Lexington VA Healthcare Breaks Ground with Innovative Dental Surgery
Healthcare professionals at Lexington’s Veterans Affairs (VA) Healthcare are acing the medical industry with a revolutionary dental operation specifically designed for those who have suffered from severe bone loss, inhibiting them from wearing dentures. Offering this surgery at the VA is the first of its kind in the southern United States.
Dr. Gerald Grant, a prosthodontist at Lexington VA Healthcare, revealed that the medical team conducted this groundbreaking procedure for the first time in VA’s history in January, with a further instance on Tuesday of this week. The medical team has since named it an “individual personal solution”.
A Gamechanger Implant Surgery
Dr. Grant expounded, “It’s an implant that is designed to fit that specific patient. It is designed so that we don’t have to do any bone grafting, and it will fit a prosthesis usually for a dental search. So, we’re looking for patients that don’t have enough bone to hold their dentures in.”
Being the first in the U.S. south of the Ohio River to perform this innovative surgery, Lexington VA Healthcare is marking an impressive milestone. This operation has proven to be a transformative event in people’s lives, particularly those who are desperate and typically unable to qualify for dental implants due to their lack of bone.
Action Amid Desperation
Dr. Regina Ratliff, the assistant chief of the dental service, said, “These are people who are desperate that aren’t normally a candidate for dental implants, because of their lack of bone. If we can’t do a surgical graft, and they don’t have enough bone, then, you know, they’re pretty much hosed as far as getting something that’s going to either snap in as far as a removable denture is concerned, or that we could build something fixed that stays in.”
Dr. Ratliff added that this operation is a gamechanger for patients grappling with dental challenges. The three patients, who have successfully undergone the procedure, are reportedly doing well, leading to optimism about the potential benefits for future candidates.
Leading Innovation in Dental Care
Lexington VA Healthcare is showing unequivocal signs of visionary work in the delivery of dental healthcare solutions, from treating veterans with dental problems to trailblazing new surgical procedures that address critical challenges associated with severe bone loss. Their work represents the evolving nature of dental care and its potential to impact the future of medical intervention positively.
As Lexington VA Healthcare charts a path that other institutions may soon follow, the innovative dental surgery could open the door for more advanced dental treatment for patients who might have previously found options limited. This development will significantly improve the quality of care for those in desperate need.
While more study and application of this method will be required to ensure its effectiveness in various patient conditions, the initial successes offer hope of a world where dental healthcare is accessible and beneficial to all, irrespective of individual oral health complexities.
