I have had the privilege of being one of the first restorative dentists in North America to work with this dental discipline. I have been restoring dental implants since 1985. For the past 15 years my dental practice has had both an oral surgeon and a periodontist on staff to surgically place the implants which I subsequenty restore with beautiful cosmetic crowns and bridges.

What is an Osseointegrated Impant?

In its simplest terms, it is a titanium cylinder which acts as a root replacement for the missing tooth it replaces. It can serve as the support for a single implant crown or two or more can act as supporting abutments for a fixed bridge.  They can also support removable prostheses such as full dentures and removable partial dentures.

It is important to realize that replacement of teeth now have a gold standard of care. Traditionally when a tooth was lost, the gold standard of care was a fixed bridge. This involved preparing the tooth on either side of the missing tooth space for crowns (caps) and fabricating a fixed bridge supported by these two adjacent teeth. If dental implants were developed prior to fixed dental bridges, the fixed dental bridge would not even be a consideration. To prepare, i.e. irreversibly remove tooth structure from adjacent teeth, could possibly be considered  absurd.

How does a dental implant/implant crown/bridge happen?

It is a simple, yet sophisticated process. First, the implant is surgically placed in the appropriate sight. The second phase is restoring the implant with the appropriate restoration (e.g. a crown) or, if the patient needs several implants, a bridge. If there is insufficient bone available in which to place the implants, additional procedures are indicated to prepare the site.

Each case needs to be evaluated and planned prior to beginning implant therapy. The complexity of the particular implant treatment ranges from simple to sophisticated. We are fortunate in our office, with our experience and successes, to offer dental implant treatment from the elementary to the more complex. In addition, all of the treatment can usually be performed in our office, eliminating the usual need to be seen at different locations.

We offer a complimentary Washington, D.C. dental implant evaluation and consultation at our Washington D.C. Dental Office. Please call 888-549-7682 for more information.

In response to many of my patients I have decided to start a blog on my website. The purpose of this is to share my current thinking about various areas of modern dentistry. This will include but is not limited to  Preventive Dentistry, Cosmetic Dentistry, Dental Implants, Restorative Dentistry, Oral Facial Pain (often referred to as TMJ pain), Orthodontics, Invisalign, Dental Insurance, Complex Dental Problems and related subjects.

The first topic I will begin a discussion on is Cosmetic Dentistry. I have been active in this field for the past 30 years. I was fortunate enough to do the dentistry for Nicholas Cage in the Francis Ford Coppola film ‘Mary Sue Got Married.’ The precision necessary in working for the big screen had a defining effect in the Cosmetic Dentistry aspect of my practice.

Who should have Cosmetic Dentistry procedures performed for them and why? This is a very difficult question in many situations and obvious in others. I look forward to receiving comments from readers of this blog.

If a person’s smile is the way it is because of nature, then a strong argument can be made to not change it. If a smile has been altered due to intrinsic staining (e.g. Tetracycline staining or staining resulting from a high fever when a child), Cosmetic Dentistry is an excellent way to restore the smile to its original look.

Cosmetic Dentistry can involve a multitude of treatment modalities including porcelain laminate veneers, porcelain crowns (caps), bonding, porcelain onlays, tooth colored restorations (fillings), etc.

Missing teeth warrant, in most cases, replacement. Often dental implants are indicated in order to achieve the best final result. Dental implants will be the subject of a future blog.

I look forward to hearing from both current patients of my practice and prospective patients. Please feel free to send in comments or, if preferable ,email me at kenneth.ingber@verizon.net.

A special note for prospective patients: IngberDental  Washington DC offers  a complimentary Washington DC Cosmetic Dentistry consultation. Call us at 888-549-7682.