Uncovering your Buried Implants

Q: I have no teeth on the bottom and had a dentist place four implants. The hope was to then make a denture that would clip onto the implants three months later. Just last week when she uncovered the implants, she had to make a big incision to find the implants, which were hidden, under the gum. This left me in stitches for two weeks with soreness that prevented me form being able to use my old denture. I couldn’t eat or leave my home for week’sunyil it all healed. The final clip-on denture wont be ready for about a month. Is this right?

A: I have an idea. (Dangerous words, I know!) Not the first idea I have had; I invented something back in the early 90’s: “The Strength Clench; The Weight Belt for the Mouth”. It was worn on a lanyard and placed between the teeth while pumping iron to protect your teeth and jaw joint (The TMJ) from damage. Although Muscle and Fitness, Men’s Health and the NY Times wrote about it, I sold a whopping fifty-two units! Enough for an Amtrak train to Albany NY.

I often will invent a technique, more than an item. Example: to prevent what happened to you, I came up with the idea of taking an impression as soon as I place my implants, even before the incision is sutured closed. The plaster model form this impression will show the location of the implants. Then I have my lab make a clear plastic mouthpiece with holes drilled through it corresponding to the implants below. Then, when it is time to uncover the implants, I simply insert an electro cautery probe through the hole, which burns away a tiny piece of tissue covering the implants. No incisions, no scalpel and no stitches. I will be submitting a small article on this to the JADA for their “Dental Pearls” section. Not a big moneymaker, but will help out a lot of dentists and patients.