Computer program allows better dental implants

(National-NBC) October 19, 2006 - A new computer program is helping patients who need dental implants. The program allows implants to go in faster and stay strong.

Years of decay, gum disease and other dental problems finally cost Arthur German most of his upper teeth. He absolutely hates his denture, "It affects your digestion too, ultimately, because you're not chewing properly. And I've lost really probably 50 to 60 percent of my, of my taste. So, interacting socially is very difficult, especially if it starts to flop."

So now, Arthur is going to go from despised dentures to solid, implanted teeth in the span of just one hour, although the process actually started a few weeks ago with a special CAT scan of his skull.

That provides the basis for an amazing planning process. Oral surgeon Jay Neugarten and prosthetic dentists Barry Rozenberg and Craig Sirota can now precisely plan exactly where Arthur's dental implants will go.

Dr. Rozenberg says, "We're doing the surgery in the computer, we're doing all the surgery in the computer. We're doing all our homework, and then that's being brought to the operating room, and in an hour we're ending up with a full mouth of implants and a prosthesis."

Once the doctors have chosen exactly which implants to insert and where, so that vital structures are avoided and the new teeth will fit just right, the plan is sent to the Nobel Lab in Sweden.

In a few weeks a precise surgical guide comes back that allows Doctor Neugarten to exactly replicate the plan they devised in the computer.

Eight titanium sockets and posts are drilled and screwed into Arthur's upper jaw, followed by attachment of a full upper set of teeth. Dr. Neugarten explains the process "shortens the overall recovery period, minimally invasive with minimal swelling, and again, discomfort and pain."

The actual surgery took just under an hour and just minutes after it's over, German says, "They look great, they feel great."

And in just a few days, Arthur will be able to have something he's been really looking forward to, "I haven't had a bagel in six months. Something that I can bite into, you know."

Most patients who need their teeth replaced are candidates for this procedure.

Sometimes, however, a patient may need to have bone grafted into their jaw so that implants have something solid to be attached to.