Dental Implants and Hockey

My son is a freshman in college and plays for the hockey team. He hasn’t been playing that long but lost a tooth, which sounds like a hockey stereotype but it happened. We’d planned on getting him a dental implant. The prosthetic implant is placed. The crown is coming as soon as the bone is integrated with the implant. However, one of his teammates, who is a senior and has a lot of experience told him that a dental implant is a bad idea because he is likely to be injured again. Is that accurate? If so, what do we do? We want something that looks nice because he is getting married in a few months.

Lorna

Dear Lorna,

I had to think about this because I haven’t done much with hockey players in the past, but what the senior told your son makes sense. If your son is reinjured and the implant crown is attached to the prosthetic root, then it could do serious damage to his jaw by ripping through the bone. The good news is that you already have the prosthetic root in. This will protect him from bone resorption, which is one of the reasons dental implants are the best tooth replacement options.

My suggestion is that for now you get him a removable partial flipper for that tooth. This way if he does get in another accident the false tooth will not put his jaw at risk. If you go to a skilled cosmetic dentist, even a denture can look stunning. Once he is done with hockey, then you can have the permanent crown placed. It will be worth the investment to go to a top notch cosmetic dentist for this if you really want it to look perfect for his wedding.

This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.

Teeth Whitening and Dental Bonding

I have a chipped tooth due to the concrete and I having a disagreement. The concrete won. I figured that while I am fixing the chip in my tooth I should also whiten my teeth. Is there any special procedure or rules I need to follow in order to get both of these done?

Andy

Dear Andy,

Sorry about your battle with the concrete. Having dental bonding done is a fantastic solution for a chipped tooth as long as you go to an artistic dentist who has experience as well as post-doctoral training in the procedure. This is quite an advanced procedure, because it has to be done freehand.

You asked a very important question about the procedures and rules. When it comes to dental bonding with teeth whitening, it is imperative that you have the teeth whitening done first. The reason for this is the nature of the whitening gel. While it does wonders for natural tooth structure, it will have zero impact and the bonding itself. That means your teeth will whiten, but the bonding will stay the original color with which it was designed.

If you have your teeth whitened first, then the dental bonding can be formed to match the new color exactly. While bonding requires an expert cosmetic dentist, teeth whitening is a pretty basic cosmetic procedure and can be done by any dentist who offers it. The next question is how fast do you want to get this done.

At home teeth whitening can take several weeks to months, depending on how long you whiten each day along with how white you want your teeth. If you are in a hurry, then I recommend in-office Zoom Whitening. This can be done in one appointment. However, you will want to leave one week between the time of your whitening and when you have the bonding done. This is because the teeth will continue to whiten for a bit after the appointment is done. This is true with at home whitening as well.

Then, when that is completed you can see the cosmetic dentist for your dental bonding.

This blog is brought to you by Moline Dentist Dr. Thomas Goebel.