Implant Case #5

A 61-year-old male patient presented to our office. He had not been to the dentist in a long time. Fear prevented him from getting care; however, now he couldn't wait any longer. He had teeth that were broken, loose and/or missing.

After a clinical review and a review of the Panoramic X-ray film, it was decided that all maxillary teeth were hopeless and should be extracted. In three separate stages, the upper left posterior teeth were extracted first and then the upper right posterior teeth were extracted. With the anterior teeth remaining in place, a new Immediate Complete Upper Denture was fabricated. The patient then underwent the extraction of the remaining anterior teeth and the subsequent insertion and placement of the Immediate Complete Upper Denture. The first image below is that of the patient's Maxillary Edentulous Ridge shortly after the extraction of all maxillary teeth and the Immediate Complete Upper Denture in place. The second image is that of the denture removed.

At this point, a Dental CAT Scan was taken and four implants were placed using a special guide so that the implants were all parallel with each other. An image of the guide is below.

The case was completed after extracting hopeless lower teeth and treating the lower remaining dentition with periodontal therapy. The remaining teeth were restored with crowns and fixed bridgework. Additionally, the Maxillary implants had snap attachments placed and were restored with a Maxillary Overdenture, which snapped onto the implants. The image below is that of the implants in the maxilla with the snap attachments in place.

The final image is of the completed case with the implant-supported Maxillary Overdenture in place and the completed mandibular arch with new crowns and bridgework. The patient wanted white teeth and we gave him what he wanted.