Completing a Smile

For someone who has had a broken smile for a number of years, today has been a long time in coming. We met Tony in the beginning of 2007 and began soon after to restore his smile. A titanium implant and bone graft were placed where tooth #7 used to be.



If a tooth is missing, the gums and bone it was attached to are no longer stimulated by the blood supply and activity of that tooth. Therefore, with the tooth gone, the surrounding bone and gums may resorb or melt away. Furthermore, the opposing tooth (on the opposite jaw) no longer has something to bite against, and may grow towards the space created by the missing tooth. Implants not only stabilize the restoration that sits on top of it, but also stimulate bone growth around the implant.

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The implant was placed during a surgical procedure, directly in the jawbone and under the gums. The surgical site with the implant was then left (under the gums) to allow the bone to grow around the implant and "osseo-integrate". Six months after the first surgery, the implant was uncovered from under the gums. An "abutment" or implant post was then connected to it, and the gums were given time to heal around this abutment. About a month later, a final tooth restoration is custom-made to fit onto the abutment. Today was that day. After waiting patiently, Tony was able to come in today and have his custom-made crown permanently fitted and left with his mouth restored.



Today the Boulder cosmetic dentistry team completed a smile.