Dear Dr. Gino, I have a question concerning the dental implant placement. I am missing the teeth on the right side of the upper and in the most part of the lower jaw. I am considering dental implants and would like to know whether it is necessary to extract all the teeth of the upper jaw in order to insert a bridge?

Dental implants may be inserted to various patients, both to those missing all or some of their teeth. With patients who have teeth it is less likely that the jaw will be too narrow. When placing implants no extraction of existing teeth is required, because implants are inserted in places where the teeth are missing. So it is absolutely possible for you to retain the existing teeth and get a bridge supported by new dental implants.

Dear Valdent staff, after visiting you website I learned that patients with fixed dentures can also have a bridge inserted. I am very interested in that, because I believed that nothing more could be done once the denture is made. I have had a complete denture for 16 months now and I am not satisfied how it functions. Although I am told that I will get used to it, I still feel it as a foreign body in my mouth, more a nuisance than an aid. Please tell me who can have the implants inserted and what is the success rate achieved in your dental studio?

The first step in the placement of dental implants that makes it possible to insert a fixed bridge structure or replace the denture by a bridge is to make an X-ray examination that gives the answer to the question of the patient's suitability for the placement of a dental implant. Since you have a complete denture, which means that you are missing the teeth in the lower jaw, it is necessary to insert 4-6 dental implants to serve as future bridge supports

Our dental studio has an extremely high success rate in dental implants placement. So far no problem whatsoever has been recorded with any of our patients, which can be attributed to good quality X-ray examinations, frequent checkups and our patients who follow all of our recommendations given during the treatment.

Dear Sirs, while talking to my friend I learned that dental implants may be placed into the jaw bone, but I was confused to hear that it did make a difference whether the implant should be inserted into the lower or the upper jaw. As I have a denture for the lower jaw, I would like to know whether I could have implants inserted and how long the treatment takes.

It actually does make a difference whether the implants are inserted in the lower or the upper jaw. Due to its anatomic properties, the upper jaw needs more time to adopt the dental implants, which can be from 4-6 months. For the lower jaw this time period lies between 2 and 3 months. The procedure of the dental implant placement can be done painlessly using a little bit stronger local anaesthetic only

Today this is a completely routine procedure. If a patient is suitable for the dental implant placement, in the first week the implant is screwed into the place in the jaw and the gum flap is sewn using the degradable thread that need not be removed later. A check must be made 24 hours after the surgery, and during the first week the patient should be especially careful.

Dear Sirs, I have noticed on your websites that there are patients who are not candidates for dental implant placement. What does it depend upon and is it possible to have dental implants inserted after having had a denture for a longer period of time?

The placement of dental implants depends primarily on the patient's health status. If a jaw is not sufficiently wide and high or if it is too narrow, no dental implant may be inserted before the extension of the dental ridge using natural bones from the hips or the rips. Reasons against the placement of dental implants may also be some diseases such as osteoporosis and paradonthosis.

Such surgeries are mostly performed after bad car accidents when the dental jaw has to be reconstructed. In Zagreb they are performed by a team of specialists in the Dubrava Clinical Hospital.