Osseointegration: What Is It?

Posted by

Have you have been learning more about dental implants because you think they may offer you the teeth replacement solution best for your needs? If so, you’ve been becoming familiar with some new terms like “osseointegration.” While you may have a general understanding of what this means – essentially that your bone tissue will fuse with your implant post after placement – your knowledge may stop there. However, your curiosity may be getting the best of you. For a bit more information about this interesting process, allow us to provide you with additional details by answering questions often brought up by patients during visits.

What Is Osseointegration?

Osseointegration is a term used in dentistry to describe the way your jawbone fuses with your dental implant post. After we place the implant into your jaw tissue, the two will essentially “become one,” which offers exceptional stability. The cells of your bone, which is living tissue, will attach to the titanium post, causing them to “integrate” or connect.

Where Did The Idea Come From?

This process and its name first made an appearance in the 1950s. Scientist and professor, Per-Ingvar Branemark used titanium chambers implanted into rabbit bone to study blood flow. When he gathered his findings and attempted to remove the chambers from the bone, he discovered that they had bonded and that he could not extract the titanium devices.

Why Does It Work?

Patients are often curious why the body does not reject dental implants. This is because of something called “biocompatibility.” It means that a particular material is compatible – or will work with your living tissue – without causing harm. In addition, in the case of titanium, it is a porous material, which means your bone tissue can connect around and throughout the metal.

ABOUT YOUR ROHNERT PARK, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Your Wisdom Tooth Consultation

Posted by

Are you wondering if you are you need of wisdom tooth removal? Fortunately, finding out whether you have wisdom teeth, if they’re developing well or may present a problem, and whether you may require their removal is all quite easy to accomplish. You simply need to schedule a wisdom tooth consultation with us to find out more about your unique smile needs. It is important to remember that even if every friend and family member you know has had a particular experience with keeping their third molars (or requiring removal), each patient is different. Learning more about your own needs is always the best approach to maintaining good oral health.

Examining Your Smile

During your wisdom tooth consultation, we will thoroughly inspect your smile visually and with the assistance of digital X-rays. With the help of these images, we can decide whether you require surgery. We will also discuss your current health and health history to determine whether oral surgery is safe for you.

Discussing Your Oral Surgery

Another important aspect of your wisdom tooth consultation is taking time to discuss what you can expect from oral surgery to remove your wisdom teeth. You may have preconceived notions about this beneficial treatment, so we will set aside time for you to ask questions and voice concerns. We will also explain the steps of surgery, how to prepare, why you need the treatment, and your sedation options for a comfortable procedure.

Creating A Comprehensive Plan

Preparing for your wisdom tooth removal surgery means that you will need specific instructions regarding getting ready for the procedure. This may include everything from avoiding eating and drinking before your treatment to what to wear, as well as information about the financial aspects of treatment. We will also explain what the recovery process will be like and how to make your healing time successful and comfortable.

ABOUT YOUR ROHNERT PARK, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Dental Implants Recovery Tips

Posted by

In many cases, we find that patients feel much more overwhelmed at the thought of dental implant recovery than they do about the surgery itself. The good news is that you don’t have any reason to worry about either aspect of your experience. In addition to ensuring you enjoy comfortable treatments, we also speak with you at length regarding what to expect when you return home as you heal. To get a head start on making the most of your post-operative time, consider some helpful tips.

Tip#1: Pay Attention To Bleeding

Bleeding is normal in most cases after dental implant surgery. However, it should taper off after approximately 24 hours. Pay attention to your bleeding. If it is noticeable, you may wish to bite down on gauze for around a half hour until it subsides. However, if you cannot control the bleeding, please contact us right away.

Tip #2: Protect The Surgery Site

It’s important that you do not harm the wound site. Simply avoid coming into contact with the area as much as possible to allow it to heal. In addition, avoid spitting or making a sucking motion with your mouth to prevent trauma for the first 72 hours.

Tip #3: Apply A Cold Pack

You may alleviate swelling by holding a cold pack against your cheek. Make sure you do not place frozen material, such as ice, directly against your skin. Instead, cover the ice with a towel, bag, or other material. Holding this over your cheek near the dental implant site will offer relief. Follow this tip as much as you can for the first day and a half.

Tip #4: Stay Hydrated

Make sure you hydrate yourself – particularly after abstaining from liquids for your dental implant surgery. Drink hydrating liquids, like water, to remain comfortable and promote effective healing.

Tip #5: Rest, Rest, Rest

Don’t overdo it immediately after surgery. Your body will need to recover and your wounds will need to heal. Don’t lift anything heavy, bend at the waist, or engage in exercise for at least a few days.

ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Surprising Facts About Tooth Loss

Posted by

We often find that patients dealing with tooth loss visit us with a mind full of misinformation. In some cases, patients simply feel isolated as though they’re the only individuals in the world dealing with a missing tooth (which is simply not true). In other cases, patients feel excited about tooth replacement options like dental implants but know very little about the details. To find out more about the truth behind tooth loss, we encourage you to consider some surprising facts.

Fact #1: Losing A Tooth May Lead To … Braces?

