Customized Abutments Support New Teeth

In 1983, Kevin Mosesso was 30 years old and going nowhere. All he had to his name was a Harley-Davidson^® motorcycle, but riding the roadways of Daytona Beach wasn’t leading him in the direction he wanted to go.
“Finally, I asked myself, How can I be like my father and have a home, a family and a steady job?” Kevin remembers. “So, I went back to school for two years at Daytona Beach Community College and studied building construction technology.
“As graduation approached, my instructor announced that a man from a company out of Gainesville called CROM Corp. was going to be on campus to do a presentation on how they safely build water tanks. The instructor added that the company is always looking for superintendent trainees, so I should have my resume ready if I’m interested.
“One thing led to another, and CROM hired me as a trainee right out of the classroom. I’m 69 now, and I’ve been with that company for 37 years. I travel to 10 states in the Southeast building concrete tanks for wastewater, freshwater and reused water. We build the tanks for city and county municipalities.”
Kevin eventually married and had a son, and with his solid job providing financial support for the family, he succeeded in establishing a living standard that resembles his father’s. For years, though, dental issues dampened his idyllic lifestyle.
“I didn’t respect my teeth when I was younger. I never really took care of them,” Kevin admits. “One time, I had a bad tooth. It was either get a root canal for $1,000 or get it pulled for $25. Of course, I got the tooth pulled.
“As time went on, a few more of my teeth were pulled, and because I probably didn’t floss like I was supposed to, I developed periodontal disease, which decreased the bone mass in my jaw.
“As a result of that and my years of negligence, my teeth became loose and started to fall out. I eventually lost my chewing power because you have to have your back teeth to chew a steak or other meat, and I was losing those teeth.
“I eventually lost my wife, too, and I believe one of the reasons she left me — besides all my traveling — was that when I smiled, you could see a missing tooth off to the side. That always bothered her. So, in a way, my bad teeth caused a failure in my marriage.”
Over the years, Kevin was fit with several bridges to replace his missing teeth. This year, however, they all began to fail, so he had a decision to make.
“My dental situation got to the point where it was kind of an emergency,” he laments. “It looked like I might have to have the rest of my teeth pulled and get false teeth. I didn’t want false teeth, though, so I was pretty discouraged.
“Then one day I was complaining about my teeth to a woman in the grocery store. She mentioned that her daughter works at Blossom Dental and Facial Aesthetics in Ormond Beach and said, You should call them because they do everything. Blossom Dental is a one-stop shop.”

Beyond Standard

Blossom Dental and Facial Aesthetics is the practice of Huda Aljonaidy, DDS, who is skilled in all aspects of comprehensive dentistry.
“When Kevin came in, he was already missing multiple teeth, and his remaining teeth required repair,” Dr. Aljonaidy recalls. “His goal was to walk away with an attractive smile that provided the proper chewing function he had lost over the years.
“Furthering the problem, though, was that some of his teeth were not restorable and needed to be extracted. So, his was a case where no one procedure could be done to accomplish his goals. He needed just about every treatment option we offer.”
Despite the extent of the work required, Kevin agreed with Dr. Aljonaidy’s plan, which called for a thorough cleaning of the teeth and gums and treatment of several cavities.
“He also had some old root canals that were abscessed, so we had to clean them out and redo them,” Dr. Aljonaidy adds. “The biggest component, though, was the reinforcement of his existing teeth with crowns and new bridges.”
To secure those restorations, Dr. Aljonaidy used custom-designed abutments, which are anchors that connect the replacement teeth to the artificial tooth roots that are placed in the patient’s jawbone.
“Abutments typically come from the manufacturer in sizes ranging from three millimeters to six millimeters, but standard-size abutments don’t work well for every patient,” Dr. Aljonaidy explains.
“That’s because every patient is different and because every site in the patient’s mouth is different. Every tooth wall literally has a different height depending on where it sits in the ridge of the mouth, and that is what we had with Kevin.

“I feel like I have my original teeth again. I couldn’t be happier.” – Kevin

“Standard abutments would not have provided an optimal result for him, so we custom-designed his abutments. We made them extra wide and angled them so the chewing forces are transmitted evenly across his load-bearing bridges. It is a total game-changer.”
In treating patients such as Kevin, Dr. Aljonaidy customizes and mills the abutments. She doesn’t rely on a technician in an outside dental lab who hasn’t examined the patient to fabricate the anchors.
“First, I scan the patient’s mouth and determine a set of design parameters for the abutments to make them look exactly how I wish,” she elaborates. “The abutments can be made of different materials such as porcelain or gold, but we mostly use titanium.”
Kevin’s abutments were fashioned from titanium and enclosed within the gum tissue so that they are not visible. As a result, the replacement teeth appear to emerge from the gum just like natural teeth.
“When the restorations arise from the gums, it is a very appealing cosmetic design, making for a very pretty smile,” Dr. Aljonaidy notes. “By taking this approach, we reached both of Kevin’s treatment goals, and his smile restoration turned out beautifully.”

“Perfect” Bridges

Graphics courtesy of Blossom Dental and Facial Aesthetics. An extra-wide abutment better transmits chewing forces across the replacement teeth.

In completing Kevin’s smile restoration, Dr. Aljonaidy created four new bridges, each secured in his mouth by customized abutments. Kevin is thrilled with the results.
“The bridges are perfect. I couldn’t ask for anything more,” he enthuses. “I have a beautiful smile that I make sure to show off every time I take a picture to post on Facebook. I’m proud of my smile. And I have chewing power again.
“Dr. Aljonaidy gave me the confidence to smile and eat anything, within reason. I don’t eat hard candy or anything really solid like that; I don’t want to mess with fate. But I feel like I have my original teeth again. I couldn’t be happier.”
Kevin appreciates the dentist who restored his smile and chewing function.
“Not only is Dr. Aljonaidy one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet, but she’s also on the leading-edge of technology with the latest and greatest techniques and equipment,” Kevin raves.
“She has equipment that does everything in dentistry, including a machine that makes teeth! Her practice really is a one-stop shop, and I would highly recommend her and Blossom Dental and Facial Aesthetics to anybody who will listen to me.”