Archive for March, 2008
Protected: Medellin Flower Festival
March 28, 2008Protected: Medellin
March 27, 2008Protected: Medellin Shopping
March 27, 2008Protected: Medellin Hotels-No Vacancies
March 27, 2008Protected: Medellin Cell Phones
March 24, 2008Protected: What is the cost of living like in Medellin
March 18, 2008Medellin Apartments
March 15, 2008There are an evergrowing number of Gringos (US and Europeans) that are buying apartments in Medellin. Some are buying them to live in, some to use as second homes and some as investments for rental purposes. Most will rent short term or long term, a few rent out rooms and live in them too.
Gone are the days when a Medellin Visitor is relegate to staying in a hotel or any of the bed and breakfast establishments that have been so popular over the past few years.
You can rent anything from a 1 bedroom to 5 bedroom penthouses. Most are well furnished, have fully equipped kitchens, large plasma screen TV’s, Wi-Fi and internet, IP phones for making long distance calls back home, 24 hour security, pools, jacuzzis and more.
You can get an idea of what is available for rent and their price ranges. If you are curious about investing, you can get an idea of what units are selling for.
A couple of friends or a family can stay in a furnished apartment for less than the cost of 2-3 hotel rooms and enjoy the privacy and amenities that an apartment has to offer.
Dental Implants Tutorial Medellin Travel Guide
March 13, 2008If you are traveling to Medellin and need some dental work performed, Medellin Travel Guide highly recommends Dr. Juan Carlos Mejia Escalante. He speaks English
Dental Implants
Dental implants are artificial tooth replacements that are used to counter tooth loss. The procedure is categorized as a form of prosthetic dentistry, though it also falls into the category of cosmetic dentistry as well. Strong, durable and natural in appearance, implants are among the most successful dental procedures performed.Although you have a number of restorative options for the treatment of missing teeth, none have proven to be as functionally effective and durable as implants. In many cases, dental implants may be the only logical choice for the restoration of all necessary functionality of the teeth and supporting structures.
Tooth Loss
Teeth are lost or missing because of:
- Tooth decay
- Root canal failure
- Periodontitis (gum disease)
- Trauma to the mouth
- Excessive wear and tear
- Agenesis (refers to the failure of a tooth to develop during embryonic growth and development)
People who have lost teeth might feel too self-conscious to smile or talk. Additionally, biting irregularities caused by tooth loss can have a negative effect on eating habits and this can lead to secondary health problems like malnutrition. Regardless of the nature of problems related to tooth loss, dental implants may provide a simple remedy with proven results.
Advantages of Implant Dentistry
Implants offer a permanent solution to tooth loss. Additionally, implants may be used in conjunction with other restorative procedures for maximum effectiveness. For example, a single implant can serve to support a crown replacing a single missing tooth. Implants can also be used to support a dental bridge for the replacement of multiple missing teeth, and can be used with dentures to increase stability and reduce gum tissue irritation. More people than ever before are finding themselves candidates for implant treatment. However, candidacy for implantation still varies, meaning that the dentist may determine that you should opt for an alternative restoration. Prosthodontists are the specialists who often complete this crucial procedure.Periodontists and oral surgeons perform the implant surgical procedure itself.
The Dental Implant Procedure
Today’s dental implants are virtually indistinguishable from other teeth. This appearance is aided in part by the structural and functional connection between the dental implant and the living bone. Implants are typically placed in a single sitting but require a period of osseointegration. Osseointegration is the process by which direct anchorage of a dental implant root and the bone of the jaw occurs. Osseointegrated implants are the most commonly used and successful type of dental implant. An osseointegrated implant takes anywhere from three to six months to anchor and heal, at which point the dentist can complete the procedure with the placement of a crown. Once the implant has anchored with the jawbone, artificial prosthesis may be attached and the process is done. If osseointegration does not occur, the implant will fail. Detailed procedural steps are as follows: Preparing the Jaw for Implantation: A dental implant is commonly composed of a titanium material screw and a crown. A small-diameter hole (pilot hole) is drilled at edentulous (where there is no tooth) jaw sites in order to guide the titanium screw that holds a dental implant in place. To avoid damaging vital jaw and face structures like the inferior alveolar nerve in the mandible (lower jaw), a dentist must use good planing, great skill and expertise when boring the pilot hole and sizing the jaw bone.Placement of the Implant: After the initial pilot hole has been drilled into the appropriate jaw site, it is slowly widened to allow for placement of the implant screw. Following this placement, a protective cover screw is placed on top to allow the implant site to heal and the dental implant to anchor (osseointegration). After several months, the protective cover is removed and a temporary crown is placed on top of the dental implant. The temporary crown serves as a template around which the gum grows and shapes itself in a natural way. The process is completed when the temporary crown is replaced with a permanent crown.
