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Dental implant(s)

How Brazil Changed My Life!

Have you ever experienced something that completely changed your beliefs about your own skills and knowledge?  No, not getting married or having kids, although those probably qualify for most people. I’m talking about running a marathon or performing on a big stage for the first time - you suddenly realize you’re capable of so much more than you’d imagined.  I’ve had two. The first was a martial arts “beach camp” in 1995, during which I learned that the human body is capable of far more than we realize. The second took place Dec. 7-10, 2017 in Santos, Brazil, where I attended a 3-day, live patient, hands-on Continuing Education course on advanced periodontal surgery and oral surgery techniques.  I'm still in awe at the experience and how much more we can now offer our Charlotte patients. How We Can Help With Dental Implants, Bone Grafting, Sinus Lifts, & More I've done periodontal surgery and dental implants for many years, but there have always been certain procedures I've wanted to add.  We know patients love receiving all the care they need in 1 convenient dental office, without having to coordinate with 1 or more specialists.  It's not difficult to learn the theories and steps of each procedure; you can even learn how to deal with numerous complications.  That's not quite the same as doing them, however, and hands-on experience under the supervision of world-class experts is the best way to gain skill and confidence.  That's exactly what this course in Brazil was: 3 days of performing challenging surgical procedures on real patients with expert guidance from the best surgeons in the world, and it blew me away.  Check out the photo gallery of my trip!  It was [...]

By | 2017-12-21T20:45:33-05:00 December 21st, 2017|Dental implant(s), Periodontal surgery|0 Comments
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Cosmetic Dentistry: Invisalign and a Dental Implant

In cosmetic dentistry, matching a single front crown or veneer to the natural teeth around it is considered the single most difficult cosmetic challenge there is.  And when that crown is on a dental implant, it's even harder.  This is when you want a dentist with lots of experience to put together the right plan and the right team for the best possible result.  Here at Smiles by Payet Family Dentistry, that's exactly what you'll find, and here's a perfect example of how it can be done. A Smile Makeover in Stages When Griffin first came to us in 2011, his main concern was to replace his missing front tooth.  While we could have finished his case fairly quickly with a dental bridge, or even with just the dental implant and crown, there were a couple other things about his smile that could be improved, too.  The spacing wasn't ideal, and the teeth on the left side were slanted wrong; if we'd left them as is, it would have been almost impossible to change after the implant. While a dental bridge could have fixed those concerns, Griffin wisely avoided that choice because the neighboring teeth were perfectly healthy, and there was no good reason to drill on them. The final plan for Griffin was as follows: Invisalign to straighten his teeth and fix some minor bite issues Bone grafting since there wasn't enough for the implant The dental implant Teeth Whitening Final dental crown Step 1: Invisalign and the Implant The Invisalign treatment was fairly minor and took less than 6 months.  Next we referred him to Dr. Mehul Gadhia of PerioCare Carolinas for the bone augmentation; after the necessary 3 months of healing, a [...]

By | 2017-06-09T20:33:12-04:00 March 4th, 2014|Cosmetic dentistry, Dental implant(s), Invisalign|0 Comments
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One Dental Implant and 2 Crowns to Smile

Can a Dental Implant Look Natural in a Smile? Are you missing teeth in the front and thinking about a dental implant  to replace it?  If so, are you concerned that the new tooth might not look as natural as your other teeth?  If so, then read on and see how terrific Tim’s smile looks with a dental implant and 2 crowns done in our Charlotte dentist office. Dental Implants Are Cosmetic Dentistry, Too When Tim first came to see us, he was worried about a front tooth that had suddenly become loose and dropped down.  The tooth had a root canal and crown down nearly 35 years ago (pretty impressive!), but unfortunately, the root of the tooth itself had fractured below the bone and could not be fixed, so we ended up extracting it.  Because the crowns were so old and didn’t match his other teeth, we decided to redo the one next to it so his smile would match. When doing dental crowns on front teeth or implants, it automatically becomes a cosmetic dentistry case, so we have to work with a really excellent dental laboratory to create an artistic smile, especially in a case like Tim’s.  If Tim had wanted to do porcelain veneers for his whole smile, this would have been a lot easier, but he was otherwise happy with his smile. Matching Natural Teeth with Dental Crowns is Hard […]

By | 2017-06-09T20:35:07-04:00 April 14th, 2012|Cosmetic dentistry, Dental implant(s)|0 Comments
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2012 – Exciting Changes Ahead!

As our Charlotte NC dental office closed out 2011 and opens for 2012, there are some exciting changes and additions ahead, which we hope will lead to more comfortable, faster, longer-lasting, more esthetic, and even more successful outcomes for our patients of all ages.  So here's a preview of the 2 biggest changes/additions: Dental Implants Of all the plans for the year, I am most excited about starting a 9-month long dental implant continuum of really intense training on all aspects of planning, placing, and restoring dental implants.  From March through November, it's 216 Hours of in-depth training by world-renowned specialists.  Once completed, I will be fully trained and qualified to do the following procedures: Single-tooth replacement with an implant and crown Replace 3-14 missing teeth with a dental implant-supported bridge Rebuild bone in areas that need it before an implant can be placed Do additional gum grafting in areas where needed for implant success Place multiple implants to support a "snap-in" denture Use the most modern 3-D x-rays to plan and finish the most complex cases Better One-Day Porcelain Dental Crowns and Onlays Shortly before Christmas, we received the newest and biggest software update EVER for our CEREC CAD/CAM system, which we absolutely love already. Totally redesigned to make it easier and faster to get natural-looking, all-porcelain dental crowns in just one day, we can now do multiple crowns and onlays all at once, even in different parts of the mouth. If all goes really well (fingers crossed!), will be adding a new 3D Cone Beam X-ray machine that integrates perfectly with CEREC.  This combination will let us plan dental implants and crowns or bridges all together!

By | 2017-06-09T20:35:11-04:00 January 3rd, 2012|ANNOUNCEMENTS, Dental implant(s), Porcelain Crowns|0 Comments
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Dental Implant Bridge Smile Makeover in Charlotte

Some Smile Makeovers are easy, but some are complicated and require combining several techniques to get the best result.  The following is an example of one that used 3 different procedures in our Charlotte dentist office: A bridge on 2 dental implants Six Month Braces NTI nightguard for migraine relief Cosmetic Dentistry with Dental Implants When Kat first came to us in August 2006, she was ready to improve her smile, and she had some major complicating factors.  She knew about the significant gum recession, was unhappy about the dark metal lines around her dental bridge, and wanted to brighten/straighten her whole smile. But beyond that, she had some more problems: Crowded lower front teeth that were banging against the back of the upper dental bridge She clenched her teeth intensely, pushing the lower front teeth powerfully against the back of the upper dental bridge A history of chronic migraines that did not respond to conventional treatment, and as she'll tell you in a heartbeat, she tried EVERYTHING. The 2 teeth holding up the bridge had cracks in the roots A very high smile line, meaning that - when she smiles big - her lip rises way up high so that even the gums show (most people don't do this) Two Dental Implants for a Bridge We spent quite a while talking about how all these things fit together and all the possibilities to give her a beautiful smile she would love.  We finally decided on the following: [...]

By | 2017-06-09T20:45:20-04:00 May 2nd, 2009|Cosmetic dentistry, Dental implant(s), Six-Month Braces, TMJ Problems, Migraines and Headache Relief|0 Comments
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