Dental Implants

Dental implants in Albania. What can be done if a patient doesn’t have enough bone?

11
Dec

 The lack of alveolar bone is a very frequent problem of patients who need dental implants at our Oxa Clinic dental clinic in Tirana, Albania.

 All our patients who contact us for dental implants tell us: “my dentist in Italy told me that I am missing bone”.

But how true is this? To help you understand the situation, let’s share a little secret.

All our patients, which are 200-300 patients per year who have undergone total rehabilitation of the two arches with dental implants, were treated without bone reconstruction. It might seem impossible but behind these clinical data there are many technical and scientific factors.

What are the reasons for the bone loss?

  1. Extraction of teeth long before insertion of implants. When a tooth is extracted, other tissues are lost together with the tooth and over time the bone is reduced in size, as functional stimuli are lacking.
  2. Pyorrhea, or periodontitis, causes not only tooth loss but also bone loss.
  3. Removable prostheses. These types of prostheses discharge chewing forces directly onto the gum and bone. These non-functional stimuli cause bone loss if these prostheses are used for more than 6 months.
  4. Infections, granulomas, cysts and tumors. These injuries cause slow and gradual bone loss.

What are the techniques that can be used to avoid bone reconstruction?

 Before understanding these techniques we must understand why it is better to avoid bone reconstruction.

-First of all, bone reconstruction is done with different materials that derive from animals or are synthetic products. According to studies, these materials do not guarantee the quality of native bone and the stability of the calcification of the implants is poor, i.e. the implants do not have the same stability as they have in a native bone.

-The second problem is time. When doing bone reconstruction for dental implants, it takes a period of 6-12 months. The artificial bone cannot be used immediately to place the implants but needs to be calcified and integrated with the surrounding bone. If it takes 3-4 months to carry out a total rehabilitation with dental implants, in cases where bone reconstruction is carried out it takes more than 12 months. There are more appointments and the patient goes without teeth for a long time.

-Costs. Bone reconstruction costs €400-1200 depending on the size. When this technique is done in more than one area the cost of treatment increases by 50%.

-Bone reconstruction is successful only in 40-60% of cases.

Techniques to avoid bone reconstruction in rehabilitation with dental implants at Oxa Clinic.

  1. Positioning dental implants strategically to avoid areas where there is no bone. In these cases the implant is inserted with an inclination avoiding the area where the bone is missing. The implant can be inserted further behind, further forward or laterally in the area where the bone is missing. The implant is inserted laterally into the lower arch, i.e. moved to the side of the tongue to avoid the nerve.
In this case in the upper arch the last implant on the right and the last on the left are inclined months to avoid the areas where the bone is missing. Control x-ray in 4 months.

In this case in the upper arch the last implant on the right and the last on the left are inclined months to avoid the areas where the bone is missing. Control x-ray in 4 months.

2. The palatine implants. These types of dental implants are inserted inclined towards the palate, thus using the palate and alveolar bone at the same time.

The implants give the impression as if they were not inserted completely into the bone but precisely that area that is seen uncovered is inside the palate bone, a much harder bone than the alveolar bone. Dental implants are inserted inclined towards the palate.

The implants give the impression as if they were not inserted completely into the bone but precisely that area that is seen uncovered is inside the palate bone, a much harder bone than the alveolar bone. Dental implants are inserted inclined towards the palate.

3. Nasal implants, i.e. dental implants inserted into the nasopalatine canal. When the anterior area of ​​the upper arch has little bone, the nasopalatine canal is used to insert the implant.

In this case the patient was missing bone in his anterior jaw. The central dental implant of the upper arch was inserted into the naso-palatine canal, an area where the bone is much more abundant and strong. Technically very difficult to do.

In this case the patient was missing bone in his anterior jaw. The central dental implant of the upper arch was inserted into the naso-palatine canal, an area where the bone is much more abundant and strong. Technically very difficult to do.

4. Dental implants in the tuberal area, i.e. behind the maxillary sinus. These dental implants are the ideal solution when bone is missing in the area of ​​the upper molars.

The last dental implant above on the right was inserted in the tuberal area, behind the area where the bone is missing. Further ahead we see a tilted dental implant. On the left, however, we see the last dental implant inserted towards the palate.

The last dental implant above on the right was inserted in the tuberal area, behind the area where the bone is missing. Further ahead we see a tilted dental implant. On the left, however, we see the last dental implant inserted towards the palate.

In only one patient we avoided bone reconstruction twice. The patient finished the treatment in just 4 months and saved more than 50%, always using dental implants with better stability.

5. Pterygoid dental implants are dental implants that are inserted into the tuberal bone of the jaw and the pterygoid bone.

In this case the last implant on the right and the last on the left are two implants that are inserted into the pterygoid bone. In the anterior area, the bone around the nasopalatine canal was exploited. This is a case in which the total rehabilitation of the upper arch was done with only 5 implants.

In this case the last implant on the right and the last on the left are two implants that are inserted into the pterygoid bone. In the anterior area, the bone around the nasopalatine canal was exploited. This is a case in which the total rehabilitation of the upper arch was done with only 5 implants.

6. Dental implants with small dimensions. Dental implants come in different sizes, the diameter is 2.9-6mm, while the length is 5-17mm. Combinations of diameters and lengths bring endless choice for dental implants.

In this case on the right the patient had little bone in height but a lot in width therefore the implants are short and wide, whereas on the left the bone is high but thin therefore the implants are long and narrow.

In this case on the right the patient had little bone in height but a lot in width therefore the implants are short and wide, whereas on the left the bone is high but thin therefore the implants are long and narrow.

As you may have noticed, there are many techniques that can be implemented to avoid bone reconstruction. These techniques do not avoid bone reconstruction in all cases but in 90-95% of cases they can avoid it. All the cases represented and the techniques demonstrated were carried out by Dr. Oxa, dental implant surgeon in Tirana, Albania in the Oxa Clinic. The success rate of these techniques is 96% of cases, making it possible for almost all patients to have excellent quality treatment at affordable prices.

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