Dr. Steve Horne began his career at Brigham Young University obtaining his BA in English. He earned his doctorate of dental surgery in 2007 from the University of Southern California where his pursuit for academic excellence landed him on the dean's list. He was recognized for his superior clinical skills and invited to help teach other dental students in courses on restorative dentistry, prosthodontics, and tooth anatomy. During dental school, he provided dental care for underserved populations of Los Angeles and Orange County, Mexico, and Costa Rica with the international volunteer organization AYUDA. After graduation from USC, Dr. Horne entered active duty with the U.S. Army and practiced dentistry at Fort Knox, Kentucky, for four years. During this time, in 2010, he was deployed as part of a medical unit to Baghdad, Iraq, to provide dental and triage support to military and civilian workers who were involved in the effort there. During his military service, he received multiple Army Achievement Medals, the Army Commendation Medal, and served as company commander. After leaving the Army in 2011, Dr. Horne joined a private practice in La Jolla, Calif., and became credentialed with Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla as a dental consultant. Health and education are of paramount importance to Dr. Horne, and since 2012, he has been writing dental articles for MedicineNet and WebMD to provide accurate information about oral health to the public. He is a member of the American Dental Association (ADA), Academy of General Dentistry (AGD), California Dental Association (CDA), and the San Diego County Dental Society and American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry (AACD). He is a preferred provider with Invisalign and spends countless hours each year pursuing continuing education in order to maintain a standard of excellence in dentistry. Dr. Horne has been married for 15 years to his wife, Christy. They have 3-year-old twins, Camille and Trent, and very recently welcomed their third child, Colette Elise, on July 6! The heart and soul of the family is Roscoe, their chocolate Labrador.
Implant-supported dentures offer a number of benefits over traditional dentures. Patients with implant-supported dentures can eat, speak, and smile with confidence, knowing that their dentures are securely in place. Further, implant-supported dentures can actually improve a patient's oral health. Read on to learn more about the benefits of implant-supported dentures.
The different types of complete dentures include Conventional, Immediate and Implant-retained. Conventional Dentures which are applied after the teeth are extracted and the gums are allowed to heal – takes around 8-12 weeks. Prior to the fitting of the Conventional Dentures and the interim healing period, the dentist would normally place a pre-fabricated Immediate Denture over the gums to protect the area while the patient waits for the Full Denture to be made at a dental lab.
Dentures provide several cosmetic benefits. They fill in gaps left by missing teeth so a person can feel more confident about his or her appearance. Dentures also prevent further shifting of the remaining teeth and improve facial structure. They offer a range of functional benefits, which include helping the patients chew food more easily and improving speech.
Fifty-four complete-denture wearers were interviewed one year after they had been fitted with the dentures. Their opinions and reactions were noted and the answers given to standard questions were analysed for inter-correlations and for correlations with findings in earlier series of clinical and roentgenological investigations. Most of the patients were satisfied with the fit, aesthetic effect of the denture and ability to chew and speak. Many of the patients reported oral parafunctions. Roughly every fourth patient used sedatives because they felt restless and nervous.
I worked here for six years with the same doctor who was amazing. We got one weeks notice that he was leaving and they brought in a new dentist. The new guy was great too. Everything was fine until I came in to work and found out (from someone coming in to apply for a job, NOT MY BOSS) that both my job and our front desk lady’s job was posted online. We had been denied raises for 6 years because corporate said we were hired on at a rate higher than we should have been. I called my regional manager to ask if I was being fired and was told that they were going to be interviewing to see what kind of talent was out there. Basically they were going to fire people who had worked there for SIX YEARS to hire someone to work for less money. Do not think that you or your family matter to those people! All they care about is the bottom line and you are just a number. Six years I worked there, and I even ran the front and the back when our front desk was out for almost 6 months with open heart surgery.... and that’s how I got treated.
In either case, as you are making the decision between dentures versus bridges, it is very important to speak with your dental professional. Contact Arkansas Family Dental if you have questions about dentures or bridges. You can also schedule an appointment with either Dr. Nichols or Dr. Mascagni for help deciding between your tooth replacement options.
Partial dentures are a less-invasive option that also tends to be less expensive than other options for replacing missing teeth. They do require a bit of maintenance but are easy to get used to and, for many patients, do an excellent job of restoring beauty and functionality to that part of their mouth. Daily cleaning of your partial denture is vital but is a simple process that will keep your gums healthy and your partial denture looking great. Also, if future adjustments are needed – such as expanding your partial denture – DDS Dentures + Implant Solutions can take care of your needs quickly and cost-effectively.
Remember when I mentioned the people up front being incompetent? The worst part is that they botched the paperwork with my insurance company and now I owe Affordable Dentures 700 bucks (which I really don't have). I implore anyone who is thinking about Affordable Dentures to listen to what I am saying. If possible save your money and wait. Or perhaps see if you have a family member who can help you pay to get the work done at a reputable dentist.
See your dentist as soon as possible if your removable partial denture breaks, cracks or chips or if one of the teeth becomes loose. Also, your partial denture may need to be adjusted if you lose one of the supporting natural teeth. Sometimes dentists can make the repairs, often on the same day. Complex repairs can take longer. The sooner you make an appointment, the sooner you have a well-fitting partial denture again.
