Another case completed with full arch implant treatment

In this week’s blog we look at a treatment that was completed earlier in the week.

This patient attended our clinic 6 months with multiple missing teeth and the remaining teeth were mobile or heavily compromised with advanced gum disease. He wore a partial denture sometimes to replace some of his missing teeth however, he still struggled to eat, speak and smile with confidence. He stated he hadn’t smiled with his teeth in years!

During his assessment we noted that the remaining upper teeth were of poor prognosis and the best outcome would be achieved by replacing all of his upper teeth. This would enable us to provide a consistent arch of teeth with structural integrity and enhanced aesthetics. Advanced implant treatment always takes approximately 6 months to complete fully, wherever you go and whoever does it, the final result will always take approximately 6 months. However, this patient, like many, was worried about spending 6 months without any of his teeth – however bad they may currently be – having these failing teeth felt better than not having them at all. The thought of wearing a complete removable denture for 6 months was somehting that he did not want to pursue therefore, he was very pleased that we could offer him the same day smiles approach. This meant that we could remove all of his teeth and replace them with fixed implant supported teeth on the same day. From that first day of treatment he did not need to wear any dentures and he walked out of the clinic with a fixed smile and improved confidence.

All in a day – then the next 6 months

These initial fixed teeth are still ‘temporary’ but they are fixed in his mouth at all times. During the 6 months the patient continued to wear his fixed smile and eat, speak and smile as close to normal as is possible. This is a much better 6 months than if he had to wear a removable denture during that time.  As the 6 months progressed, his bone and gums had fully matured and healed and our team had custom made him a set of teeth that fit into his smile perfectly. For this patient the last 6 months had been great considering he had all of his upper teeth removed. This was because, as always, we fitted him with temporary fixed teeth from day 1 so that he never spent any time without fixed teeth. For this reason, he was able to continue to eat, speak and smile with confidence throughout the whole treatment journey. However, duirng the last 6 months we had ample opportunity to design the final smile. The patient and our team discussed various smile designs and we custom made a smile that the patient felt was most suited for him.

The final long term smile

The final teeth were fitted this week – the final teeth are made out of zirconia and supported by 6 dental implants with 12 teeth attached. This gave him a full dentition with the perefect tooth to implant ratio meaning he had the optimum long term solution. They are smooth and easy to clean and, most of all, they will restore this patient’s ability to eat, speak and smile with as much confidence as one could ever hope for – even when compared with natural teeth. The gum contours around each individual tooth is carefully moulded to ensure we achieve natural gum contours for a better seal around the prostheses and also fo better aesthetics.

I am very fortunate to work alongside a team of dental professionals who pay close attention to every fine detail when providing such a high level of care to our patients. A special thanks to Stephen Green and his team for providing the laboratory support that is essential when designing and making customised replacement teeth for patients. This really is a team effort and we have had many successful outcomes for our patients due to the vast experience and skill that exists within our team.

Thank you for reading

Mohsin Patel