This patient was referred to James by his dentist. He had a complete upper denture which was an excellent fit but he was struggling with his partial lower denture. The lower denture was loose and moved around when he was trying to eat which caused him a great deal of discomfort.
The patient still had 3 lower teeth remaining which were loose and one had some decay. The decision was taken to extract these remaining 3 teeth due to their poor prognosis. The removal of the 3 teeth also enabled James to improve the patient’s bite and the appearance of the lower teeth as it gave him the freedom to position the new teeth in a better position.
The patient was referred to Cardiff Dental Hospital to have a CT scan done (a 3 dimensional x ray). This scan was reviewed by the Consultant Maxillofacial Radiologist and from this information James planned the positions and size of the 2 Straumann Dental Implants that were going to be placed.
8 weeks after the implants were placed, James then constructed a new lower Implant retained overdenture. The implants had gold Locator abutments fitted to them and the new denture had the female part that firmly clasped onto the gold. This held the patient’s denture firmly in place and prevented it from moving about. It also enabled the patient to bite much more strongly and allowed him to enjoy food that he had not been able to eat for many years!
