dental implants

Titanium: The Bone-Loving Metal

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Categories: Dental Health, dental implants, dentures

The key to a successful dental implant is osseointegration: the fusing of the implant with the patient’s jawbone. At Boulder County Smiles in Lafayette CO, we have performed many dental implants, and are proud that they have a success rate greater than ninety percent.

Some patients think of dental implants as replacement teeth. But strictly speaking, a dental implant is a titanium post that is inserted into the jaw, where it replaces the missing tooth root. One or more of these posts can support an artificial crown, bridgework, or even a set of dentures.

The entire procedure hinges on the implant attaching to the bone. And this is the real beauty of it: dental implants are made from titanium, a strong but light metal with a unique ability to fuse, or join, with the bone. There’s actually a word for this: osteophilic, which means “bone loving.” This unique property has made titanium the material of choice in dental implants.

Dental implants have a remarkably high success rate: over ninety percent. The biggest threat to an implant is infection. That makes it critical to keep a dental implant clean – as important as with natural teeth. Plaque collects on and around implant crowns the same way it does on teeth, so it is up to the patient to remove it every day. And that, of course, means brushing and flossing.

Like all technology, dental implants are constantly advancing. In the near future, dental implants are expected to have features that eliminate bacteria. That could mean an even higher success rate.

But it all begins with the titanium post, and osseointegration. At Boulder County Smiles in Lafayette CO we offer dental implants. We also offer general and family dentistry. Schedule an appointment with us today.

Contact Boulder County Smiles:

720-862-3630

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

1140 W South Boulder Rd Ste 201
Lafayette, Colorado
80026

 

We Solve Problems To Restore Smiles

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Categories: Dental Health, dental implants

solve tough dental problems Lafayette

Even if you think your smile is beyond repair,  it may not be true. At Boulder County Smiles in Lafayette CO we perform dental miracles every day. Here are some tough dental problems we routinely solve:

Tough Problem 1: Insufficient Bone for Dental Implant
Solution: Bone Grafting

As a replacement for a missing tooth, a dental implant has many merits as compared to a dental bridge. However, there must be sufficient bone to support the titanium post (screw) that is surgically implanted.

Many implant patients need some level of bone grafting and the procedure has a high success rate. Disinfected, processed donor bone is placed at the implant location where the bone needs structural strengthening. The grafting material is in granular form that can be packed into the contours. It generates growth, and eventually the patient’s newly-produced bone replaces the donor bone material.

If you have had another dentist tell you that you don’t have enough bone to place an implant post, talk to Dr. West. The team at Boulder County Smiles has carried out many bone grafting procedures for dental implant placement.

Tough Problem 2: Severe Tooth Loss
Solution: Full Mouth Restoration

If it feels like your dental troubles are beyond repair because you have few or no teeth left, take heart. Regardless of the cause—chemotherapy, recreational drug use, eating disorder, extreme mouth injury, disability, inadequate oral hygiene, or simply poor overall health—there is hope.

Full mouth reconstruction can restore your previously healthy, beautiful smile or give you the remarkable smile you never had. Patients who receive full mouth restoration regain their confidence to smile, eat, and speak normally.

Full mouth restoration is comprised of a combination of dental procedures as necessary according to the patient’s particular situation. These can include dental implants, implant-supported bridges, orthodontia, crowns, inlays/onlays, dental bonding, gum contouring, soft tissue grafts, and teeth whitening.

At Boulder County Smiles in Lafayette CO, we are committed to the dental health of each patient. Services include dental implants and sleep apnea treatment. Schedule an appointment today.

Contact Boulder County Smiles:

720-862-3630

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

1140 W South Boulder Rd Ste 201
Lafayette, Colorado
80026

 

ArticleID 7516

Look As Young As You Feel By Replacing Missing Teeth

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Categories: dental implants, dentures

tooth implants BoulderA wise person once said that everyone wants a long life, but no one wants to get old. Yet there are rewards to maturing, like wisdom and more free time for family, hobbies, or travel. At Boulder County Smiles in Lafayette CO, we know there can be a down side, too, like missing teeth. Fortunatley, they can be replaced with dental implants that are nearly as good as the real thing.

Gaps In Your Smile?

Missing teeth are one of the more common issues for older citizens. At Boulder County Smiles, we can restore missing teeth with dental implants.

Dental implants are titanium posts that are inserted into your jaw. A single implant can suipport one artificial tooth. Multiple implants can support a set of dentures.

