FAQS

What are Dental Implants?

Dental Implant FAQs are important. These are away to replace missing tooth with something that looks, feels and mimics a natural tooth. Neither you nor anyone else can tell the difference. Dental Implants have been around since the 1950’s and in last 10 years have been perfected where is A.D.A (American Dental Association) acceptance and a very high rate of success. Dental Implants are the treatment of choice to replace your missing teeth. Implants are life like teeth that are placed in your mouth.

They provide a stable fit that improve appearance, speech, comfort and the ability to chew and enjoy food. Many people regret losing some or all of there teeth. In the past, conventional dentistry has not always provided an acceptable replacement for these lost teeth until now. Removable denture plates, partials and bridges have always been a compromise when replacing lost teeth. With Dental Implants. You can have life-like teeth again, just like when you were 18-year-old.

Are Implants expensive?

No, actually a single tooth replacement can be the same or less expensive than a conventional bridge.

Are Implant successful?

YES, they are very successful. The success rate has reached as high as 95% over a five-year period and 90% over a ten-year period. This is more successful than other forms of dentistry.

Are they painful?

No, dental implants are much less uncomfortable than having tooth pulled. Most patients go back to work the next day and reports only mild discomfort.

Why consider dental implants?

Implants provide teeth that are more natural, secure and comfortable than conventional tooth replacements. It is like having your natural teeth back again, like you had at age 18.

Will my health improve?

Most Definitely! The Mayo Clinic at USA did a study that demonstrated that people with there teeth as opposed to people without fixed teeth lived an average Ten Years Longer.

What Are Mini Implants?

Mini dental implants are an ultra-small diameter (1.8-millimetre width), biocompatible titanium alloy implant screws, conceived and designed over 20 years ago by a board-certified Manhattan Dentist, Victor I. Sendax, DDS. Dr Sendex originally created the unique design of this unique dental product as a transitional device to help support fixed bridge replacements for lost teeth. His novel theory was that mini implants could function free standing by themselves or in combination with natural tooth supports and/or larger conventional type implants. This was a revolutionary concept in dental science.

Late in 1997, Dr, Sendax collaborated about his mini implant theory and design concepts with a colleague, Dr Ronald A. Bulard, likewise a board-certified dental implantologist. As luck would have it, Dr. Ronald A. Bulard, had previously formed a dental implants company, IMTEC Corporation, which was at the time manufacturing and marketing standard sized implants, abutments, and other dental products. Convinced they were on to something special, Drs. Sendex and Bulard spent countless hours studying and refining Dr. Sendex’s original creative design, resulting in a more efficient top and color to the mini implants. Combining this now re-designed implant with Dr.Sendex’s original insertion protocol resulted in a successful breakthrough. Under Dr. Bulard’s direction, IMTEC Corporation began the rather complex and expensive design and manufacturing procedures which ultimately resulted in what is now offered to the dental community under the brand name IMTEC Sendax MDI (mini dental implant). The innovative system and procedure were thereafter formally introduced to the United State dental community at an implant conference in Orlando, Florida in April 1999. It was an instant success and now represents one of the fastest-growing segments of the dental product industry.

Is the MDI FDA approved?

Contrary to common beliefs, the FDA doesn’t “approve” any medical or dental device. Prior to his preliminary discussions with Dr Bulard, Dr Sendex had submitted a formal application to the FDA in Washington, D.C. seeking permission to market the mini dental implant devices to the general public. 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 MDI Device not only as a transitional or temporary dental product but significantly, as an on-going item. No competitor dental product can make this claim. As stated, IMTEC’s introduction of the MDI to the dental industry and appropriate marketing efforts under a license granted by Dr Sendex, followed the FDA’s consent to market.

When can they be used?

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.

What’s the primary and lost the most effective use for them?

The most effective use of this unique dental product is stabilization of a mandibular denture. There are approximately 50,000,000 people in the United State who are “edentulous” (literally meaning lacking teeth) who struggle daily with prosthetic devices. A majority suffers a great deal of discomfort as a result of loose or ill-fitting dentures. Also, 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 MDI addresses and solves all of these social and practical problems.

How specifically can mini dental implants help denture wearers?

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, or mandible. This is a relatively painless procedure that can be performed by a general dentist, requiring only mild anesthesia. The mini implants which are approximately the size of wooden toothpicks are placed about four 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. All performed 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 MDI patient can enjoy a light meal within an hour’s time from having the mini implants placed.

