Prosthodontist Dr. Ray Carpenter of the Carpenter Center for Restorative Dentistry specializes in restoring natural smiles with an emphasis on restoring function to teeth. The technology used in dentistry has changed and the materials that are available to create new teeth and tooth implants offer more options and are of better quality than they were just a few years ago.
Today, Dr. Carpenter explains, patients are able to replace missing teeth which formerly could not have been replaced due to bone loss or teeth drifting. With new surgical techniques, more experienced dentists, prosthodontists and dental surgeons are able to give patients new options such as dental implants to restore a natural looking smile when before dentures or other removable appliances would have been the only option. Patients who explored dental implants in the early days should revisit the option and see if the new techniques and materials available today now will allow them to use implants to have a more permanent, fixed solution to tooth loss.
Dr. Carpenter says, “Implants have absolutely changed people’s lives, they have changed the whole picture of dentistry. We still do dentures, we still do removable partial dentures, but more and more we like to augment those treatments using dental implants or sometimes completely avoid those kinds of artificial appliances by putting in enough implants to restore somebody’s smile in a fixed way.”
For patients considering tooth implants, they should consider using a specialist such as a Prosthodontist who is prepared to create a comprehensive treatment plan for the entire mouth to restore both beauty and function to the teeth. “The biggest thing that sets a Prosthodontist apart from a General Dentist is that we are able to plan in a comprehensive way the treatment for the entire mouth.” Dr. Carpenter says. “A regular dentist will look in a mouth and look for cavities or a broken tooth that needs to have a crown placed on it—they find a problem in an existing tooth and they correct that problem—but rarely does a general dentist look at the entire mouth and look at the relationship and positioning of the teeth as a whole.”
Prosthodontists evaluate the positioning of the upper teeth to the lower teeth, the tooth wear and the tooth length and position and the function of the teeth. “Those things are extremely important when planning comprehensive treatment to restore missing or badly broken teeth,” Dr. Carpenter explains.
Patient Virginia C. says, “Due to the age of my previous work (35 years ago) I have had to have all of my bridge work replaced, which was practically the entire mouth. As part of that reconstruction I needed some implants and bone grafts. Without Dr. Carpenter’s level of competence and gentle approach I would have been very stressed. Never throughout the entire procedures did I have a nervous moment.”
To learn more about Dr. Ray Carpenter and the Carpenter Center for Restorative Dentistry please visit: http://www.drcarpenterdds.com.