For many years, dentures have been the most common solution offered to patients missing many, or even all of their teeth. While dentures have benefited many thousands of patients, they are still far from ideal.
One of the main problems with dentures is that they can cause patients great difficulty eating. Indeed, denture wearers will often experience a reduction in chewing efficiency of nearly 30 per cent, and in some cases will experience up to a 10-fold drop in their bite force. Denture wearers will also often experience associated complications linked with their reduced chewing efficiency, with many suffering from indigestion or even constipation. Furthermore, dentures are also notoriously inconvenient, and many users find their dentures bring a level of social awkwardness that greatly impacts upon their quality of life.
Thankfully, with great advances in implant technology, a solution is at hand: 'fixed teeth in a day'. Developed in Europe, this advanced implant technique takes advantage of the dense bone in the front part of the jaw. By placing implants at an angle to avoid the sinus cavities in the upper jaw and the nerve canal in the lower jaw, the technique eliminates the need for bone grafting and lengthy healing times. This technique provides great stability and enables patients to receive a fully fixed arch of non-removable teeth, on as few as four implants all in the same day.
From patients' perspective, 'fixed teeth in a day' is a potentially life-changing treatment.
While the advantages are significant for patients with missing or failing teeth, the advantages for the practice are also numerous. For a start, advertising permanent teeth in a day is a great way of attracting a new market of potential patients. Many patients who have missing or failing teeth often do not visit the dentist regularly, or may have even given up on the dentist all together, so advertising a treatment that can potentially solve all their problems can prove a sound marketing strategy.
Even practices that don't offer implants can take advantage of this significant gap in the market, as with the trend for referrals growing year on year, more practices are now out sourcing treatments to clinics that specialise in the procedure.
A great advantage of referral in cases such as these is that your patients get all the benefits of receiving first class treatment from experts in implant dentistry, while at the same time, as the 'home' practice, you can take an active involvement in creating and placing the final restoration. Referrals allow you to significantly expand the treatment options you can offer and have the added benefit of bringing more patients through the door.
If your practice has a particular focus on restorative treatments, there are plenty of opportunities here for providing patients with advanced restorations should their budgets permit.
'Fixed teeth in a day' is a revolutionary means of treating patients with failing teeth or dentures and can prove a powerful tool for attracting new patients to your practice, and ultimately, changing people's lives. While some practices will not necessarily have the appropriate facilities or expertise to deal with this complex procedure, with referrals practices and their patients can gain all the benefits of offering advanced implant procedures without any of the drawbacks.