By Alexander Germanis
Most people take something for granted at some point in their lives, especially during the carefree days of youth: good health, a full head of hair, eating anything and not gaining weight. For some, those youthful days are not so carefree. For Dan, his younger years were affected by bad teeth.
“I’ve had bad teeth for as long as I can remember,” he recalls. “I would go to the dentist for my yearly checkup, spend six months getting my teeth fixed, and have to turn around and go right back again.”
By the time Dan was 21 years old, he faced the reality that his teeth were not going to get any better. “There wasn’t much to work with,” he laments. Between the constant toothaches and myriad other problems, the thought of replacing his teeth with a full set of dentures came as a relief.
“My dad had dentures six months to a year before I did,” Dan recalls. “It was just something he had to do and I had to do. He got through it fine and they were working for him, and as he had had good results. I hoped I would have the same thing.”
Good results notwithstanding, after 40 years of wearing dentures, the solution to his youthful dental problem now started to become the new problem for Dan. “I was going to turn 60, and the dentures started moving around in my mouth a lot.”
“Seven years ago, he started holding the front of his mouth when he talked,” Dan’s wife recalls. “He was holding his dentures in place because the bottom denture was rocking back-and-forth in his mouth. His dentures needed more stability.”
The solution came after his wife suggested her husband take a trip to Emil Verban, Jr., DDS of Bloomington.
When Dr. Verban took X-rays of Dan’s mouth, he found the jaw bone had become so worn down and weak from the four decades of denture-wear, regular dental implants could not be used to replace the dentures. Instead, a new type of denture was warranted — something actually anchored to the mouth.
Normal dentures sit atop the gums, often causing discomfort and — particularly in Dan’s case — instability while talking or chewing. The bar attachment denture however, “is a type of over-denture supported by and attached to an I-bar,” his wife explains.
The I-bar, or implant bar, forms a new foundation for lower dentures. For Dan, three separate implants were placed in his lower jaw, with titanium bars running between them to provide a new, stable base. “My new dentures just snap onto that,” he states simply.
For the first time in decades, Dan is able to enjoy a new sense of dental stability. “It has been a wonderful improvement,” he shares. “I had actually gotten used to my bottom teeth bouncing around in my mouth, but now they stay in one place and they’re solid.”
Seven years later, the I-bar and the bar attachment denture are still doing their jobs. With regular implant maintenance check-ups with Dr. Verban, Dan has not seen any increase in his dental routine. “It has been no different,” he says. “I brush them and use the denture tablet things. And the titanium [bar] I brush around it. It all seems to work; I don’t think it’s any more effort than if I had [regular] dentures.”
Although normal dental implants have been a wonderful improvement, for those like Dan who have lost a substantial amount of bone mass in their lower jaw, they are still not a viable option without the lengthy process of bone grafting. Fortunately, the I-bar works as a way around that, finally providing that carefree sense relief.
For more information, you may contact Emil Verban, Jr., DDS at 309-662-8448, or visit www.mcleancountydental.com. McLean County Dental is located at 2103 E. Washington Street in Bloomington. Dr. Verban provides his patients both general dentistry expertise and the ability to provide specialized services such as cosmetic procedures and dental implants.
Photos courtesy of McLean County Dental