Maxillary Dentures Supported by Mushroom-Shaped Mucosal Implants?

posted in Implant Supported Overdentures, Techniques and Procedures

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Dr. Flynn asks:

A local general dentist is advertising palateless maxillary dentures supported by mushroom-shaped mucosal dental implants.

Apparently the denture must be worn for two months while the soft
tissue heals around the dental implants (which do not appear to extend into
the bone).  I can not find any information concerning this procedure.
Has anyone heard of this and/or had any experience with this?

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11 Responses to “ Maxillary Dentures Supported by Mushroom-Shaped Mucosal Implants? ”

  • satish joshi November 27th, 2006

    I think you are talking about mucosal inserts.
    They were used in 70s,80s,
    I had done one case just to have feel of it.
    I would not recomend it.
    you do not get enough retention.As palatal mucosa holds those stainless steel dom or button shaped inserts.
    if patient does not wear denture for few weeks, soft tissues change make very difficult to place denture in same place.
    also those inserts have to be parallel.
    Only advantage of it is “very econonical”
    You can call up Dr. Charles Weiss (AAID past president) in NY city.
    I bought my system in 1994 from his company.
    I think if you follow proper protocols of denture making you may not need that extra retention.
    I would rather place transitional implants. they would serve better.

  • Bruce Seavey November 27th, 2006

    The site below has some picks and may be helpful.

    www.parkdentalresearch.com/titanium.htm

  • Dr. Harris November 28th, 2006

    After having removed several sets of maxillary transmucosal implants, I would advise against.

    Like all none osseointegrated implants, the support relys on fibrous soft tissue connections which are unpredictable.

    The future removal of which is unpleasant for the surgeon and patient.

  • Clark Brown November 28th, 2006

    I have done several mucosal insert cases in the early 80’s. Like most things, for the right patient, they work very well. Unfortunately, even for the right patient, this is not a long term solution. My best case lasted 8 years. Most last 5 or less.

    Mucosal inserts are painful to insert and heal. But they are really pain free when they fail.

    The insert is attached to the denture. A round bur is used to poke a hole in the mucosa and is then twisted around in the underlying tissue. The denture, with the insert, is placed and must stay firmly seated until healing has taken place. An ace bandage is often employed to keep the teeth together at night. As you can imagine, it is quite painful for the patient. Once the tissue heals, it forms a tight cuff around the stalk with the mushroom portion contained in the underlying mucosal tissue.

    Failure takes place from repeated insertion and removal of the denture, which stretches the holes in the tissue. Stretching also takes place as denture movement occurs. Individual tissue composition plays an important factor as well. When the tissue stretches enough, there is no longer the tight cuff around the stalk and retention is lost. The only thing required at this point is removal of the mucosal inserts from the denture and reline. There will be stretched out indentations in the tissue, but this does not require treatment. Rarely are there any other complications.

    Most dentists who placed them in the 80’s no longer do so because more predictable, reliable and less painful options are available.

  • carlos martínez réding November 28th, 2006

    I agree with the comments of dr. Joshi, dr. Seavey and dr.Harris.
    Independently of how much those inserts increase the retention or not, The maine problem with this kind of retention is the irritation of the tissues causing in many cases a premalignal lesions. That’s why they are no longer in use.

  • Rui Pinto Cardoso November 29th, 2006

    Try out mini implants.

  • Chip Casteen November 29th, 2006

    They can be an effective tool to transition Pts who are undergoing other surgical processes in the Maxilla to assist in retention. Its the same old story; every case has its own dx and needs. Everything you do does not need to last a life time. Some times you just need a process to help you get through the next 9 months.

  • Anonymous December 2nd, 2006

    I hope that insurance companies start to provide coverage for dental implants. As a patient who has been injured and virtually abandoned by the dental profession, I would love to have an insurance company deal with these people. I was left with less money, a loss of life, pain 24/7, medications that caused injuries to my major organs and a complete abandonment and denial by the dental profession. It appear the only option is to seek legal counsel since they refuse to try to help me with the problems they have left me with.

  • domis December 6th, 2006

    Dr Harris seemed to have mixed the subperiosteal implant with the mucosal inserts.

    Mucosal implant is a misnomer because it is attached to the denture base, not to any soft or hard tissue. When the patient removes the denture, the inserts stay on with it.

  • Dr Ron Y. December 17th, 2006

    I have placed about 20 cases of mucosal inserts, mostly in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Most of them are still doing great and I have made new dentures for several of them over the years and they wanted the inserts in their new dentures. They can work very well in the right patient with the right tissue type.

  • Arlene LeClair January 13th, 2008

    I have had the mushroom shaped titanium implants since I was 35 years old, I am now 66, they show wear and tear, however after visiting 4 Dentists locally (Marietta, Georgia) and have an evulation at the Dental School in Augusta, everyone wants to graft bone from my hip,tissue,etc…all I want is a duplicate of what I have. I just need what I have re-made. I am also retired, Medicare does not pay for dental, if you know of a School in: Charleston, South Carolina, Cleveland/Columbus.Ohio,St.Petersburg/Tampa/Jacksonville, Florida, or Atlanta that can do this procedure for me, It would be greatly apprecaited. The School would be a tremendous savings for me. My Children all live in the other States.
    Thanks very much

    Arlene LeClair

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