Conventional implants are 3.3 - 4 mm wide, but investigational designs are now as wide as 7 mm. After the six screws were placed in Johnson's jaw, gum tissue was sewn over the top. Hyperbaric oxygen treatments continued for another ten days to further promote blood vessel growth and healing. The site was given six months to heal and allow the implants to become fully integrated into the surrounding bone. Once the jaw had healed, the overlying gum tissue was incised, the implants uncovered, and a denture was secured to the implants.
Seckinger custom designs a prosthesis for each patient.
He crafts a combination of artificial teeth, gums, and palate that optimizes the patient's ability to chew, swallow, talk, and to have a natural appearance. With the denture securely in place, Johnson was now able to gradually move to a solid-food diet, his first venture beyond liquid or soft nourishment in more than a year. Repairing Trauma Injury Trauma is another major cause of jaw damage leading to implants. After Barber set the broken bones with plates and screws, he grafted a piece of bone from Frank's hip to the gap on his upper jaw. There was no need to move a vascular supply with the bone transplant or to provide hyperbaric oxygen therapy because the blood supply in Frank's jaw was adequate.