FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT www.queenscourier.com november 7, 2013 • HEAlth • The Queens Courier 7 Astoria Dental Group The Traditional Dental Implants vs. Mini Implants People want to talk about mini implants Advances in ACL Surgery Get People Back on Track Faster Answorth Allen, M.D. 176-60 Union Turnpike, Suite 190, Fresh Meadows, New York 800.757.9589 • www.hss.edu/queens One of the most common knee injuries is a torn ligament, and the anterior cruciate ligament, or ACL, is the one we often read about in the sports pages. Athletes who participate in “pivoting” sports such basketball, football and skiing, are more prone to an ACL injury. But an ACL tear can happen to anyone at any age, from a recreational soccer player in his teens to a woman in her fifties who slips and falls on some steps. Often, people know when it happens. “They may hear a ‘pop’ at the moment the tear occurs. Their knee may be quite painful, it will likely be swollen, and they may not be able to move their knee or put weight on it,” says Dr. Answorth Allen, an orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine at Hospital for Special Surgery Physician Office in Fresh Meadows and at the main hospital in Manhattan. An ACL tear does not heal on its own. And since it’s one of the ligaments that stabilize and support the joint, the knee may give way or people may have trouble walking, even after the initial swelling and pain subside. Advances in ACL reconstruction over the past several years have been of great benefit to patients, according to Dr. Allen, who also sees patients at Hospital for Special Surgery Physician Office on Long Island. “Innovative surgical techniques allow us to more precisely reproduce the anatomy and function of the original ACL,” says Dr. Allen, who generally uses a graft from one of the patient’s own tendons. The surgery is performed arthroscopically, so the ACL is reconstructed through very small incisions. Whether or not one needs surgery depends on a variety of factors, including lifestyle, activity level, and how well one does in rehabilitation after the injury, according to Dr. Allen, a team physician for the New York Knicks and a former team physician for the New York Mets. Many people can get by fine without an intact ACL. In physical therapy, they can strengthen the thigh muscles to provide more support and stability to the knee. But some will continue to have problems. “For people who experience ongoing symptoms and find their knee giving way, for younger active patients, or for individuals of any age who want to pursue certain sports or an active lifestyle without restrictions, ACL reconstruction is often the answer,” Dr. Allen explains. At Hospital for Special Surgery, the procedure is most often performed using regional anesthesia in the form of an epidural. Patients may be awake with light sedation, or they have the option of being asleep. They can usually leave the hospital on the same day they have the surgery. Nowadays, accelerated physical therapy programs often allow patients to get back to athletic activities within six to eight months, according to Dr. Allen. There was a time when it took a year and a half to return to sports. Dr. Allen recommends that anyone considering ACL surgery make sure the orthopedic surgeon is experienced in the latest techniques and inquire about the hospital safety and infection rates. For more information about Dr. Answorth Allen and the other specialists at HSS Queens, visit www.hss.edu/Queens HSS QUeeNS compared to traditional implants. The discussion is really about removable dentures versus fixed bridges. If you are not having pain from your denture and looseness is your only problem, then an overdenture can be a solution. Overdentures use implants, whether mini-implants or traditional implants, to provide some retention for a denture. An overdenture still uses the same areas of the gums and bone in the mouth for support, only to provide retention . This means that there is still some movement that people feel with overdentures. If you are looking for the most affordable solution beyond a denture, then an overdenture is the solution, but it does not provide the highest possible level of restoring function. They can provide enough retention so that you do not need denture adhesive. Traditional implants have long been used for this application also. A Proven Record In a study of overdentures that followed people as long as 25 years, the implant system we use had a more than 95 percent success rate. So if you are interested in long-term results, and you decide an overdenture is the best you can do, then over a 10-year period or longer your investment is safer with traditional implants. In our office, we do not sell implants, whether traditional or mini. We are in the “Quality of Life” business, providing restorative solutions for people with problems. We are a multi-disciplined family practice, and our interest is in providing the highest level of care, which would generally mean fixed bridges compared to removable dentures secured with implants. In the past, this was a long procedure, but today we are able to place implants painlessly and with no sutures along with a provisional fixed bridge frequently in the same day. We can even do this when someone still needs bad teeth removed. And believe it or not, the long-term success rates are even better with a fixed bridge than they are with overdentures. One study, again with the implant system our office uses, followed people 20 to 23 years and those that were available for followup had 100 percent continuous fixed bridge function during this time. Unfortunately for the public, unless fully informed, all you can compare is price. If, because of finances, you must have an over-denture, then using traditional implants still show a higher success rate over 10 years than has been documented for mini-implants. Over the long term, any price difference between miniimplants and traditional proven implants becomes insignificant given the higher success rate for return. That is why we recommend fixed bridges rather than over-dentures, because we see on a daily basis the profound impact a fixed bridge has on their lives. A fixed bridge on traditional implants does cost more than an overdenture on mini-implants, but you cannot begin to compare the difference in value you are receiving for that extra investment. Regardless, either option is better than having your teeth on the nightstand.
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