When you lose a tooth in your smile, an open space is left behind. Unfortunately, your remaining teeth are not settled permanently – they may begin to migrate into that open area. The result? A misaligned smile that will require orthodontic care. Fortunately, tooth replacements like dental implants will act as placeholders, keeping your smile intact.

Fact #2: You’re Not The Only One

Over 30 million individuals in our country are missing a complete series of teeth on a single arch or both arches. It’s important to keep in mind that you’re not the only person dealing with tooth loss. Whether it’s one tooth or multiple teeth, there are millions of other patients seeking teeth replacement options, too.

Fact #3: Dental Implants Are More Popular Than You Think

Patients often assume dental implants are a lucrative choice when it comes to replacing a tooth or teeth. Contrary to this thought, millions of Americans are walking around with implants in their smiles, a figure that is rapidly growing every day.

ABOUT YOUR ROHNERT PARK, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Dr. Leonard Tyko Named President of Oral & Facial Surgeons of California

Posted by

Santa Rosa, CA – September 23, 2015  In January 2016, Dr. Leonard Tyko of Santa Rosa Oral Surgery, begins his term as President of the Oral & Facial Surgeons of California (formerly California Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons).

In preparation for his presidency, Dr. Tyko served on the Board of Directors of this statewide organization for 5 years holding many leadership positions including the Chairs of the Continuing Education Committee, CALAOMS Foundation and serving as Editor of the organization’s newsletter.  Dr. Tyko worked on several legislative items during his tenure on the Board including most-recently, AB-880—the bill to expand and define the role of dental students providing care at mobile health clinics.

During his yearlong presidency, Dr. Tyko hopes to focus the organization’s philanthropic mission to address the oral health needs of non- and under-insured Californians through the expansion of California CareForce.  Dr. Tyko welcomes any input regarding issues concerning oral surgery practice, and encourages everyone to volunteer at the upcoming California CareForce clinics (www.CaliforniaCareForce.org).

Dr. Tyko is the senior partner at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery, an oral surgery practice that has served our community for over 50 years. He also holds the position, Chairman of the Dental Department at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.

Santa Rosa Oral Surgery, Santa Rosa, CA

For Relaxing Oral Surgery

Posted by

If you’ve scheduled a visit for oral surgery, you may find that you’re feeling a bit anxious. In fact, even if you have experienced oral surgery before and had a perfectly tranquil visit, you may still find yourself dealing with some level of nervousness or hesitation. Fortunately, we are quite familiar with what you’re going through and are happy to help with anesthesia and other accommodations. To learn more about how to enjoy a relaxing appointment, we suggest becoming familiar with the best approaches to feeling calm before and during your treatment.

Ask Us Your Questions

In many cases, we find that by answering a patient’s questions, we take away all of that individual’s anxiety about oral surgery. If you are feeling antsy or concerned because you have a lot of questions and worries running through your mind, we strongly encourage you to bring them up before your appointment or your procedure. We are always more than happy to provide answers – even for the simplest of inquiries.

Speak With Us About Anesthesia

We offer a variety of anesthesia options to ensure you feel extremely calm and relaxed before and during your oral surgery procedure. Please speak with us about your options, so we may determine your level of anxiety and make sure we’re offering the best choice for your needs. Anesthesia options include nitrous oxide, oral sedation, IV sedation, and general anesthesia.

Rely On Our Safety Standards

We understand that some patients feel most concerned about their safety during surgery. We are happy to go over safety standards with you. In the meantime, keep in mind that we follow the same safety practices used in hospitals and outpatient surgery centers.

ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Quiz: Qualifying For Implants

Posted by

The process of selecting dental implants for your smile is one with several steps – the first of which includes determining whether you qualify for treatment. We understand that you may feel hesitant to visit us for a consultation because you are concerned you may not make a suitable candidate. To this worry, we would like to respond by assuring you that implants work for a wide variety of patients (even those who are not ideal candidates as they begin their teeth replacement journey). See how much you know about candidacy (and possibly have some questions answered) by quizzing your current understanding of the requirements.

Implant Candidacy: True or False?

  1. True or False: As long as you have a desire to choose dental implants to replace your teeth, you may visit us to begin your treatment immediately.
  2. True or False: If your jawbone has deteriorated due to periodontal disease or other contributing factors, there is nothing we can do to help. You will need to consider alternative options to replace your teeth.
  3. True or False: If you are interested in replacing multiple teeth at once but you do not want to rely on single implants per open space, you may rely on implant-retained prosthetics like dental bridges or dentures.

Quiz Answer Key

  1. False. Qualifying for dental implants is complex – we will need to make sure that you are healthy enough for surgery and that your jawbone can support implants. We will begin with a consultation, which will include a thorough dental examination and discussion.
  2. False. If your jawbone is damaged, you do not necessarily need to cross implants off of your list of options. We may first recommend bone grafting to improve the volume and strength of your jaw tissue.
  3. True. We can place multiple implant posts (fewer than the amount of open spaces in your smile) to offer exceptional stability to larger prosthetics.

