Dental implants have become an increasingly popular solution for tooth replacement. Their natural look and feel, along with their long-lasting durability, make them a preferred choice for many. At Lipkowitz Dental Associates, we take pride in offering expert dental implant services, backed by decades of experience and specialized training. Dr. Rob sat down to answer common questions and discuss why Lipkowitz Dental Associates is the popular choice for anyone looking for dental implants.
Why are dental implants such a popular treatment at your practice?
Throughout my career, I have developed a really unique set of skills for a general dentist. I’ve been practicing for over 30 years and started my career in a surgical-based residency in New York. During that time, I developed a real love of oral surgery.
Originally I wanted to do oral surgery as a specialty, but after being in that residency for a while, I realized that I would much rather restore people’s smiles than make them healthier by taking out their teeth. This directed me toward general dentistry, but I didn’t stop there. Over the years I learned how to rehabilitate people’s smiles and how to rebuild their bites when they’re not able to chew properly.
I have this entire system’s view of the mouth so when a person comes in and they’ve lost the ability to chew, smile, or enjoy themselves socially, I have this particular set of skills to be able to help and bring them back to life again.
How many dental implants do you typically place in a week at your practice?
It varies. Sometimes I can place 8 to 10 implants in a week, and sometimes I won’t put an implant in for a couple of weeks. But, I have so many cases that involve dental implants that every week I’m either restoring implants or placing implants and I’m restoring people’s ability to smile and chew and live life to the fullest.
Why is it important for patients to choose an experienced provider for dental implants?
I think you want an experienced provider no matter what type of medical treatment you want or need. In my personal opinion, it takes 10 years for someone conscientious of working really hard to enter the doorstep of mastery of their skills. So, after 30 years of practice, I’m well past that. Beyond this, my lust for continuing to learn for my entire life just continues – I’m still excited about what I do.
In a skill like dentistry, you just get better and better and better if you practice. If you want to get better, you just continue to do so. You don’t even have to try to get better, but you do because of all of the practice that you do. It’s not only an art, it’s a skill – fine motor dexterity skills – and if you use them, they continue to improve.
After 30 years, I recognize things I couldn’t do 20 years ago. I’m faster than I was, even though I’m not trying to be fast; my hands just know what to do. It’s really wonderful being at the top of my game now because I still have such a love of helping people become healthy again.
Can you tell us about your training and experience placing implants specifically?
My residency in New York was a surgical-based residency, but it was a general practice residency, so we got to rotate through all of these different fields. I did a ton of periodontal surgery and a ton of oral surgery extractions. I had trauma where I was wiring people’s mouths shut, and in those days, implants were in their infancy.
As soon as I was finished with my residency, I got out to work. One of the first things I did was I went over to Harvard University and they had what’s called a MaxiCourse. It’s a year-long, 500-hour course where you dedicate one weekend a month for the entire year. This is where I learned how to place and restore dental implants. Even then I could see how quickly the field was changing, so about three or four years later I went and took another maxi course at Brookdale Hospital. This was even better than the first one! Not only did I have the benefit of more training from world-class doctors who are pioneers in the field, but we were also starting to see what made implants work and what made them not work. The man who was the head of that had been placing implants for about 40 years.
It was about 25 years from when they started placing implants to when they started to be something that became available to the general public because they had to do the research on it. It was just fascinating. He was also able to show us how we wanted to restore people with the end in mind, working backward. This was really key.
From there, I started training in prosthetics and the reconstruction of bites and smiles. I took a lot of training at Peter Dawson’s Institute in Saint Petersburg, and then at the Spear Institute in Arizona. These are schools where they have curriculums that grow on each other. It would start with how to make a bite stable, and then once the bite is stable, how to restore a smile. Once their smile is restored, how do you make sure that people are using their teeth in a way that isn’t going to break them down again? You want to be really careful in the way teeth come together and work together once they are restored.
It’s been more than 30 years since I’ve been on that path and I’m still training all the time. With all this experience and training, we have many satisfied patients.
Can you share a testimonial or experience from a patient or two who has had implants?
I have two that come to mind right away.
One was a man who had been working for the government for his entire life. Before he got a government job, he was this wild one with a motorcycle and the James Dean persona. Then he goes to work for the government and now he’s a suit for 30 years. He retired and he came to see me and he had full dentures. I restored his mouth with implant overdentures, which is a set of dentures that are stabilized by implants. Once I did that for him he had a beautiful smile and could chew again. He went out and got himself a motorcycle. Then he got himself a girlfriend. Then he got his girlfriend a motorcycle and they went all over the country, going to these motorcycle rallies and just really living life. Now, every year I see him and he’s still doing it. Every time he’d come back from the motorcycle rallies, he’d have another tattoo. And so he showed me this tattoo, it was great!
The second case that comes to mind is a woman who came in and needed a full reconstruction. Her smile had been worn down from clenching and grinding her teeth for 45 or 50 years. Her teeth were dark and stained. She was missing a couple of teeth in there. I got her tissue healthy, then we took out a few teeth that were questionable and replaced those teeth with implants. At the same time, we were restoring everything so it all matched and fit together the same way. We gave her crowns and veneers that gave her a beautiful smile.
Now, when she first came into the office, I thought she was this very staid and dour woman who would never smile. Then, after the visit where I put her temporary veneers in, we were sending it to the lab and she looked in the mirror, and all of a sudden she had this huge smile on her face. She could not believe it. From then on all she was all smiles. She is a very active woman and she’s so social. She even went out and got a license in real estate! Here this was a woman who started coming to me in her late fifties or early sixties and she still is just a powerhouse. It’s wonderful to see her and her great smile every time she comes in!
What would you say to someone who is considering getting dental implants?
I would say the first thing we want to do is find out what their goals are. Why is it that they want dental implants? Sometimes implants are the best solution, but sometimes they’re not. I think with my experience, I have a really good insight as to what’s best for the patient.
What I try to do is get the patient what they want and, sometimes the ideas of what they want don’t get them to their goal. I’m here to be a guide for patients to help them make the best decisions for themselves.
With over 30 years of experience and specialized training, Lipkowitz Dental Associates is dedicated to helping you achieve a healthy, confident smile. If you’re considering dental implants, schedule a consultation with us to discuss your goals and explore the best options for your dental health.
