I am a middle-aged woman missing three teeth. One upper back molar, and my lateral upper incisor and canine on the right side of my mouth. I did not have adequate bone in any of the locations to proceed directly with implant surgery. So I had autogenous bone grafting and a molar implant placement done by a periodontist in Philly. The procedure went well. Unfortunately the implant did not integrate and the bone graft had resorbed by the time I was able to get back to see the periodontist. Thank you covid.
More research, led me to the website of Ulrich Volz of the Swiss BioHealth clinic and his SDS (Swiss Dental System). I decided this was the right choice for me. Further research led me to Atlantic Oral surgery, which uses the SDS.
Dr Ponquinette is a surgeon. He is dedicated to his craft and he is very skilled. That said, he wins no prizes for bedside manner and if you have a thin skin, you may well walk away with bruised feelings. Dr Ponquinette is however professional, forthright, and he knows his stuff. But his manner can be condescending and he is most certainly not there for the small talk.
Fortunately there is Maria - delightful, warm, caring, funny, and unafraid. Together they are a formidable team and are supported by excellent front office and surgical staff.
At my first consultation, Dr. Ponquinette spent a significant amount of time with me to determine what may have gone wrong with the first procedure and explaining how he would do things a second time, in order to maximize the chances of success.
Preparation for the second procedure included ozone injections (yes Ow!) to increase perfusion and reduce scar tissue. Maria, an accomplished holistic practitioner in her own right, administered laser therapy to increase perfusion to the areas needing it. She procured some of the Basic Immune supplementation that Ulrich Volz recommends, and I took this for a month prior to my surgery. I also received IV vitamin C and major auto-hemotherapy just prior to the procedure.
This time I chose to have conscious sedation. This was the best gift I could have given myself, having had the first bone harvest and grafting procedure done under local only.
For the procedure with Dr Ponquinette, I had bone harvested from my chin, a two piece molar ceramic implant placed and bone grafting to the frontal area. The procedure went very well and other than some very impressive soft tissue swelling and amusing post anesthesia amnesia, there was not much pain. This was surprising considering the extensive nature of the surgery. I rigged up my own cryotherapy machine at home. This really helped reduce pain and minimize swelling. Prolonged ice-pack use can cause tissue damage.
I returned to the practice to receive several doses of post-surgical laser therapy to increase perfusion and reduce swelling. I found the laser to be very helpful and a very pleasant experience. Chatting with Maria while having the laser treatment was just an added benefit.
I continued with a few sessions of post surgical laser therapy, as well as nutritional supplementation for a month after the procedure. I recovered quickly & with no complications.
The molar implant integrated well over the next months and my holistic dentist later crowned it and it feels like a normal tooth. After 10 years of having no tooth there, it is wonderful to be able to chew normally on that side of my mouth.
Once the frontal bone graft had matured, 2 side by side one-piece ceramic implants were placed under local anesthetic. Dr. Ponquinette did an excellent job of trying to reconstruct the frontal gum area in order to achieve a somewhat natural contour. The implants integrated well over the next months and I have been cleared to have them crowned.
Finding a skilled practitioner who is comfortable and well practiced in autogenous grafting, and placement of ceramic implants is a challenge. Finding one who also subscribes to supportive and holistic measure to improve the odds of success, is like finding a rare bird.
Atlantic Oral Surgery is my rare bird & I am so grateful.