Our Rs ManiSir, has expressed his teeth problem and is going for extraction. After that the gap has got to be filled with dentures and that too has got to be modified from time to time. Considering that the technique of implantation comes handy which is a life time solution though a bit costly, I am sharing my own experience for the benefit of others in this forum as dental problems are striking everybody from time to time. I request all of you to go through this rather lengthy one to reap the benefit. Thank you all! AN EPISODE WITH A DENTIST OF A GENIOUS That was a pleasant get together of a family of 3 generations headed by the septuagenarian Mr. PANJU The occasion was the success of his grand son PRASHANTH in an academic course of NATIONAL UNIVERSITY of SINGAPORE with flying colors. There were enough jokes and teasing between grand children provoking laughter even from the grand parents. But the strange thing was Mr. PANJU was laughing uncontrollably even for silly jokes that appeared rather strange considering his calm and reserved nature. Suddenly the youngsters started noticing sparkling set of well arranged teeth which were hither to with ugly gaps and also the remaining with awkward shapes and colors. In addition there used to be a few dentures also that used fall very often at the time of taking food. SIDDHARTH exclaimed rather hilariously that their grand pa had acquired a set of new dentures. Mr. PANJU furiously protested and even challenged that he had been gifted with the new set of original teeth by the Almighty due to his continuous prayers and if any body gets doubt they may even try to remove the dentures. A few kids rather tried it too and to everybody’s astonishment all of them were firm and hard that could even munch very hard nuts effortlessly like a youngster’s. The whole drama was being enjoyed by his better half for 49 years by name LAKSHMI with smile curling around her lips that was even threatening to let the cat out of the bag at any time. But before that another shrewd youngster PRAVEEN shouted at the top of his voice “I know the truth! Grand pa got several of his teeth IMPLANTED!” That studious boy Praveen is always ahead with information with a few prizes in quiz contest under his belt. But now the senior most Prashanth could give to the family gathering a better and detailed study of “all about dental implants”. Mr.PANJU who is touching almost 77 years is enjoying very good health by his disciplined habits of systematic physical exercises, controlled food and last but not the least due to his devoted wife that any could feel proud of. But he failed miserably to give proper attention and maintenance to the first mechanism of assimilation of food to our system that is called teeth. Unless food stuff of different densities is crushed to the optimum level to assimilate with the saliva properly the level of absorption to the human body may not be to the desired level. But most of us are not devoting to proper brushing, flossing, and rinsing with mouth washes twice daily with the result they catch bacteria, decay, gum disorders and in due course they tend to fall off. Various techniques are adopted like filling the cavities, capping with hard metals, bridging the gaps and so on. And finally when every thing fails the removable dentures are the only solution. But age also is responsible for loosening of the teeth and ultimately we lose prematurely most of the teeth causing discomfort not only for eating but also to talk clearly. Mr.PANJU must have spent quite a lot of fortune for all the above remedies and still short of the optimum level for munching the food that may be called the fuel for running the mechanism of the body. In the above scenario only Mr. PANJU stumbled on a senior dentist by name NAIDU (name changed on request) of ANNA NAGAR (Chennai), recommended by his affectionate daughter SHYAMA. Actually that old man had to remove one of his teeth due to decay and recast his denture when GOD smiled on him through NAIDU. Here in after, I have chosen to call him GENIOUS or simply Mr.G. After a thorough examination G suggested that a few more teeth also deserved extraction and PANJU ( P), had to curse all his stars for his predicament in losing most of his teeth and the consequent ordeal of making fresh dentures. G could easily study the mental turmoil of P and assured him that it is only a blessing in disguise. P was further agonized by his vague statement and there upon G gave all the details about IMPLANTATION technique which was also very costly and appeared to be a painful process. To put it crudely it is a carpentry work of drilling holes through your jaw bone for every tooth (some times the number of holes to be drilled is minimized to hold even 2 teeth at a time) and planting a hard artificial crown on the head of the nails planted. Even the very description sent waves of shudder through his spine and wondered about the consequences of damaging more important jaw bones. But G assured him that 99% of the cases are successful and as his bones appeared strong enough thanks to his exercise regime, it is worth it. Now let the readers also may be informed with further details about this IMPANTATION process. First of all it demands the expertise of an efficient and skilled PERIODONTIST capable of handling his job with correct type of materials and with a patience and concern for his client. But once it is done it is having a clear cut advantage over DENTURE or a BRIDGE. Actually the dental implant integrates in to the structure of the jaw bone and gives the feeling of using your own teeth. As they are fixed and part and parcel of your system, they offer freedom from the irksome clicks and wobbles of dentures. They will allow you to say good bye to worries about misplaced denture and messy paste and glues. The success rate of DENTAL IMPLANTS is highly predictable. But the same care and maintenance rule apply for the implanted teeth also and in order to keep them plaque free brushing and flossing still apply. A total visit of 3 to 4 visits are sufficient for completion of the entire project. It starts with consultation which may also involve extracting 1 or 2 more teeth that are already shaking from the root. We are describing the case of Mr. PANJU of 77 years old as an example for guidance. He got his 4 unhealthy and shaky teeth extracted rather very easily and an X-ray of his jaw bones at all angles was taken. After 2 days and on the 2nd day the implantation was done. Actually it is less painful than extraction that involves injecting local anesthesia at a few places at the appropriate time of drilling. It was necessary for P to drill 6 holes at the lower jaw to implant 11 artificial teeth. When a black piece of cloth was covered for P before the implantation Mr. P had the chilling feeling of a prisoner before execution! Well! That job was done extremely well by the skilled artist Mr G encouraging the terrified P with soothing words. It had taken about 1 hour and 15 minutes for the complete and successful drilling at 6 places and screwing through those holes 6 TITANIUM made artificial roots that fuses with the jaw bones in a period of 3-6 months. They serve as pillars for mounting with artificial crowns. On the same day again measurements are taken to order crowns to fit for mounting over the already fixed titanium rods. Mr. P visited the dentist on the next day (3rd day) when the set of crowns for 11 teeth were glued through the 6 titanium pillars. Mr. P is advised to chew only soft food for 3 more months when the titanium roots integrates with jaw bone. Perhaps the newly acquired implanted teeth of PANJU may out live him causing minimum expenses for the dentist during his life time. As on today almost a month has elapsed since the implantation while our friend PANJU is making merry of his food and his smile ear to ear is worth watching! NB- The above story is absolutely real with the fiction element completely absent but for the changing of names of individuals on request. However the author is only too glad to help the readers with more information and guidance for them and also their friends. J. PANCHAPAGESAN DSP-(RETD), FLAT-11, ASHIANA, 130-GILL NAGAR EXTENSION, CHOOLAIMEDU, CHENNAI-600094 PHONE-23744963
Posted on: Wed, 23 Oct 2013 05:57:31 +0000
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