I had a really great experience with Affordable Dentures and Implants. My mom has always been afraid of dentists and didn't take care of her teeth. She also had a stroke a few years back which has created a few more barriers to treatment. It's difficult to explain to anyone who doesn't personally know a stroke survivor, but she gets antsy pretty quickly and can be a bit difficult to work with at times. She's also physically handicapped and can't use her left side, plus is having trouble transferring from her wheelchair to other seats, getting into a helpful position, and following directions, so it's a bit of a unique situation. She underwent major oral surgery in this office- multiple extractions and bone augmentation- in order to get dentures. This is something we've seen a couple different dentists for, but she has always refused treatment because she didn't like something about the office or wanted to be put to sleep in a hospital, which was out of our budget. Given her limitations and dental anxiety, I wasn't sure what to expect this time around, but I couldn't have been happier with how this office behaved. The front office has been great in terms of explaining processes, scheduling, and billing. I've also had to coordinate paratransit to get my mom to the office, and they've worked with me on times to make sure everything lines up right. Something you can probably only appreciate if you've been in a similar situation. They've also worked with us on fixing issues and missed appointments due to unforeseeable circumstances. Not only did they not scold us for missing an appointment, but they worked with me to resolve the problem that caused it- my mom's assisted living facility biffed it and didn't give her pain medicine after her surgery. :/ But, like I said, this office came through and helped- always making her care the top priority. As far as back office goes, Carlos the assistant has the patience of a saint. Seriously. We had to do a full series of x-rays because my mom couldn't stand up for the pano. My mom had trouble holding still and repeatedly failed to follow instructions. Carlos never stopped smiling and encouraging her. He had a lot of positive energy and kept joking with her throughout, which I know went a long way to making her feel good about the office. He did the same during the other visits, but the x-rays I'm sure were the biggest challenge. Jennifer assisted with the surgery. She was incredibly kind, gentle, and thoughtful. She was always doing what she could to keep my mom comfortable and looking out for her. She even went and grabbed my mom a pillow to make sure she was comfortable. Dr. Athari has an amazing sense of calm about him. He walked us through everything and talked to us throughout the procedure. My mom needed frequent breaks during the surgery and he always gave her the time she needed to regroup. He was very gentle and mindful with her throughout the procedure, and I'm certain that's what got my mom through it without issue. I cannot stress how difficult this process could have been considering the amount of care needed and the limitations of the patient. However, these folks rolled with everything we threw at them and never missed a beat. Always helpful, knowledgeable, kind, and gentle. If I had to find one negative about the office, it would be the wait times. On our first visit, one woman in the waiting room said she'd been waiting 30+ minutes. It took a day to get a call back to schedule. We waited a little while in the office too. However, when you consider that they're working with people like the person I brought in, and that it's totally impossible to predict the needs and behaviors of some of the patients who go in there, it's totally understandable. I have no doubt they took a little longer because they were treating someone else exactly as they treated us- with patience and understanding. That's worth waiting for. So, if you do go, be prepared for some short delays, but also know why those delays happen. Overall, they work like a well-oiled machine. We got to meet the whole team, including their on-site lab techs. Every single person met us with a smile and kind words. I cannot thank Dr. Athari enough for creating an environment like this. Before I close, I'd like to add a word on fees as well. I almost hesitate to call this an affordable dental office, simply because they obviously put care first. All dental offices should do what this office does and provide options, but few do. It's that commitment to patient care and letting you choose what's right for you that makes them more affordable, versus the offices that cut corners to save you a buck. That's a major difference worth noting. They also have an on-site lab, which saves costs as well. Anyway, again, sending a huge thank-you to Dr. Athari and his staff. You guys are beyond awesome.
Dentures must be handled with great care and placed in a container of water or denture cleaner when not being worn. They should never be placed in hot water, for they can be damaged or warped. They must be cleaned daily using a soft toothbrush with soap and water. The mouth should be rinsed daily without the dentures in place to clean off any plaque and reduce the risk of infection like candidiasis.
No consensus has been reached regarding the best occlusal scheme for making complete dentures. Thus, the purpose of this systematic review was to compare bilateral balanced occlusion (BBO) with other occlusal schemes (canine guidance, lingualised occlusion and zero degree) in complete dentures. The schemes were compared in terms of quality of life/satisfaction and masticatory performance. Two independent reviewers performed a comprehensive search of studies published in or before October 2017 using the PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus and Cochrane Library databases. The search was performed in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) statement. The focused question was: "In conventional complete denture, is BBO better than lingualised occlusion, canine guidance and zero degree in terms of quality of life, patient satisfaction and masticatory performance/muscle activity?" Seventeen studies were selected for analysis. In total, there were 492 patients with a mean age of 64.78 years and a mean follow-up duration of 2.96 months (range: 1-6 months). All studies compared BBO with the other occlusal schemes. Eleven studies evaluated the influence of the occlusal scheme designs on quality of life and satisfaction, and 8 studies evaluated masticatory performance and muscle activity between BBO and the other occlusion schemes. The present systematic review indicated that BBO does not confer better quality of life/satisfaction or masticatory performance and muscle activity. Thus, lingualised occlusion can be considered a predictable occlusal scheme for complete dentures in terms of quality of life/satisfaction and masticatory performance, while canine guidance can be used to reduce muscular activity.
