Cleveland's fabled carriage trade, the Carnegies, Irelands, Hannas, and other influentials, turned to members of the American Academy of Restorative Dentistry (AARD) to avail themselves of all the benefits provided by modern restorative dental techniques and to preserve their million dollar smiles. Dr. Ted Maves of Cleveland was a founding member and president of the AARD who shared a practice with Drs. Dan Grubb and Dick Whelan, also past Academy presidents. Dr. Hudson Heidorf joined the practice in 1973 and became the fourth dentist from that office to be elected to the position of president of the AARD.

Dr. Heidorf's fascination with dentistry began when he was in eighth grade and was treated by Dr. Edward Jenning for tooth decay. Dr. Jenning not only treated the young Dr. Heidorf and taught him the importance of proper dental care, but became a pivotal influence on the future of his young patient. Today, with an extensive career in dentistry to his credit, Dr. Heidorf's expertise is in comprehensive dentistry, restoring debilitated dentitions and managing bite problems. He has also served for two decades on the consulting staff of the Cleveland Clinic Foundation Department of Dentistry.

While working at the Cleveland Clinic, Dr. Heidorf met Dr. Michael Morgan, the son of an Air Force dentist, who had developed a love of periodontics, implant techniques, and restorative dentistry. From their meeting in 1998, Drs. Heidorf and Morgan began to develop a synergy that came to fruition in 2002 when they combined their talents to form the West Shore Dental Implant Center, a dental practice specializing in dental implants and reconstructive dentistry.

We stopped by the West Shore Dental Implant Center late last week and met with Dr. Heidorf, Dr. Morgan, and practice manager Pam Heidorf, listening as they explained the benefits of modern implantology and the future of restorative dentistry:

The West Shore Dental Implant Center is a full service dental facility offering a complete line of dental services ranging from regular check-ups and general dentistry to periodontal surgery, restorative dentistry, and implant services. We impact people's lives by restoring lost function, comfort, and cosmetics through dental implantology, periodontics (gum disease) and restorative dentistry. The most important factor in restoration and implantology is the coordination between the restorative dentist, Dr. Heidorf, who constructs the prostheses, and the surgical dentist, Dr. Morgan, who places the implants. By combining our talents, seeing patients and planning their restorations together, we're able to ensure our patients' restorations proceed quicker, more comfortably, and with more predictable results.

Two key ingredients of a perfect smile are the length of the teeth and the shape of the surrounding gum tissue. When a tooth has been removed or is no longer in place, the bone that was supporting that tooth begins to dissolve, changing the contour of the surrounding gum tissue. By installing a titanium implant, the bone remains unaltered and the shape of the gum unaffected. If the tooth has been missing for some time and it's too late to preserve the original bone structure, we can surgically replace the bone or create a new bone to serve as a foundation for the implant. This stabilization of the underlying structure results in replacements that are more cosmetically appealing, and that remain firmly in place while speaking and eating.

With the advances in modern restorative dentistry, dental implants have become a common procedure requiring little more than ibuprofen afterward. The entire process is streamlined, and we enjoy overall success rates of more than ninety-seven percent due to our high level of communication at our Center between Dr. Morgan and Dr. Heidorf. In addition, we strive to educate our patients, the public, and other dentists on the outstanding benefits and results available through modern restorative dentistry. We work with the local dental community to enable their patients to avail themselves of our services while still remaining under the primary care of their family dentist.

In the future, removable dental prostheses, with the exception of full dentures, will become a thing of the past. Removable partials will be replaced by implants so stable that they will be indistinguishable from your original teeth. If you lose a tooth, you'll simply visit your implantologist and have the tooth put back in place without the need for complicated procedures or hiding your beautiful smile!

The West Shore Dental Implant Center specializes in building beautiful smiles through state-of-the-art restorative techniques. Call the West Shore Dental Implant Center today and don't forget to tell them The Advocate sent you!

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