Dentist San Francisco Blog : implants

Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Dental Implant Maintenance

Dental Implant Maintenance

By Mina Levi, DDS 11/13/2014

Dental implants are one of the closest tooth replacement options to having a natural tooth as you can get. The implant acts as a tooth root, anchoring in the abutment and crown. However, there are always possibilities of implant failure, even when the implant is completely healed and restored. One of the best ways to ensure the implant’s full lifetime is to successfully maintain the implant at home and at the dental office of Dentist San Francisco Mina Levi, DDS. In this article, we discuss the ways to comply with proper dental implant maintenance.

First of all, it is important to understand what can happen if the implant is not properly maintained. The first symptom/least worrisome issue is bleeding around the area of the implant, known as mucositis. This is treatable and reversible if it is caught early enough. If this progresses to bone loss, or peri-implantitis, this bone loss is not reversible. If it is not treated, it can advance to larger bone loss and the implant may need to be removed.

To maintain an implant properly, home care is a number one concern. It is pertinent that the area be brushed and flossed at least two times per day with an electric toothbrush or a manual toothbrush with soft bristles. It is also recommended that inter-dental brushes are used to get the plaque from either side of the implant. Plaque disclosing tablets are also recommended to stain the locations of plaque accumulation that was missed with brushing and flossing.

Also, regular dental hygiene visits to the office of Dentist San Francisco are very important. It is suggested that you have your teeth professionally cleaned at 3-6 month intervals. The dental hygienist will use a special tool to probe the area around the implant and check to make sure the bone is still healthy in that area and then clean the implant with extra care.

If you have any questions about dental implants or maintaining dental implants, visit San Francisco Dentist Mina Levi, DDS on the web at www.minalevidds.com or give us a call at (415) 513-5066.

Topics: San Francisco Dentist, dental implants, implants, tooth implants, metal free implants, zirconia implants, zirconia metal free implants, implant maintenance, dental implant maintenance, cleaning implants, keeping implants clean, infection around implant, implant bone loss

Complementary Cosmetic and Restorative Dentistry at Work

Complementary Restorative and Cosmetic Dentistry at Work

By Mina Levi, DDS, 09/18/2014

In order to have a beautiful, radiant smile, the first and most important thing is to ensure that the mouth is healthy. This may require some restorative dentistry such as tooth colored composite fillings, Zirconia metal free implants and/or porcelain crowns. Restorative dentistry can complement cosmetic dentistry so that the patient can have the healthy smile that they’ve always wanted. 45 year old female patient S.K. presented to Dentist San Francisco Mina Levi, DDS with a complicated cosmetic and restorative case. The patient was missing her left and right lateral incisors and had discolored and crowded teeth. The first step in the treatment plan with Dentist San Francisco was to go through Invisalign orthodontic treatment to straighten the teeth and at the same time, place Zirconia metal free implants in the spaces of the lateral incisors. This allows the teeth to be straightened and the bone to heal around the implants.

After the implants were placed and the Invisalign orthodontic treatment was finished, S.K. had Zoom whitening performed to whiten the teeth. Then, abutment supported porcelain crowns were placed over the implants to finish the smile.