Dental Health Check with Dr. Linda Niessen
Dental health topics from Dr. Linda Niessen of Baylor College of Dentistry
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 Denture Implants

By Web Communications
Baylor College of Dentistry
The Texas A&M Health Science Center
Monday, April 02, 2007
STORY: DENTURE IMPLANTS
SCRIPT #718 SHOOT: 2/14/07
AIRDATE: Monday, April 2, 2007
DHC MASTER #18 Timecode: 42:45

Overall health can suffer if you lose many of your teeth. Now, an innovative implant solves a major problem for people who need dentures. News 8’s Dentist, Dr. Linda Niessen looks at the mini-implant.

Mini implants fill the gap that’s been missing for years in the treatment of lost teeth. Conventional implants require a certain amount of bone to hold the titanium post or implant. So some patients, especially older ones, could not have implants.

Now, there is an alternative: the mini-implant.

Dr. Steven Fuqua says, “Many times, the implants are placed without an incision. Healing time is rather quick. Activation is immediate. So they go home with their dentures being supported by the implants themselves.”   Dr. Fuqua, a prosthodontist, says the new implants work well with lower dentures.   Dr. Fuqua continues, “The patient has more security, more stability of the denture. They can go out and not worry about the denture being loose or coming out of their mouth.”  

For 30 years, Crystaline Wheeler has worn conventional dentures. She now has lower mini-implants.   “They couldn’t make dentures that would stay in. So they put the implants in and they hold them real good and tight.”
      
Mini implants attach only to lower dentures. Dentists place four implants but some patients do well with just two.   Faye Miller has just two implants for her lower denture.   “Without the implants, the dentures Mini-implant Patient just slide around and I didn’t like that," said Faye.

Dr. Steven Williams explains, “It’s a very nice streamlined effective way to satisfy an age old problem of lower dentures just not fitting well.”

Mini implants are so new we don’t have long term studies. But patients say the benefits of increased comfort and security outweigh any disadvantages. For Baylor College of Dentistry, Texas A&M Health Science Center, I’m Dr. Linda Niessen, Channel 8 News.

Dr. Linda Niessen, clinical professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences and  the Office of Communications and Development at Baylor College of Dentistry, hosts Dental Health Check, the only weekly dental feature shot on location in the nation.

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