Dr. Katie To explains how to guide patients after tooth extraction. Posterior teeth need 3-4 months to heal before implants; anterior teeth can get temporary crowns immediately. Before choosing between titanium and zirconia implants, patients should get biocompatibility testing to see what their body actually tolerates.
What kind of recommendations are you giving to your patients when they do have to remove that tooth to get something replaced there? Again, patients have to understand all the options because the well-informed patients are the happy patients. Because it is, again, their body, their choice, and we respect their choice no matter what. Also, they have to respect their body biocompatibility. I have patients really want to get implant done, but their body can't handle it. It doesn't mean never. Most of the time it means not now, maybe later when you heal more, when your body can tolerate more. So usually when a tooth is out, first of all, we always look at the location of the tooth. If something that in the back, then we let it heal naturally for at least 3, 4 months. Now I know a lot of patients have trauma and end up with a tooth that has been removed in the front. Then that front tooth, for sure, the day that we remove it, you will have a beautiful temporary tooth to replace it. So you can smile, you can talk, definitely not bite into an apple, but enough for you to be able to heal with confidence and dignity. You don't have to walk around with not— without a front tooth. Now, once they heal around 3 to 4 months, we want to make sure that the healing is properly. So we scan another 3D CBCT to see bone fill in completely. There's no void, there's no infections, there's nothing that concerns us. Then at that time, they have an option, either getting a partial denture, something that you can clip in and then take it out every day, something that can be bonded. It could be a composite bonded to teeth next to it, so we don't have to remove any tooth structure. And that will actually, these days, with the digital smile design, is really a good option because number one, it doesn't harm any teeth, it's non-invasive. Patient didn't have to be numb for that procedure. Number two, it is reversible. Because I still very hopeful that one day in the future we can grow teeth back. It is, could be sound like a sci-fi movie right now, but don't we think like that with all the technology we have today? 20 years, 30 years ago, if you talk about anything we have today, people like, We must be dreaming. But here we are living that dream, right? We can do so much more with technology and research and improvement in science and health. So we want to be able to protect and hold that space for patients so in the future they can still regrow their teeth, right? And another option is most people want quality of life. They want to be able to chew again, feel like they're eating and tasting the food again. Then a lot of patients would look into a single implant replacement. And we have two different materials out there. We have titanium, which is like a metal implant, and we have zirconia, which is a ceramic implant. My number one advice for people, don't assume that one implant is better than the other. You got to understand your body. Know thyself. We know that somebody can do, I would say, CrossFit and doing great, I can do CrossFit. I know that for me, walking, lower Pilates, yoga, better for me. So again, with same with the implant, we have to get the patient tested. We call the biocompatibility testing. And with that testing, we can confident showing the patient that yes, you are compatible with both. You're compatible with this and not that. And so that way they can pick the right material for themselves versus I know A lot of us feel like we only can recommend one. Let the patient body decide. Because if it's not compatible, everyone knows what happened. The implant failed. The body rejected. It's not always the material problem. It's not always the technique by the clinicians or the dentist or the surgeon. It's the host, which is the patient body. Accept it or reject it. And we have to respect that. We calling this practicing dentistry for a reason. We don't know everything. We also not God to create everything the way that the patient was created. We can do our best and respect the biology and ultimately let the patient choose. So that's my philosophy at Kwon Orthodontistry is respect the body, know thyself, know the patient's body, and then let them choose. And then you're always going to have the outcome that both you and the patients are happy with.
