I have been taking photographs of my patient’s teeth since I started my dental practice.  First, I used 35mm slides, then Polaroid’s and now we use digital photography and intraoral cameras.  Digital photographs are taken with a macro lens which allows for close up views of all your teeth or just one tooth.  An intraoral camera is used by placing a small lens, the size of two pencils in the mouth to see very small areas of a tooth.

    These photographs of teeth are used for many purposes.  When I am discussing the condition of a patient’s mouth, I want to show the patient a picture of what I see.  Photographs also give us a record of what a patient’s mouth looks like at one moment in time.  We will also use pictures of teeth to send to insurance companies to substantiate a dental claim. Digital photography as well as digital x-rays can be sent via email for second opinions and outside consultation.

     In my practice, I can not discuss a patient’s dental condition and possible treatment without showing them pictures of my wife and kids, that’s ok too!

Patients often ask me a variety of questions regarding dental implants.  A dental implant is an artificial tooth root (synthetic material) that is surgically anchored into your jaw to hold a replacement tooth, bridge or a denture in place. 

     In order to be a candidate to have implants, you must be in good health and have the proper bone structure and healthy gums for the implant to stay  in place.  The success rate for implants decreases if you suffer from problems such as clenching, grinding, diabetes, smoking and alcohol.

     A question which is asked every time I discuss implants is, “What is the success rate of implants?” Hundreds of thousands of dental implants have been placed over the last few years.  Research has been conducted all over the world and the success rate for implants has been between 90% to 97% over the last thirty years.

     The  main benefit of using dental implants is that they do not rely on neighboring teeth for support.  Your natural teeth are not altered in order to place a crown or bridge.  Dental implants look and feel like your own teeth.