ABOUT YOUR ROHNERT PARK, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

3 Reasons To Choose Implants

Posted by

Making the effort to complete your smile is something that includes an exceptional amount of excitement and anticipation. However, in addition to feeling overjoyed at the prospect of filling the open spaces in your smile, you may also find yourself feeling conflicted. You have a lot of options within reach, so how to decide on one particular teeth replacement solution? Well, if you’ve been giving dental implants some serious thought, we encourage you to consider three compelling reasons to choose them. If the reasons speak to you particular needs, narrowing your focus will become simple.

Reason #1: Their Stability Is Unsurpassed

You cannot find a more stable dental prosthetic to replace your missing teeth. Why? Dentures rely on suction created in your mouth but are not solidly anchored. Dental bridges receive support from your teeth with the use of a special bonding material, though a bridge will eventually require a replacement. Dental implants? The titanium implant post is placed into your jawbone, where it bonds with the surrounding tissue. This is as close as you can get to replicating your natural roots and the stable nature of a natural tooth (which may last a lifetime).

Reason #2: An Entire Team Works With You

It’s true that dental implants require a detailed treatment plan, multiple steps and visits, and a multi-month recovery period. Not sure how this qualifies as a reason to choose implants? The reason is in the support you will receive from an entire team. If implants are your preferred prosthetic, you can expect to collaborate with our team and your general dentist as we carefully guide you toward a beautiful, complete smile, while you remain fully informed.

Reason #3: You May Forget They’re Artificial

Once your treatment is complete, you will quickly find that you can return to your previous life that you enjoyed before tooth loss. This means successful chewing, easily articulating your words as you speak, and feeling wonderful about your smile’s appearance.

ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Reasons To Address Overcrowding

Posted by

Do your teeth overlap one another? Have you been diagnosed with overcrowding? If so, this means that your teeth are misaligned as the result of too little space in your smile. Due to the limited space, your teeth crowd against (and over) one another rather than resting side-by-side. Fortunately, this is a common problem that orthodontic care can fix. In many cases, your treatment may include dental extractions to make room to guide your teeth into alignment. While this may sound like a significant amount of work, the shift is important. We encourage you to become familiar with some compelling reasons to address your overcrowding.

Reasons #1: To Beautify Your Smile

If you take a look in the mirror and feel dissatisfied by your overlapping teeth, making the decision to align your smile is a wonderful choice. Patients often fail to realize that their appearance strongly influences their confidence. Subsequently, a beautiful smile may cause you to feel better about yourself, improving your ability to push yourself toward your potential.

Reason #2: To Promote Better Hygiene

Dental extractions and orthodontic treatment to address overcrowding can improve your daily dental hygiene. Attempting to brush every single tooth surface – and floss between teeth – can become extremely challenging when your teeth are quite crowded. Fix the problem and brushing and flossing become simple and effective.

Reason #3: To Avoid Damage And Disorders

Overcrowding is one type of a poorly balanced bite that can result in significant problems. For instance, you may suffer from teeth grinding (bruxism). Or, the strain of attempting to align your teeth may result in jaw joint disorder (TMD). Agreeing to dental extractions and further treatment may ultimately protect you from long-term damage.

ABOUT YOUR SANTA ROSA, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).

Traditional Vs. Implant-Retained

Posted by

As you make your way through the information regarding dental prosthetics, you may find yourself overwhelmed by the jargon. Even more frustrating? Once you learn each type of teeth replacement solution to fill the open spaces in your smile, you may discover that you may choose between traditional or implant-retained prosthetics. Fortunately, whether you select dental implants to support your denture or other device, becoming familiar with these options is easy and can be quite helpful. Allow us to break the information down for you, so you can more quickly and confidently move forward toward completing your smile.

About Traditional Prosthetics

In general, your options for teeth replacement prosthetics to replace one or multiple teeth (without single dental implants) include: A partial denture, a full denture, or a dental bridge. When you choose traditional prosthetics, the device will receive support from your mouth in the following ways:

  • Partial denture: This denture will rely partly on natural suction created in your mouth and partly with the help of metal clasps that will fit over remaining natural teeth.
  • Full denture: This denture will rest over your dental ridge. It will receive all of its support from the suction that you naturally create in your mouth.
  • Dental bridge: A bridge is “fixed” which means we will cement it in place. It will rely on the support it receives from remaining natural teeth that stand on either side of the open space in your mouth. We will bond the end crowns of the bridge over these teeth.

About Implant-Retained Prosthetics

We suggest implant-retained prosthetics for patients who either would like improved stability or who do not have standing natural teeth to offer support. This means that we will create prosthetics outfitted with small enclosures. The device, whether a partial denture, full denture, or dental bridge, will fit snugly over dental implants that we strategically place into your jawbone to anchor the prosthetic.

ABOUT YOUR ROHNERT PARK, CA, ORAL SURGEONS:

Combining experience in oral and maxillofacial surgery with a genuine care for their patients’ health and comfort, the team at Santa Rosa Oral Surgery is ready to improve the health and beauty of smiles in the Sonoma County and North Bay area. To schedule a consultation, contact our office by calling 707-545-4625 (Santa Rosa).