National Prosthodontics Awareness Week (NPAW) is not a celebration known by many people, but one lucky dental patient will never forget the first week in April.
Colorado Springs Prosthodontist, Dr. Marina Funtik, has used this public awareness week to bring a healthy smile to Colorado Springs resident, Penney M.
Penney has struggled for many years with the ability to eat well and enjoy life.
Unfortunately, this can be quite common. Patients tolerate the discomfort and accept the compromise to the detriment to their overall health.
Dr. Funtik recommended that her patient get dental implants. The process involves inserting small titanium posts into the patient’s jawbone that replace the roots of missing teeth. After the healing, implants are fully integrated into the jawbone, producing a more natural feeling to the patient’s mouth.
Penney’s response to Dr. Funtik’s recommendation was a typical one: she just couldn’t afford implant surgery. So Dr. Funtik went to work and looked for a way around this. She teamed up with Straumann to award implant surgery to this well-deserving patient.
“I worked with Straumann in residency and stand by their implants today in my own private practice. They have always supported great causes and I thought we would raise awareness of my specialty Prosthodontics by helping a well-deserving patient during NPAW ”, Dr. Funtik said. “Penney is such a kind and wonderful person; she brightens the office when she visits. As a dedicated mother and grandmother, she expends all her time, energy and money on everyone else. Penny deserves a healthy, beautiful smile that will last forever!”
By late summer, Penney will have her new implants in function. She plans on taking a celebration trip with her husband to Santa Fe.
National Prosthodontics Awareness Week is on April 3-9 this year to raise awareness of the importance of oral health in general public. Prosthodontics is one of only nine recognized dental specialties by the American Dental Association (ADA). A Prosthodontist is a dental specialist with 3 years of advanced residency training, beyond dental school, to learn the necessary surgical skills to place dental implants, and to use advanced technology to diagnose, replace and restore missing teeth with implants, crowns, bridges or dentures.
“My patient’s smiles’ are my specialty,” Dr. Funtik explains. “I employ advanced dentistry techniques to solve oral health issues. Penney’s case is a great example of how my specialty helps not only a patient’s smile, but also their overall health and well-being.”
Penney is very thankful to Dr. Funtik. “No one has ever spent this much time on me,” she said in response to the meticulous approach Dr. Funtik took in restoring her natural smile. “I can tell she takes great pride in her work”.
For more information about dental implants or other dental services provided at Oasis Prosthodontics please visit our website today.
