Impossibly Perfect Implants: Your guide to a Healthy Smile

By John W. Thousand and Max Minor

CHANGE YOUR SMILE, CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

There’s a lot to consider when you’re in need of dental implants. In his book, IMPOSSIBLY PERFECT IMPLANTS: YOUR GUIDE TO A HEALTHY SMILE, author and professional periodontist Dr. John Thousand raises awareness about the delicacy, complexity, and risks of these proc

• Language: English
• Publisher: JWThousand Perio Surg LLC
• Release date: Oct 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9781734488647

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

WHY PUTTING A SMILE ON YOUR FACE PUTS A SMILE ON MINE

First, I’d like to start by stating that my name is John Thousand IV, and I don’t know as much as everyone might think I do. I’m a periodontist, yes, and I’ve gone through a whole bunch of school. But I’ve learned just as much, if not more, outside of the educational system. Most important, I’ve learned just how much we don’t know about the mouth and its relationship to the human body. While the goal of this book is to give you accurate, up-to-date information on dental implants in a format that can be digested by those without a medical background, I can’t honestly tell you that what we know right now won’t change next year. This idea both terrifies and humbles me.

Second, none of the information in this book came from original thought. I mean it when I say that I stand on the shoulders of giants. What I’m going to share with you in this book was developed through incredible research performed by my brilliant predecessors. I am simply here to take what these remarkable people have done and distill it into something that the rest of the world with teeth (or lack thereof) can appreciate.

As I mentioned before, I’m a periodontist. A periodontist is a dentist who has focused his or her scope of practice on the study and treatment of the structures that surround and support the teeth: bones, connective tissue, and gums. According to the American Academy of Periodontology, a periodontist specializes in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of periodontal disease and oral inflammation. We’re also well versed in the placement of dental implants. If you really want to break it down, the word periodontal has the Latin roots perio, meaning around, and dontal, meaning tooth; so, I treat diseases and issues around teeth (and implants).

While I specialize in the supporting structures (or foundation) of teeth, my restorative dentist colleagues specialize in the restoration of the stuff on top of the foundation—the teeth themselves. Therefore, they know a lot about teeth and how to fix them. They are the masters of everything above the gums! There are phenomenal dentists where I practice, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to work with them. They are incredible clinicians who really understand the big picture, which is to provide you with the healthiest mouth possible. This understanding allows these restorative dentists to coordinate with specialists, like me, because they believe in providing you with the best possible care. We work together as a team because our diverse and distinct knowledge creates the best result for you. As the saying goes, Two heads are better than one.

If you are like most of my patients, you went to see your general dentist first. They performed an evaluation and found conditions in your mouth that they felt were better treated by me. For instance, you may need dental implants, or you may have periodontal disease (which is gum disease), or you may have especially difficult teeth to extract, and your general dentist needs me to take care of these portions of your treatment. My specialty practice includes the complete spectrum of periodontal therapies, including nonsurgical and surgical disease treatment, and periodontal plastic surgery procedures. I diagnose and treat periodontal disease, and I’m also an expert at replacing missing teeth with dental implants. I’ve received extensive training in these areas—three additional years of education beyond dental school.

A large part of what I do in my practice is regenerating bone and gums for patients who don’t have enough for implants. Whether I am rebuilding these structures for future implants or to make your smile more natural—this is my favorite thing in the world. What a wonderful time to be a periodontist! Technology and experience have taken what was once impossible and made it a reality. We can literally rebuild your bone and gums to make it look and feel like they were never missing to begin with.

There’s a lot to consider when you’re in need of dental implants. This book is designed to raise awareness about the delicacy, complexity, and risks of these procedures. My mission is to provide you with information about dental implants and the supporting bone and gingival tissues you will need for long-term implant success. If you’re missing a tooth, about to be missing a tooth, or missing all of your teeth and want to know what it takes to place implants successfully, this is the guide for you.

WHY I DO WHAT I DO

I think everyone has moments in his or her life that really stick with them. These moments are so incredibly important because they help to clarify our identity. They provide us with the drive to become the best we can be. These moments allow us to discover our calling—what we were put on this earth to do. For me, these defining moments have almost always been from experiences with patients. Now, this next part may sound a little bit selfish, and maybe it is, but I always seem to benefit more from my patients than they do from me. They have provided me with a vision of my life’s purpose, and I owe my life and my career to them.

Celia was one of these patients. When she first visited my office, Celia was thirty years old. She’d had three of her front teeth knocked out in a bicycle accident when she was a teenager. Her previous dentists tried everything they could to save the teeth. She went through treatment after treatment, and surgery after surgery, but eventually she lost the teeth. Imagine going through your teens and twenties without front teeth. What a tough time that must have been for her! Kids can be very mean.

During our comprehensive evaluation, Celia said she was willing to do the work required to make her teeth perfect. So, we set up a complete treatment plan with a timeline of about two years. Yes, her treatment was so extensive that it took two years to complete. (Luckily most treatment plans can be completed in a matter of months and sometimes in a single day!)

The first step was to refer her to an orthodontist, who put Celia’s teeth in braces to move them into the ideal position to receive implants. Celia wore those braces for a year, and once her teeth were straightened out, we took a 3-D X-ray to see what kind of bone density she had—which turned out to be next to nothing. Celia was deficient vertically and horizontally; she didn’t have enough bone height or width to support implants. This meant she wasn’t a candidate for dental implants and wouldn’t be unless she went through a significant bone rebuilding process.

This was when I began my work. I used a technique called guided bone regeneration to rebuild the front of her upper jaw. We let it heal for six months, and when she came back, we found that her bone quality was incredible. We put in the provisionals—temporary screw-in teeth that only the dentist can remove—to reshape the tissues. Finally, we put the permanent crowns in—and the transformation was staggering. We took her toothless smile and made it full, natural, and radiant.

Figure 1.1 Before

Figure 1.2 After

The journey was an incredible experience. I got to know her family and meet her parents, who made traditional Mexican food and brought it in for everyone in our office. One time, Celia, who had a wonderful sense of humor, brought me enchiladas she had put through the blender. She laughed and said it was payback for the first month after bone grafting when she was required to be on a liquid diet. When you see Celia now, you wouldn’t even know she has implants. Her teeth are permanent and real—they don’t come out, because we gave her titanium roots. She doesn’t have to worry about things like pulling her teeth out while she’s eating, and she has more confidence when she goes out in public.

Your heart melts when you’re able to make someone so happy. I believe, deep down in my core, that I have the best job in the world. I’ve had the opportunity to work with incredible mentors and teachers, who have given me the training I needed to be able to help someone like Celia, who first came into our office with a nearly impossible case. Celia was a model patient who did everything I asked her to do, and the result was life-changing. There is no experience more fulfilling than that.

WHY READ THIS BOOK?

In reading this book, you will learn everything you need to know about dental implants, bone and gum augmentation, and the role I take in your treatment team as your periodontist. You’ll learn how your general dentist and I can transform your life by giving you the beautiful smile you’ve always wanted, including

• what a dental implant is, and the components of which it is composed;

• the critical biologic components necessary for long-term implant success in your mouth;

• the techniques I use to build your