A lady who had been a patient at the surgery for many years has decided that she would like an implant in the front of her mouth, in the gap where a tooth had been extracted by a previous dentist years before.  She has been wearing a denture, but now has decided that she would like a permanent solution.  Dentures can be very difficult to use, and they never will replace a missing tooth, unlike implants which are strong and are aesthetically pleasing.  Dr. Abdah had designated a very long appointment for this particular case as the results of her Digital OPG Xray showed that there was traces of Amalgam inside the gum which needed to be carefully removed.  Before the procedure Dr. Abdah explained that until he opens the area and cleans out all of the amalgam and measures the density of the bone he will not know if it is possible to place and implant instantly.  Dr. Abdah explained that if the implant is not possible today he would clean out the amalgam and graft the area with substitute bone and then cover this with a membrane.  After six months the bone would be more dense and the mouth would then be ready for an implant.  Dr. Abdah was definitely surprised to see so much amalgam inside the gum, The amalgam was everywhere, he explained to the patient that due to that his main concern today would definitely be to clean the area and make it ready for an implant in six months time.  He explained the potential risks of having amalgam embedded in the bone. The other major reason to remove this amalgam is that it can potentially cause precancerous areas in the mouth.  Dr. Abdah has a Velscope machine that checks areas under the cheeks, tongue gums and all around the mouth for any changes in the tissue.  He uses this device on every patient who has a routine check up.  After two and a half hours of intense work, and a lot of cleaning Dr. Abdah had finished the procedure.  As he had previously explained the area should be ready in approximately six months.  Dr. Abdah will see the patient for the removal of stitches in ten days.  Dr. Abdah also asked Wendy to book another long appointment in six months time, to place the implants.  The story will continue……