This week’s case study involved a terrible incident in which Mark, an innocent young man, was assaulted on a night out.
One punch knocked him to the ground where his teeth were severely traumatised, knocking one clean out.
Sadly, the other could not be saved and we took an impression to fabricate a temporary denture.
One of the problems with severe trauma of this nature is the almost immediate loss of bone in the ‘aesthetic zone.’
We tread a fine line between being patient for healing and witnessing the loss of bone beyond the levels adequate for dental implants.
Needless to say, Mark didn’t like the denture and the conversation moved quickly towards a fixed implant bridge.
Dental Implant with Two Teeth on a Dental Bridge
Two months after the extraction visit, we placed a 3.5mm diameter Biohorizons Laserlok dental implant.
There was minimal residual bone on the outside and bovine bone graft materials were used to ensure coverage and integration of the fixture.
This implant was just of sufficient width for us to restore two teeth on a single fixture.
The result is called a cantilever bridge and is made from zirconium porcelain.
Zirconium is used in aeronautical engineering as well as finishing the edges of kitchen knives due to its strength in thin sections.
The more astute reader will notice that Mark had some tooth whitening of his natural enamel to maximise the cosmetic effect.
Mark (and his mother!) are very happy with the result.
Treatment costs were £3368 including X-rays, extraction, denture, tooth whitening, dental implant and porcelain bridge.