Digital Dentistry in Thunder Bay

At Scott Family Dental we pride ourselves on being the first to use advanced digital dental technology in Thunder Bay. The equipment we use makes it possible to deliver a more relaxing, enjoyable dental experience for our patients. The precision and esthetics outcomes are superior to previously employed techniques.

Digital technology used in our office:

• Intraoral Scanner- Digital Impression Taking: For most of our cases conventional dental impression with impression treys are not used anymore. Instead we scan your teeth and able to use the digital files to fabricate crowns, bridges, surgical guides, removable dentures and more. Digital impression taking is much more convenient and faster than conventional impressions.

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• Computer Designed Restorations: Most of the restorations are CAD-CAM fabricated and are designed on the computer screen. Crowns and bridges are milled using a 5 axis dry mill or a 3/4 axis wet mill depending on the material we use. Most of the restorations are metal free- porcelain or zirconia crowns. These are much more tissue friendly and bio-compatible.

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• Cosmetic Dentistry on the next level: with the use of advance dental technology we are able to reproduce hundreds of front teeth shapes selected by you. We are able to show you teeth molds that would be suitable for your esthetic needs and recreate the same shape with a click.

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• CBCT Guided Implant Placement: The use of tomography and computed tomography (CT) provided practitioners with the ability to assess the quantity and quality of bone and critical anatomic structures before dental implant surgery.

The advantages of guided implant surgery include:

• Accurate planning for dental implant placement, diameter and length

• Accurately plan for necessary adjunctive treatment like bone grafting procedures

• Decreased risks for nerve and arterial damage and generally less complications

• Minimally invasive surgery

• Shorter surgeries

• Predictable restorative procedures

• Decreases pain and discomfort in the immediate postoperative period

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If you have any questions about these procedures or you know you might need a consult with our dental specialists, please contact us at Scott Family Dental at 807-345-6331, we would love to meet you in person.

Dental implants and oral hygiene

Thanks to the advancement of technology and research in the field of implant dentistry, the application of osseointegrated dental implants is greater than ever.

Dental implants traverse the oral cavity through the surrounding mucosa into the sterile jawbone. Dental implants need a mucosal sealing mechanism to protect the microbiologically sterile root area. If the seal is breached, periodontal pathogens gain access to the root area.

 There are two types of peri-implant inflammation: Peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis. Peri-implant mucositis is the reversible inflammation of the mucous membrane. The progression of peri-implant mucositis to inflammation around the implant surface causing bone loss is known as peri-implantitis. Without treatment, peri-implantitis can result in the loss of an implant.

Risk factors for peri-implantitis:

-       Oral hygiene: The accumulation of plaque is a risk factor for periodontal diseases, peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis.

-       Smoking and alcohol consumption

-       Existing or previous periodontitis

-       Diabetes

-       Some medications and radiation therapy

-       Systemic conditions like cardiovascular disease

Symptoms of peri-implantitis

The first warning sign is peri-implant mucositis, which is usually diagnosed during regular oral hygiene checkups. Other signs include: bleeding, redness, pain, pus.

Oral hygiene tips for your dental implants:

-       Brush teeth twice daily- an electric toothbrush is highly recommended

-       Floss every day- there are special floss for dental implants that help access hard to reach areas.

- Use a waterpik

-       Avoid smoking

-       Eat healthy

-       Regular dental checkups- if the disease is treated early, stopping the progression of the disease is possible

If you have any questions about these procedures or you know you might need a consult about dental implants please contact us at Scott Family Dental at 807-345-6331, we would love to meet you in person.

How do dental implants work? Everything about dental implants...

Step by step guide for your dental implant procedure at Scott Family Dental

1. Dental consult with your specialist dentist (Prosthodontic- dental implant specialists), discussion of medical and dental history, medications. Diagnostic or digital impressions, X-ray radiography and a Cone beam CT is taken. Understanding the need of the patient is critical. These diagnostic tools are used to examine the quality and quantity of the bone at the intended site of the dental implant and the distance between the intended implant and the natural tooth.

2. Your dentist will propose a treatment plan that best suits your needs. Fixed crown and bridge or removable implant supported dentures or the combination of these. We will try to match your personal and financial goals. If the treatment plan is accepted we schedule a date for your implant placement appointment.

   • In most cases your dentist will create a surgical guide that will allow for precise placement of the dental implants in the planned position. These guides are fabricated using the impression and CBCT and be fabricated by using a 3D printer.

3. Teeth implantation will be your next appointment. It is performed in local anesthesia that induces the absence of sensation in a specific area of you jaws. All the procedures are completely pain less. A bone slot is created and your implant fixture is placed in the prepared site. The implant will be closed by a healing screw or a healing cap. A suture is placed to close the tissues tightly around the dental implant.

   • In selected cases we will immediately give you a fixed temporary crown at the time of your surgery. These restorations are temporary in nature, so a final restoration will be delivered about 3-4 month after the implant is placed.

   • In cases where ‘immediate loading’ of the implants in not possible we will fabricate a removable appliance that you can wear in the healing period.

4. Some cases require a second stage or reopening surgery. If the implant was buried under tissue you will require to go through this minor procedure to expose the implant and be able to connect a final crown. This procedure is only necessary for some cases, usually determined by your implant specialist.

5. Impression taking for final crown. With the most up to date technology available in our office we are able to scan your implants with a 3D intraoral scanner and design your crowns on a computer. These will be then milled by a 5 axis milling machine. Some cases still require conventional impression taking. The method of impression taking will be determined by your dental implant specialist at Scott Family Dental.

6. Delivery of your final restoration. This could be fixed single crown or multiple teeth bridge or removable denture.

7. Regular follow up visits with our hygienists and dental implant specialist to maintain your dental implants.

Dental Implant FAQs:

Fig.1 Single implant crown

1. The final implant crown is made up of 3 parts: (Fig. 1.)

   • the implant fixture which integrates in the bone

   • the abutment which connects the implant with the crown

   • The crown that looks like your natural teeth

2. The success rate of dental implants is above 90 %

3. Implant surgery is literally pain free, done in local anesthesia

4. Age is not a determining factor

5. Fixed restoration can be a single crown (Fig 1.), a short span bridge (Fig. 2.) or a long span- full arch bridge (Fig. 3)

Fig. 2. Short span bridge

Fig. 3. Long span- Full arch bridge

If you have any questions about these procedures or you know you might need a dental implant please contact us at 807-345-6331, we would love to meet you in person.