Dental Implants Are The Restoration Of Choice For Active Seniors

Dental implants help active seniors look as young as they feel. They are strong, natural-looking, and function like real teeth. Restore the youthful smile you once enjoyed with permanent dental implants.

Avoid Denture Drawbacks

Avoid denture disadvantages: embarrassing slipping, limited taste, and gum irritation. Dental implants are not just for youthful smiles, they keep your facial shape intact by maintaining jawbone structure.

At Boulder County Smiles in Lafayette CO, dental implants are among our specialties – whether it’s a single implant or implant-supported dentures. We also offer general and family dentistry. Schedule your next checkup with us today.

Contact Boulder County Smiles:

720-862-3630

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

1140 W South Boulder Rd Ste 201
Lafayette, Colorado
80026

 

ArticleID 8094

Ask Us About Denture-Stabilization Implants

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Categories: dental implants, dentures

Boulder County tooth implants

The condition of your teeth has a big impact on your quality of life. Denture wearers understand this all too well. The path from a healthy mouth to a toothless mouth is downhill. Denture implants from Boulder County Smiles in Lafayette CO can make an enormous difference.

The Drawbacks of Dentures

While dentures are better than having no teeth at all, they certainly come with drawbacks. They can irritate gums and make breathing, eating, tasting food, talking, and laughing difficult. And they’re not a once-and-your-done solution for missing teeth. As the jaw shrinks, they call for relines.

Stop The Progression

But there is reason for hope! Dental implant technology can improve the quality of life for people who have been wearing traditional dentures. To a certain extent, implants stop the downhill progression of declining oral health due to tooth loss.

Dental implants can be used to replace one tooth, to anchor overdentures. Mini dental implants (also called denture-stabilization implants) allow us to securely an appliance that won’t slip or irritate gums. Small titanium posts (the actual implants) are inserted into the jawbone, and in time fuse with the surrounding bone, creating a secure base for an overdenture.

Restore Chewing Ability

Did you know that some denture patients retain only ten percent of their chewing capacity? Denture implants can curb bone recession and restore near-normal chewing ability. Improved chewing function with implants can result in better nutrition and overall physical health and well-being.

Denture implants are among the services available at Boulder County Smiles in Lafayette CO. We provide general and family dentistry, and have sedation options. Call to schedule an appointment today.

Contact Boulder County Smiles:

720-862-3630

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

1140 W South Boulder Rd Ste 201
Lafayette, Colorado
80026

 

ArticleID 7770

A Great Achievement in Dentistry

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Categories: Dental Health, dental implants

Dental implants have been hailed as one of the truly great advances in the field of dentistry, and with good reason. Implants are an artificial tooth root that is surgically implanted into the jaw of a patient, to replace a missing root. The implant, in turn, can support an artificial tooth; multiple implants can anchor a set of dentures. Dental implants are available from Boulder County Smiles in Lafayette CO.

But first, there are times when we have to take a moment and marvel at human ingenuity. The idea of dental implants actually goes back at least a thousand years. Ancient implants were a far cry from what we know today: sea shells, pieces of metal, and even bits of bone were placed in the patient’s jaw. We don’t know if any of them were any good, but the idea was there.

Implants as we know them today date back to the early 1950s. The implant is most often made from titanium. One of their great benefits is that they help to prevent bone loss, which is common in people who have lost one of their natural teeth.

In practical terms, the great thing about single implants is that they function like a natural tooth. The titanium post fuses to the patient’s jaw, and integrates with the bone so well that the body seldom recognizes them as a foreign object. Rejection is rare.

Conventional dentures may be more affordable than implant-anchored dentures. But because they are removable, most patients find that traditional dentures can be unreliably loose. They can also affect the ability to enjoy food. These are not issues with implant-supported dentures.

Dental implants from Boulder County Smiles in Lafayette are the closest thing to getting back a natural tooth. Find out more by scheduling a consultation today. We also provide general and family dentistry, and pediatric dentistry.

Contact Gordon West DDS – Aesthetic & General Dentistry:

720-862-3630

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

1140 W South Boulder Rd Ste 201
Lafayette, Colorado
80026

Dental Questions? Gordon West DDS Has Answers

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Categories: cosmetic dentistry, Dental Health, dental implants, Family dentistry, general dentistry, Sleep apnea

sealants Louisville

Health conscious people want to take care of their teeth. However, many men and women need a place where they can review basic principles of dental health and get straightforward information about restorative and cosmetic dental procedures such as dental implants, teeth whitening, and veneers. This blog from a Lafayette CO dentist is your source for this helpful oral care information.

