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Dentists and Art
This new invention has made some of answers to the above questions easier and less painful to those who want to opt out of the surgical procedures. This is possible from the new ceramic material ZIRCONIA created at Centre for Image dentistry in Bethesda, Maryland. This procedure pioneered by Dr Kristallis creates a realistic looking gums with texture, color and tint exactly matched by the dentist and which fits exactly, can be glued to in a matter of 10 mins.
Cosmetic Gums
BETHESDA, Md. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) — Doctors have long known how to make replacement teeth, but gums have been a different story. It’s often impossible to reconstruct the defects caused by disease or surgery. Now, doctors say there’s a new innovation on the horizon that’s sure to make patients with gum defects smile.
Elise Kestenbaum loves to garden, but until recently, not even the most beautiful flowers could put a smile on her face. That’s because six dental surgeries left her with an embarrassing hole in her gums.
“It was pretty devastating,” says Kestenbaum. “I was still never comfortable smiling or talking.”
At first, Kestenbaum thought she’d just have to learn to live with the problem. But then she met a dentist who is devising an innovative way to close the gaps left in gums.
“This is very new,” says Thanos Kristallis, D.D.S., a prosthodontist at the Washington Center for Image Dentistry in Bethesda, Maryland. “I’m literally developing this technique.”
Dr. Kristallis creates ceramic gums that attach to teeth or implants. The innovation is possible thanks to zirconia, a strong ceramic that looks much more lifelike than dentures made of plastic or metal.
“[The substance] is just as strong as metal,” Dr. Kristallis says. “That’s a huge breakthrough in our field. For the last 30 years, we didn’t have a material strong enough.”
Dr. Kristallis begins by taking a mold of the patient’s mouth. He then bakes the mold and attaches the ceramic gums to it. After that, Dr. Kristallis begins the painstaking work of getting the coloring, texture and tints of the fake gums exactly right. He even adds shine to make them look wet. “What I’m trying to do is re-create nature,” he explains.
It only takes 10 minutes to cement the new gum to a patient’s tooth. It doesn’t hurt, and the faux gums will last up to 30 years. In a recent international dental journal, Dr. Kristallis explained the procedure could be used on either a very small area of the mouth or the entire arch. Since the new gums are ceramic and not metal, patients don’t have to worry about allergies. There are no side effects or recovery time associated with the procedure, but it is expensive in that it costs between $1,000 and $2,000 per tooth attached to a gum.
Kestenbaum is pleased with her ceramic gums. “Everything was covered. It was one piece. I could eat. I could talk,” she says. “I smile more, and I smile bigger, and I don’t worry about it.”
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week.
If you would like more information, please contact:
Thanos Kristallis, DDS
The Washington Center for Image Dentistry
(301) 652-2300
BACKGROUND: Roughly 95 percent of all Americans suffer from some form of tooth decay or gum disease, making dental disease the most common chronic disorder in the United States. Dentists have long known how to replace missing teeth, but damaged gums are a different story. After sustaining six oral surgeries, dental patient Elise Kestenbaum wound up with several embarrassing holes in her gums. “I had a dentist who thought I had an abscess and destroyed the bone [beneath my gums] 10 to 15 years ago,” explains Kestenbaum. “It eroded all of the tissue, and the bone there disappeared, so I was left with a big hole in the front of my mouth that was very hard to cover. It was pretty devastating.” Like many patients with craters in their gums, Kestenbaum found herself unable to smile with confidence and began to look for procedures that could remedy her situation.
TRADITIONAL TREATMENTS: Cosmetic gum surgery is generally reserved for people with gummy smiles or long-toothed grins. People with gummy smiles may complain their teeth look too short in relation to their gums, so dentists may use lasers to remove excess tissue and further expose a patient’s teeth. People with toothy grins have the opposite problem and feel that receding gums have exposed too much of the tooth. In this situation, a cosmetic dentist can conduct periodontal plastic surgery to lengthen the gums and make a patient’s smile more aesthetically pleasing. Though there are several surgical procedures that can remedy almost any gingival disorder, there are few, if any, quick and easy fixes for people with crevice-laden or abnormal-looking gums.
NEW TREATMENT: Now, a strong ceramic material called zirconia is making it possible for dentists to create long-lasting, realistic looking ceramic gums for dental patients like Kestenbaum. These gums can be attached to a patient’s teeth, or they can be bound to implants in the mouth. The process of creating ceramic gums begins when the dentist takes an impression of a patient’s mouth and creates a model. The ceramic gums are formed around the model to ensure the gums will fit properly once implanted. Once the ceramic gums have been created, the dentist begins his painstaking work of getting the coloring, texture, and tints of the gums exactly right. He also adds some veneer to make the gums look shiny and wet. When the ceramic gums are complete, it only takes 10 minutes to glue them to the tooth. The procedure is completely painless, and the gums are said to last up to 30 years. “We can replace a small, little part in between the teeth, and we can go all the way and replace a full arch,” explains Thanos Kristallis, D.D.S., the cosmetic dentist who pioneered this particular procedure. Dr. Kristallis says the gums don’t just look good, they’re also durable. “[The cosmetic gums] are just as strong as metal,” he explains. “That’s a huge breakthrough in our field. For the last 30 years, we didn’t have a material strong enough. And though we tried to use ceramics, they were just very weak.” Kestenbaum says she is very pleased with her ceramic implants. “Everything was covered,” she says. “[The gum] was in one piece, so I could eat. I could talk. There was no pain or surgical recovery. Now I smile more, and I smile bigger, and I don’t worry about it.” Though effective, Dr. Kristallis says his technology is still very cutting-edge and new. “This [procedure] is very new. Every case is progress, and it’s a breakthrough. It’s very exciting,” he says.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
Thanos Kristallis, DDS
The Washington Center for Image Dentistry
(301) 652-2300
Searched by:Yesim Kale, DMD
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