Implant Dentistry

Dental Implants have revolutionized dentistry in the past 25 years. Patients once had the choice of a bridge or a partial denture to replace a few missing teeth, or just a partial if they were missing many teeth. Most people didn't love having a conglomeration of metal prongs and plastic that looked more like a weapon as the method of choice for replacing teeth. Sometimes it was difficult to make them comfortable.

Then the age of dental implants arrived. Implants are small titanium cylinders that look a little like little bolts, or screws. They are surgically placed just beneath the gums, and after a period of healing, a crown, bridge or denture can be attached to them for remarkable stability. You can't see them because they're under the gum, but they make it possible to hold everything else nicely in place.

For years, only surgeons placed implants, while the dentist placed the crowns that attached to them. More recently, the more progressive dentists tend to place their own implants so they can be in just the right place for the benefit of the patient's bite, and aesthetics.

Dr. Gates did his initial implant training through the Southwest Implant Institute, and later through Straumann Implant company, the second largest in the world. He began placing implants in 1998, and has loved it ever since.