Many of our dental patients have concerns and questions about their oral care. That’s why we include hot-button dental issues in our blog such as:

Smile Makeovers
Sealants
Invisible Braces
Toothbrush Care
ADA Seal Products
Tooth Protection
Gum Contouring
Dental Implants

We hope that this information will help you make educated decisions about your oral care.

At Boulder County Smiles in Lafayette CO, we provide general and family dentistry, dental implants, and treat conditions like sleep apnea. Schedule an appointment today.

Contact Gordon West DDS – Aesthetic & General Dentistry:

720-862-3630

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

1140 W South Boulder Rd Ste 201
Lafayette, Colorado
80026

 

Schedule Your Coronation

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Categories: cosmetic dentistry, dental crowns, Dental Health, dental implants, general dentistry

dentist crowns Lafayette

We treat all of our patients royally here at Boulder County Smiles in Lafayette CO, but some of them receive actual crowns. Not what a king or queen wears, but crowns for your teeth!

Crowns are a therapy for a host of problems:

  • To protect a weak tooth from decay, breaking, or to hold together a cracked tooth.
  • To cover and provide strength to a tooth with a large filling and little tooth structure remaining.
  • To restore a broken tooth or a tooth that has been severely worn down.
  • To improve a tooth that is too small or misshapen.
  • To cover a tooth with severe discoloration.
  • To add strength to a tooth following a root canal procedure.

If you feel like you have a need for a crown, don’t look any further than Gordon West DDS – Aesthetic & General Dentistry. Our dentists and lab techs have the experience, training, and expertise to make sure your crowns are constructed and placed accurately. There are many different kinds of crowns that serve different purposes. We complete an extensive examination to ensure the crown you get is perfect for you and your smile.

We then prepare your tooth so that the crown will fit the way that it should. Once the tooth is prepared and ready, we use state-of-the-art tools to fit the crown on your tooth. When done properly, crowns can last many years.

Crowns are wonderful way to safeguard and beautify your smile. Schedule a coronation today! Boulder County Smiles also provides dental implants, and sedation dentistry.

Contact Gordon West DDS – Aesthetic & General Dentistry:

720-862-3630

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

1140 W South Boulder Rd Ste 201
Lafayette, Colorado
80026

 

Restore Or Replace: New Life For Your Damaged Tooth

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Categories: cosmetic dentistry, dental crowns, dental implants, Family dentistry, general dentistry, porcelain veneers

As the saying goes, there is more than one way to skin a cat (although we don’t know anyone who has actually tried). And with cosmetic dentistry at Boulder County Smiles in Lafayette CO, there is more than one way to fix a tooth.

If you are the lucky owner of a set of perfectly healthy teeth, you may never need any of these procedures. However, if you are like most of us, you will probably need to restore a tooth eventually. Today’s post looks at six restoration procedures that are used routinely to repair damaged teeth:

A Porcelain Veneer
These wafer-thin covers can hide a chip or crack or fix the alignment of a tooth that is slightly crooked.

A Filling, Inlay, or Onlay
This procedure has been used to restore teeth for over a century though the materials and techniques have advanced. One fairly new option is white filling replacement for metal fillings. A traditional filling is shaped and molded after it is applied to the tooth. Because inlays and onlays are created in a dental lab, they are frequently called indirect fillings. Inlays are applied to just the center of the biting surface of a tooth (not to a cusp or point) and are frequently smaller than onlays. An onlay restores one or more cusps of a tooth.

Dental Bonding
Bonding, officially called direct composite veneers, is used to correct chips, cracks, stains, and make teeth longer. It is also sometimes used to fill cavities. A skilled cosmetic dentist applies pliable composite resin and molds it to the specific shape needed. The resin is then hardenend with a special curing light.

A Dental Crown
A crown replaces the entire visible portion of the tooth, restoring appearance, strength, and function. Crowns are used for teeth that have had a root canal, teeth with acute decay, the replacement tooth in a dental bridge, and the visible portion of a dental implant. Crowns can be made of all metal (such as gold), porcelain-fused-to-metal, all ceramic, or all resin.

