Dental Implant Surgery
There are two parts to dental implant
placement:
1. The surgical part, where a root form is placed in the
jaw. It is made out of titanium, because titanium is an
exceptionally bio-compatible metal. Bone grows around this titanium
root form, anchoring it to the jaw, analogous to the way the root
of a tooth
would be anchored.
2. The second part is restorative, where a
tooth or teeth is placed on the implant.
The dental implant surgery needs to be
carefully coordinated with the restorative aspect of your treatment,
because the root forms need to be placed in the proper position. The
problems that some people have with dental implants is that the
surgeon didn't know enough about the function of the case to be able
to place them correctly, and the restorative dentist didn't know
enough about the surgery to be able to give complete instructions to
the surgeon.
There are some dentists who do both parts:
the surgery and the restorative part. This is a possible solution to
the problem. However, both parts of the treatment are extremely
specialized, and it is difficult for one practitioner to stay on top
of all the issues to do both at a high level of expertise.
Dr. Chal likes to concentrate on those areas
where he has the greatest expertise, which is the restorative part,
and he relies on excellent communication with highly expert surgeons
for the success of his cases. He has been working with the same
surgeons for many years.
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A photograph of the Chal-Hatcher
Guide, for use with a particular case. |
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To make sure
that there is no misunderstanding, he has developed the
Chal-Hatcher Guide. Click on the link to see a more
extensive write-up of this guide on Dr. Chal's main web site.
Developed for each patient in collaboration with his dental
radiologist and the oral surgeon for the case, it gives
precise instructions for the surgery so that there is no room
for error. In developing this
guide for a particular patient, Dr. Chal starts with the ideal
placement of the teeth according to |
the esthetic and functional needs
of the patient. He then uses extremely detailed CT scans of the
patient's jaw to determine, in consultation with the surgeon,
where to place each implant for the best final result. In the
past, dentists would start with the placement of the implants as
determined by the surgery and work around that to obtain a
hopefully acceptable result.
Dr. Chal and his radiologist,
Dr. David Hatcher, have subsequently been teaching the use of this
Chal-Hatcher guide to international audiences of dentists and dental
technicians.
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