Dental Implants

If you are suffering from tooth loss, take comfort in the fact that you are not alone. Nearly 178 million American adults are missing at least one tooth from their mouth, making this a problem that affects nearly 80 percent of all of us.

Learn more about dental implants

Tooth loss can cause a variety of complications in your mouth, not only blemishing your appearance, but it can also negatively affect your quality of life. You may start to develop pain in your mouth and jaw from your other teeth overcompensating for the missing tooth. You may also have a reduced bite force, and find yourself avoiding your favorite foods.

Even worse, you may even start to lose more teeth, as your remaining teeth will try to drift into the opening left behind by your lost tooth. If you are missing one or more teeth from your mouth, we here at Manhattan Maxillofacial Surgery Group may be able to fit you with a dental implant to give you a lasting and attractive restoration for your lost tooth.

What is a Dental Implant?

In the past, before the introduction of dental implants, patients had very few options when they lost a tooth. They could choose from a partial denture, or they could elect to get a fixed dental bridge. While both of these options can temporarily serve as a replacement tooth, they simply could not compare to a real tooth.

Bone loss was always inevitable after tooth loss, and the face would start to appear haggard and prematurely aged due to the lack of structure in the jaw. Partial bridges and denture partials are also only temporary replacements for a lost tooth, even if the patient takes good care of them.

Dental implants, on the other hand, are a permanent restoration option for patients who are missing a tooth. They have a remarkably high success rate, at 98 percent. They can be taken care of just like a natural tooth, and in fact, can be cleaned and flossed just like you would clean your teeth.

Dental implants restore full function to the bite, unlike dentures, which restore only about 10 percent of function to the mouth. That means you do not have to worry about eating foods that may otherwise dislodge a denture. All in all, they are an excellent option for many patients!

Components of a Dental Implant

A dental implant is comprised of three main components. The first part of the dental implant is the titanium screw. This is the part that we place directly into your jawbone. We use titanium because instead of rejecting this metal, your body accepts it.

When we place the titanium screw, your bone material will build up around the screw in a process known as osseointegration. This keeps the implant durable and sturdy in your mouth and less likely to become compromised. The screw attaches to a connector piece, called the abutment. The abutment acts as a middle part between the screw and the actual restoration itself, called the crown. The crown is the part of the implant that resembles a real tooth.

Getting a dental implant placed is a straightforward procedure and typically can be completed under a combination of local and intravenous (IV) anesthesia. From the initial procedure to final restoration, it may take up to six months or longer, depending on how well the patient is healing. To learn more about dental implants or to set up a consultation with us to determine if you are a good candidate for them, please give us a call here at Manhattan Maxillofacial Surgery Group at (212) 245-5801 today!

Tooth Extractions

There are various reasons your doctor or orthodontist may have referred you to an oral surgeon for the extraction, or removal, of a tooth. Whether it is due to decay, poor placement, impaction, or more, our surgeons, Dr. Del Valle and Dr. Shahgoli, at Manhattan Maxillofacial Surgery Group can help. We ensure that the tooth is entirely removed with care in an atmosphere that is sterile. We can handle the difficult extraction cases and prepare the patient for the next step in their restoration process, including preparing the area for possible placement of a dental implant, or simultaneously placing a bone graft.

Types of Extraction

Extraction can be classified in two categories, simple and surgical. The differences between the two are as follows:

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Simple Extraction: A simple extraction is a non-surgical extraction. In order to perform a simple extraction, the tooth must be fully erupted, or exposed. Our surgeon is able to fully place his tools around the tooth because it is not broken or impacted. He will then loosen the tooth using an instrument called an elevator. With the tooth loosened, he will then use forceps in order to lift and remove the tooth. In a simple extraction, the tooth lifts in one piece and is fully removed from the socket.

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Surgical Extraction: A surgical extraction is more complex. This type of extraction needs to be performed if the tooth structure is compromised or if the tooth is not fully erupted, or if it is partially or completely impacted. Surgical means that the surgeon will need to make tissue cuts in order to retrieve the entire tooth. In some cases, we may need to quarter the tooth, break it into sections, and remove it section by section. A surgical extraction tends to take more time and the healing may take more time.

What may seem like a non-surgical extraction can quickly turn into a surgical one, as what may originally be thought of as easy proved to be more difficult.

Bone Graft

When a patient loses a tooth, from injury or extraction, it is important to their dental future to consider the placement of a bone graft as quickly as possible. Over the first year following the loss of a tooth, your jawbone will pull in, or atrophy, up to ⅓ of its natural size. This loss in density is what gives patients the appearance that we so commonly associate with old age. The process of a bone graft sounds more severe then it is. A tooth socket bone graft is simply placing miniscule particles of bone material from one of three sources, your own bone, donated bone, or synthetic bone in the spot and then suturing it closed to allow for healing.

Our surgeons, Antonio Del Valle, DMD, MD and Shahin Shahgoli, DDS, provide treatments, including both simple and surgical extractions, in an environment that places the safety of our patients first. We use the latest in modern equipment, along with a staff that is trained and experienced in anesthesia techniques to reduce or even eliminate your discomfort. For more information on some of our equipment, including the Cone Beam CT scanner, and the 3D images that we are able to produce here in our office, or for more information on dental extractions, contact our front office staff at: (212) 245-5801

•	Facial Trauma
•	TMJ Disorders
•	Corrective Jaw Surgery
•	Oral Pathology

•	Reducing Lines: One of the most discussed reasons for Botox is its ability to remove wrinkles by temporarily paralyzing the muscles. This is highly effective in filling in crows feet, creases between the eyes and other visible signs of age.
•	Reducing Facial Pain: Patients who suffer from TMJ dysfunction, which is caused by jaw alignment issues, can experience pain in their eyebrows, cheek bones, jaw joints, migraines and even their ears. The process of identifying and treating jaw alignment can be long. Botox injections relax the muscles that are strained or inflamed and provide some relief while working on the fix.
•	Reducing Muscle Spasm: Injections of Botox can reduce, or even stop, muscle spasms by blocking the nerve signals to the muscle. This treatment has been used to relieve severe muscle spasms around the eyes and in the neck in addition to other areas of the body.
•	Reducing a Gummy Smile: A gummy smile is a reference to displaying too much of the mouth when smiling, the smile is too large. We can relax the muscle that runs from the side of the nose to the upper lip. This treatment has also been found to be effective in reducing gum disease because it keeps the gums more covered by the lip tissue.