Mark wanted a longterm alternative to removable dentures. He recently had two teeth extracted by his regular dentist and had been provided with an NHS denture. However he disliked it and was struggling to eat with it.
He had a history of gingivitis – gum disease – which had caused gum shrinkage and bone loss in some areas. This loss of structure would make it difficult to place regular full-size dental implants. The answer was going to be mini implants which can be placed in areas where patients have less bone to provide a proper foundation..
The other big challenge for Dr Brendan Murphy, his cosmetic dentist, was to match the size of the existing teeth – a problem created by Mark’s uneven gum line which you can see here.
Mini Dental Implants
In the end Dr Murphy used two mini implants and once they had settled in, he added two implant crowns. Here is a photograph of the finished work three months later.
Once again Alex Adair, our regular ceramicist at Vitality Dental Laboratory, made a great job of matching the tooth sizes, using a blend of pink and enamel porcelain.
The keen-eyed viewer will spot the small access ‘hole’ created between the two dental implant crowns to facilitate daily access for cleaning with TePe interdental brushes.
The importance of this was not lost on Mark who is committed to make an appointment to see Laura, our dental hygienist, twice a year. His own NHS dentist doesn’t offer hygienist services.
“I can’t afford to do this twice,” Mark said. “So I’m determined to maintain my other teeth and the implants as best I can going forward.”
Mark paid £2000 for his two implants and £1700 for two implant crowns including pink porcelain and the attentions of our ceramist at the dental laboratory.