Mini Dental Implants
Mini dental implants are
ultra-small diameter (l.8-2 millimeter width), biocompatible titanium alloy
implant screws, conceived and designed over 20 years ago. The mini
implants originally created the unique design of this unique dental product as
a transitional device to help support fixed bridge replacements for lost
teeth. Then after time, we saw that mini implants could function free standing
by themselves or in combination with natural tooth supports and/or larger
conventional type dental implants. This was a revolutionary concept in dental
science.
Yes. After providing
satisfactory technical and clinical evidence to that agency that the product
was safe for public use and in fact had beneficial attributes, the FDA granted
its formal consent to market the Mini Dental Implant device not only as a
transitional or temporary dental product, but significantly, as an on-going
item.
When critically needed for
support purposes, and where solid bony adaptation (integration) has clearly
occurred, mini implants can function as long-term supporting structures rather
than as short-term or medium term devices. In fact, some have been
successfully functioning in patients’ jaws for several decades.
The most effective use of this
unique dental product is stabilization of a lower denture. There are
approximately 50,000,000 people in the United States who are “edentulous”
(literally meaning lacking teeth) who struggle daily with prosthetic devices.
A majority suffer a great deal of discomfort as a result of loose or
ill-fitting dentures. Many denture wearers simply withdraw from any type of
social engagement as a result of being compelled to wear them. Moreover, it's
not uncommon for family members to complain about a denture wearer’s
disagreeable breath as a result of food being trapped and decaying under their
denture prosthesis. Successful placement of the Mini Dental Implant addresses
and solves all of these social and practical problems.
The standard insertion protocol
for mini dental implants calls for four of them to be gently screwed into the
front of a patient’s lower jaw. This is a relatively painless procedure that
can be performed by a general dentist, requiring only a mild anesthesia. The
mini dental implants, which are approximately the size of wooden toothpicks,
are placed about five millimeters apart in the patient’s mandible. The
patient’s denture is then carefully adjusted by the dentist to allow it to
snap onto the four mini implants. The result? A tight fitting, completely
reliable system that allows a patient to speak and eat with confidence. The
Mini Dental Implants are placed in about an hour’s time. Because of the
unique, minimally invasive procedure, the minute size of the implants, and the
characteristic placement area, the typical Mini Dental Implant patient can
enjoy a light meal an hour after having the mini implants placed.
It must be recognized that all
implant systems as well as natural teeth are subject to potential failure due
to natural causes, including osteoporosis, poor oral hygiene, wear and tear
attrition, poor health, heavy, stressful biting habits, and lack of follow-up
dental maintenance care. Mini implants similarly do not carry any actual or
implied guarantee as to longevity. However, the loss of a Mini Dental
Implant is a far less critical event to the patient since it may be replaced
at relatively minimal cost compared to conventional implants, and with minimal
associated bone or gum deterioration.
As a revolutionary departure
from routine dental implant methods, Mini Dental Implants are so narrow they
are typically inserted directly through the overlying gum tissue and into the
bone underneath. Consequently the need to surgically cut and “flap” open the
gum tissue, routinely required for standard implant systems, may be avoided in
most Mini Dental Implant applications. As a result, post-insertion patient
irritation and soreness is significantly reduced. While all dental implants
require care during insertion to avoid encroaching on vulnerable nerve, sinus
or bony structures, the ultra small width of the mini implants offers a much
more comfortable margin of safety.
A single, minimally invasive
surgery is needed for insertion of the Mini Dental Implants. The implants are
then put into immediate biting or “loading” function thanks to their
“self-tapping” design, thereby anchoring a fixed bridge system. As a result,
it is often possible to provide the complete mini implant service in a single
office visit. Mini dental implants clearly represent an enormous breakthrough
for the dental implant specialty as the most patient-friendly, cost-effective,
proven dental implant system available today.
Mini Dental Implants are
surprisingly affordable, at a fraction of the cost of traditional implants. By
choosing the Mini Dental Implant, you’ve chosen an enhanced way of life free
of a lot of the discomforts and heartaches of a loose or ill-fitting denture.
That’s worth a lot.
