Rochester dentist create new denture/bridge hybrid
By: Elizabeth Harness
Updated: January 2, 2008
“I had several teeth removed,” says Stephen Cheshire of Chili who now wears a “Hybridge” dental implant, “I feel a lot better, a lot more comfortable. I feel like myself again.”
The “Hybridge” implant is a combination of both a bridge and denture. It contains a titanium bridge with resin denture teeth and literally fits onto screw implants within the gumline.
“Anytime we want to take it out, we can unfasten it and we can remove it for any reason maybe at the time of a cleaning, if we had to do a repair on it,” says Dr. Frank LaMar, a co-creator of the implant at Elmwood Dental Group in Brighton,
“theoretically, there was a weekend when my brother Jim and I sat down and we came up with the process but it was the 15 years prior to that of doing things and working on all sorts of different processes. “
Dr. Frank and James LaMar recently patented the Hybridge technique and will begin teaching it to other dentists throughout the nation this year. The Hybridge is not only about half the cost of traditional implant therapy, it is also more resilient.
“There's really nothing that can happen that can't be fixed in a very short period of time,” says LaMar.
The Hybridge is primarily for patients like Stephen who have had or are susceptible to gum disease and have not had good luck with traditional crowns and bridges. Stephen did not want traditional dentures.
“Dealing with that on a daily basis...it's just not me.”
“Most of our patients are in the baby boomer age,” says Dr. LaMar who has performed the technique on patients as young as 36 and as old as 92.
Depending upon the case, a Hybridge can be implanted within 3 months to three weeks.
“I healed pretty fast,” says Stephen, “I really got my confidence back.”
Dr. LaMar is offering a series of free, monthly seminars on the technique. The next will be held January 14th at 6:30 p.m. at 1960 South Clinton Avenue. For more information you can call: (585) 461-4350 or visit: www.elmwooddental.com or www.foreverteeth.com
