Lake Forest Implant Dentist
At Lake Forest Dental Arts, dental implants are our preferred method for replacing missing teeth, as they offer several advantages over traditional removable dentures. Chicago dentist Dr. James Fondriest is one of the Midwest’s leading implant dentists. He has been placing dental implants since the mid 1980s, shortly after they were introduced in this country. He is a member of the American Academy of Osseointegration, the leading society for implant dentists. And he is a senior faculty member of the L.D. Pankey Institute in Florida where he teaches implant prosthodontics and other courses to other dentists.
Unlike removable dentures or dental bridgework, dental implants will look and function just like natural teeth. Patients can brush and floss them. And, they help preserve a patient’s jawbone that would otherwise be gradually lost if the missing teeth are not surgically replaced.
Patient with a single missing tooth replaced with a dental implant.
What are Dental Implants?
A dental implant consists of a titanium root form that is surgically implanted into the jawbone that serves as the replacement for a natural tooth root. Once the root form is placed, the boney tissue of the jaw integrates with the root form as it heals, forming a strong bond that is comparable to that provided by a healthy tooth root. Once this process is complete, a custom-designed porcelain crown is placed over the portion of the root form that extends out of the gumline. This crown is virtually indistinguishable from a natural tooth.
Getting Dental Implants
Proper placement of dental implants involves a high degree of skill as well as close collaboration with other dental specialists to ensure optimal physical outcome as well as a flawless appearance.
Dr. Fondriest works collaboratively with a local oral surgeon to ensure that the patient’s jaw is appropriately prepared and the titanium root forms are placed in precisely the right location. He is often able to successfully place implants in patients who are not considered good implant candidates by other dentists.
For example, when there has been a delay between tooth loss and treatment or unsuccessful prior treatments, there may be insufficient gum or bone density to support root form placement. In these cases, grafts of bone or gum tissue may be able to be performed ahead of time to allow the implant to be safely placed.
Can you tell which four upper teeth are dental implants? Neither could we, if we didn't already know.
It is essential that this phase of treatment not be rushed. Gum or bone grafts may take several weeks to heal before the surgery to place the root form can take place. Consumers should be particularly wary of dentist-surgeon teams who claim to be able to perform complicated implant procedures in a short period of time. These implants may work well at first, but fail later, leading to significant medical problems and the need for more complicated surgery to correct the problem.
When properly placed, the success rates for dental implants average around 96 percent for upper jaw and 98 percent for lower jaw restorations.
Dental Implant Advantages
Dr. Fondriest works carefully with a master ceramist to create the porcelain crown that will serve as the artificial “tooth” to cover the external part of the root form. These are not “one-size-fits-all” replacement teeth. They will look, feel, and function like natural teeth.
For patients who are missing all of their teeth, the advantages of implants versus removable dentures are substantial. Removable dentures rest on top of the gums. Since the gum is soft tissue and can move around a little, it is impossible to make dentures that don’t move during function. Upper dentures rely on suction to stay in place. Lowers simply rest on the tissue and rely on the tongue and cheeks to hold them in place. They can slip or become loose, or develop sore spots. The majority of denture wearers report significant loss of biting and chewing function over time, as well as difficulty maintaining a good fit.
When a tooth is lost, and the root is no longer anchored in the jaw, the body senses that this part of the jawbone is not needed any more and begins taking the minerals from this bone to use elsewhere in the body. Thus the jaw will gradually shrink until there is nearly nothing left. The impact is most severe in patients who have lost many teeth. Over time, the bone loss is so significant that they are no longer able to wear dentures at all and they experience a condition known as facial collapse. The lower jaw becomes pencil-thin, and the lower face develops a caved-in appearance.
However, even patients with only a few missing teeth can benefit from dental implants. Unlike bridgework, dental implants do not require any alterations to the teeth adjacent to the missing tooth. To place a dental bridge, both adjacent teeth must have crowns applied, with the artificial tooth or teeth suspended between the two. If a problem occurs later, with either the dental bridge or the dental crowns, the entire bridge and crown treatment must be replaced. With a dental implant, only the missing teeth are replaced and each one can be treated individually.
You can see several example of our work with dental implants in our Smile Gallery.