Dental Implants
Many dentists consider a tooth implant to be the ultimate restoration because it restores the entire tooth – both root and crown. Most dental implant recipients report that the implant is indistinguishable from a natural tooth. Another boon is the fact that an implant can prevent bone recession which is common at an extraction site. Dental implants are used in a variety of applications such as anchoring dentures and dental bridges.

For more information about any of these cosmetic dentistry procedures, call Boulder County Smiles. We also treat sleep apnea and other conditions. Make an appointment with us today.

Contact Gordon West DDS – Aesthetic & General Dentistry:

720-862-3630

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

1140 W South Boulder Rd Ste 201
Lafayette, Colorado
80026

 

Just Like Natural Teeth (Naturally Perfect Teeth, That Is!)

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Categories: cosmetic dentistry, dental implants, porcelain veneers

porcelain veneers Lafayette

Hello friends and neighbors in the Lafayette area! Have you been searching for the right dentist to repair your crooked, stained, or chipped teeth? The team at Gordon West DDS wants to end your search! We specialize in porcelain veneers, which are an extraordinary, minimally-invasive solution for cracked, stained, or chipped teeth.

Porcelain veneers are custom-fitted glass-like porcelain shells that are permanently attached to the surface of the teeth that need correcting.

A veneer can transform a tooth’s color, shape, size, or length. The porcelain closely resembles genuine tooth enamel so you will look like you were born with a perfect smile. Our veneers are practically indistinguishable from natural teeth – naturally perfect teeth, that is.

Because we offer porcelain veneers that are custom-made and fitted perfectly to your teeth, you can correct multiple issues at once with just one procedure.

Fix chips and cracks without compromising the healthy tooth structure.

When considering porcelain veneers, it’s indispensable that you have them done the right way by a reputable cosmetic dentist. When done the right way, porcelain veneers can stay strong and beautiful for many years.

At Gordon West DDS in Lafayette, we also provide dental implants. Make an appointment with us today.

Contact Gordon West DDS – Aesthetic & General Dentistry:

720-862-3630

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

1140 W South Boulder Rd Ste 201
Lafayette, Colorado
80026

 

Is Your Smile In A World Of Hurt?

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Categories: cosmetic dentistry, dental crowns, dental implants, Family dentistry, restorative dentistry

full mouth reconstruction Boulder

Do you have acute tooth damage, bone loss, or few or no teeth still intact? Restorative dentistry from Boulder County Smiles can help those whose mouths are in a world of hurt.

First off, we feel for you. We understand how severe dental issues influence you every day of your life.

Whatever the cause of the condition – chemotherapy, recreational drug use, eating disorder, extreme mouth injury, disability, inadequate oral hygiene, or simply poor overall health – there is hope.

Full mouth reconstruction can restore your previously healthy, beautiful smile or give you the brilliant smile you never had. Patients who undergo full mouth reconstruction regain their confidence to smile, eat, and speak normally. How would that influence your life?

Replacing missing teeth and adding bone through grafting restores underlying facial structure, improving or preventing that “sunk-in” look that ensues when teeth are gone and the jawbone recedes.

Full mouth reconstruction (sometimes called full mouth restoration) is a term which refers to a combination of dental procedures that restore a smile for people with multiple damaged or missing teeth. Treatment may include any combination of the following procedures: crowns, inlays/onlays, dental bonding, white filling replacement, tooth implants, porcelain veneers, implant-anchored dentures, gum contouring, soft tissue grafts, bone grafts, and tooth whitening.

Dental implants are generally the best tooth replacement for those with missing teeth. A dental implant consists of a titanium post surgically inserted into the jaw bone to replace the root of the missing tooth. If there is not enough bone to anchor an implant, bone grafting may be performed to augment existing bone.

If you currently have dentures, ask us about implant-anchored full or partial dentures. Significant improvements can be made even if you only get two or three tooth implants.

Crowns (sometimes called caps) are used when there is enough viable tooth structure that the tooth doesn’t need to be extracted. A crown adds strength to a tooth that has a large filling or has been injured. A crown can repair a bite misalignment and is usually necessary after a root canal. In a dental implant procedure, attaching the crown to the abutment is the final step.

At Boulder County Smiles in Lafayette CO, we offer a full range of restorative dentistry procedures. Restoring a healthy smile may be the best investment you ever make. Make an appointment with us today.

Contact Gordon West DDS – Aesthetic & General Dentistry:

720-862-3630

Location (Tap to open in Google Maps):

1140 W South Boulder Rd Ste 201
Lafayette, Colorado
80026