Dental Procedure Gives Patients Implants in One Day

Corn on the cob is just one of the many foods that is hard to eat if you wear dentures.

Jim Artress, 67, who lives in New Jersey, struggled with his dentures for 10 years while searching for a better alternative.
“It's kind of embarrassing if you're eating with someone, and it's obvious that your compensating for teeth that are not secured to your mouth," Artress said.
After spending thousands of dollars on consultations and estimates for dental implants, he still was not convinced.
Then he heard about another type of dental implant at the Malo Clinic in Rutherford, N.J.
“It just made sense, and they said they could do it in one day, and I would have the teeth,” he said.
Artress’ oral surgeon, Dr. Steven Moss, said with other procedures, patients may have to undergo expensive bone grafting for more than a year to prepare for implants.
"So what we used to do in 12, 15, 18 months—we can now do in one day," Moss said.
Normally, once someone has lost their teeth, they don't have enough bone remaining in their jaw for implants.
However, using the latest 3D imaging technology—the "all on four" technique—it takes as little as four hours to put a bridge on just four implants, which are angled to utilize the bone that is available.
And the procedure is covered by most dental insurances.
So for patients like Artress, living with dentures doesn't have to be the only solution.
“Many patients are told they have no alternatives; they are stuck with their dentures and that's why we have advertisements saying ‘no, you're not stuck with your dentures,’” Moss said. “There is an alternative, there is hope.”