adequate bone thickness necessary for a conventional implant operation. Zygomatics allow dental patients the option to skip costly and time-consuming bone grafts which drastically reduces the overall recovery timeline. - Zygomatic Implants Save Money
Time is money. Zygomatic implants drastically reduce the time necessary to execute a successful and aesthetic dental implant procedure by skipping bone grafts and sinus lifts. As a result, patients save money and can resume their daily lives almost immediately. What are the opportunity costs lost associated with waiting for six, eight, or sometimes even 10 or more months for bone grafts to properly heal?
The Best Doctors Do The Best Dental Implants
A successful and aesthetic dental implant procedure requires a deft and experienced hand as well as a well-trained eye for dental proportions and placement. The best doctors do the best dental implants. Choosing the right doctor to execute your implant procedure is critical. This is also true in the case of the Zygomatic Implant procedures which requires even more skill and precise care to complete successfully. The delicate nature of the operation means that the most qualified practitioners such as Dr. Navid Senehi of the Facial & Oral Surgery Institute (FOSI) are the best choice to achieve the right result.
Zygomatic implants represent an excellent alternative and a new hope for patients desiring a fixed set of teeth where it was not possible before. The placement of zygomatic implants is performed by Dr. Navid Senehi of Facial & Oral Surgery Institute under various anesthesia options. There is minimal downtime associated with this procedure, and it involves little to minimal pain. Patients of FOSI are amazed at the results. They often report being able to eat and function soon after surgery. In most cases, patients receive a full set of teeth the same day.
For the leader in cosmetic dentistry, look no further than Dr. Navid Senehi of Facial & Oral Surgery Institute in Woodland Hills, CA.
Dr. Senehi is a dual degree Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeon. As a physician (M.D.) Dr. Senehi will perform a comprehensive analysis of all medical conditions and current medications. After the physical examination, he will discuss all of the dental implant options available to perform the procedure safely and with the highest probability of success. Additional coordination with your primary care physician could be necessary before the completion of a dental implant procedure.
Call us at 818-805-0557 or click the Request Appointment button below. We look forward to serving you.