I’m somewhat aware of the tremendous forces the human jaw usually endures during normal chewing of food. How can these tiny implants withstand that?

It’s true that what the dental profession calls occlusal forces create dynamic pressures on the human jaw. Our jaws are marvelously designed to adequately withstand those forces. It’s also true that mankind has been struggling for centuries to come up with some type of metal or metallic element that can efficiently withstand those forces. Most have been outright failures. However, approximately twenty-five years ago some doctors around the world began experimenting with titanium as a potential dental medium. Titanium is an extremely strong metal used in the construction of aircraft and aircraft engines. The mental, in its commercial form, is incredibly strong and durable.

The Sendax MDI takes that metallurgical concept to the next level by adapting an industry approved mixture of commercially pure titanium, a small percentage of aluminum, and a tiny sample of vanadium, likewise a malleable metallic element. The result is the strongest metal on earth, now commonly referred to as titanium alloy. In fact, extensive tests conducted several years ago by the University of Alabama-Birmingham School of Orthopedics at Dr. Sendax MDI’s are 64% stronger than ones constructed of commercially pure titanium. The bottom line of this discussion area is simple: If a denture patient has sufficient bone mass to create a rock hard placement of the tiny implant, which an experienced dentist can usually determine by an initial examination, the mini dental implants will generally withstand normal occlusal forces just like natural teeth. Fractures are extremely rare, but as the case with a person’s normal teeth, can certainly occur.

You’ve told us about the diameter of the implants. How long are they?

IMTEC Corporation manufactures and sells the implants in four lengths, 10, 13, 15 & 18mm’s. One trained in dental science will recognize instantly that these lengths appropriately anticipate the type of depths that are needed in a wide variety of prospective MDI patients. The company also manufactures what it calls the MDI MAX that’s sold in 10, 13 & 15mm’s. The use of the MAX is explained in the next question.

I’ve been told by my dentist that my jaw bone is not “dense.” Is this a problem with the MDI? Will a dentist be able to get a rock-solid resistance state in such a situation?

After utilizing the standard MDI’s in his practice, Dr. Bulard quickly anticipated this type of dental patient, and as a result, has taken steps to expand IMTEC Corporation’s original production offering to provide an MDI MAX implant. Equipped with the same dimensions as the standard ones, the MAX has a different thread design that enables the implant to bite into the softer bone and hold. It’s ideal for a patient whose bone density is lacking.

What about failures?

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 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.

How are mini implants different?

As a revolutionary departure from routine implant methods, mini implants are so narrow they are typically inserted directly through the overlying gum tissue, routinely required for standard implant systems, 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 offset a much more comfortable margin of safety.

What type of surgery is involved?

A single, minimally invasive surgery is needed for insertion of the MDI mini implants. They 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 complete mini implant services 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 implant system available today.

What’s a typical daily routine one might expect once the MDI’s have been placed?

As with all dental applications, there’s a short adjustment period during which time the MDI patient becomes comfortable placing and removing the denture. Typically, this involves removal of the lower denture in the morning, brushing the gums and implant area with as ACCESS curved bristle toothbrush, rinsing the mouth, rinsing the denture itself, then replacing it. The result is a normal day’s activity for the patient, including eating, talking, taking a nap, etc. Then, in the evening, the denture is usually removed again, the ACCESS brush is used, and the mouth thoroughly rinsed. The MDI patient then opts to sleep with, or without his or her denture. The result is a fully functioning dental appliance that works, is acceptable, has a comfortable fit, etc.

How can I find out more about the IMTEC Sendax MDI?

If your computer is connected to the Internet, log onto IMTEC’s website, www.imtec.com, and click on the Sendax MDI portion. You’ll get a lot of information there. For dentists in your locale who are placing the MDI, click on Doctor Locator. Remember, this wonderful procedure is relatively new, and likewise growing in number. More are being added to the company’s website each business day, however. While you’re at IMTEC’s site, check out the ACCESS curved bristle toothbrush that is specially designed to complement the MDI’s insofar as oral hygiene is concerned. It’s a perfect brush for implant patients.

I’ve heard that standard dental implant are somewhat expensive. What about these?

It goes without saying that dentists set their own fees based on a wide variety of factors. As you would expect, fees vary around the country and from doctor to doctor. The best way to address this issue is to engage your dentist of choice of an MDI placement, bear in mind the costs of dentures and the costs of required periodic adjustments that can be expensive. Plus, by choosing the MDI, 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.