Keeping Teeth, Bone, and Gum Tissue As Long As We Can

We love dental implants. They have helped millions of people improve their lives by being able to eat better and smile more comfortably. However, there is nothing as good as our own natural teeth, bone, and gum tissue. So we must do everything we can to preserve them and give our patients results that resemble the look and feel of natural teeth. While it is faster, cheaper, and easier to extract teeth, reduce bone and gum tissue, and place several implants (i.e. all-on-4, 5, or 6) and a hybrid prosthesis (as advertised by many chain implant centers), it is certainly not in the best interest of patients who become dental cripples after such treatments.

Keeping as few as two or three teeth can help patients maintain proprioception (a sense of awareness) of their jaw during chewing. And preservation of bone and soft tissue helps with improved biology and aesthetics around dental implants which are lost when replaced with fake gum tissue (acrylic or porcelain). Lets keep our treatments conservative, minimally invasive, and patient-focused.

Here is a patient who had a few remaining upper teeth while using a partial denture. We preserved the remaining teeth along with his bone and soft tissue, and simply replaced the missing teeth with several dental implants. A full-arch treatment was completed using natural teeth and implants. This ‘pink-free- treatment approach is ideal for those who have non-restorable teeth but with normal bone and gum tissue.