Considerations
For dental implant procedure to work, there must be enough bone in the jaw, and the bone has to be strong enough to hold and support the implant. If there is not enough bone, more may need to be added with a bone graft procedure. Sometimes, this procedure is called bone augmentation. In addition, natural teeth and supporting tissues near where the implant will be placed must be in good health.In all cases, what must be addressed is the functional aspect of the final implant restoration, the final occlusion. How much force per area is being placed on the bone implant interface? Implant loads from chewing and parafunction can exceed the physio biomechanic tolerance of the implant bone interface and/or the titanium material itself, causing failure. This can be failure of the implant itself (fracture) or bone loss, a “melting” or resorption of the surrounding bone.The restorative dentist must first determine what type of prosthesis will be fabricated. Only then can the specific implant requirements including number, length, diameter, and thread pattern be determined. In other words, the case must be reversed engineered by the restoring dentist prior to the surgery. If bone volume or density is inadequate, a bone graft procedure must be considered first. The restoring dentist consults with the oral surgeon, trained general dentist, or periodontist to co-treat the patient. Usually, physical models or impressions of the patient’s jawbones and teeth are made by the restorative dentist, and are used as physical aids to treatment planning. Computer simulation software based on CAT scan data allows virtual implant surgical placement based on a barium impregnated prototype of the final prosthesis. This predicts vital anatomy, bone quality, implant characteristics, the need for bone grafting, and maximizing the implant bone surface area for the treatment case creating a high level of predictability. Computer CAD/CAM Dentistry milled or stereo lithography based drill guides can be developed for the implant surgeon to facilitate proper implant placement based on the final prosthesis occlusion and aesthetics.
Success Rates of Dental Implants
Dental implants are among the most successful procedures in dentistry. There is no guarantee that an implant procedure will be successful, but studies have shown a five-year success rate of 95% for lower jaw implants and 90% for upper jaw implants. The success rate for upper jaw implants is slightly lower because the upper jaw (especially the posterior section) is less dense than the lower jaw, making successful implantation and osseointegration potentially more difficult to achieve. Lower posterior implantation has the highest success rate for all dental implants.Dental implants may fail for a number of reasons. The cause is often related to a failure in the osseointegration process. For example, if the implant is placed in a poor position, osseointegration may not take place. Dental implants may break or become infected (like natural teeth) and crowns may become loose. If you are a smoker who is considering a dental implant, your dentist will likely advise you to give up smoking before undergoing the process because smokers face a higher risk of implant failure. Since the procedure can be expensive, you risk wasting your money on dental implants if you do not give up the habit.On the plus side, dental implants are not susceptible to the formation of cavities; still, poor oral hygiene can lead to the development of peri-implantitis around dental implants. This disease is tantamount to the development of periodontitis (severe gum disease) around a natural tooth.
Immediate post-extraction implant placement and immediate loading
An increasingly common strategy to preserve bone, maintain gum anatomy and reduce treatment times includes the placement of a dental implant into a recent extraction site. In addition, immediate loading is becoming more common as success rates for this procedure are now acceptable. This can cut months off the treatment time and in some cases a prosthetic tooth can be attached to the implants at the same time as the surgery to place the dental implants. Candidacy for this type of early intervention is dependant upon anatomical factors of the extracted tooth site. For example, in many cases the extracted tooth site is wider than the implant, making it impossible to place the implant into the site immediately after extraction. Dental work would have to be performed first in order to create a perfect fit for the implant.In all of these approaches, computer-based guidance has thrust itself onto the treatment stage. Not only will 3D digital imagery yield critical treatment guidance, the digital data can be used to manufacture precision drilling guides, virtually eliminating surgical errors. State of the art implant technologyNobelGuide™ is a revolutionary treatment planning and surgical implementation system enabling the dentist to transfer extra oral and computer planning into the mouth with unrivaled accuracy and ease.With NobelGuide™ the placing of the implant, abutment and restorative crown or bridge is sometimes simultaneous. It is applicable to the patient indication, by using either conventional modeling or computer aided-3D design – NobelGuide™ shows the professional the exact position and depth of the implants before surgery.This information enables to produce a surgical template which guides the flapless procedure from start to a completely successful placement.In practice, this means beautiful teeth for the chosen patients in virtually one visit. • Easy, safe and predictable.
• No healing time required prior to functioning.
Patient benefits
Who wouldn’t love the idea of having beautiful, great working teeth – by only attending a few appointments and a minimally invasive procedure that gets you back in social and working life in no time? With NOBELGUIDE™ all these promises can be made.· Maximum comfort Based on flapless surgery, reducing pain and swelling. · Immediate cost saving Built on Immediate Function™, reducing costly time off from working life. · Fast Treatment Combination of Immediate Function™ and a premade, temporary or final, prosthetic solution ready at time of surgery radically shortens treatment time. Applying a final prosthetic solution means real “Teeth-in-an-Hour”. · Long and short term aesthetics ALL ON FOURThe All-on-4 and the All-on-4 with NobelGuide™ clinical solutions were developed by Dr. Paulo Maló at CM Clinica Maló in Lisbon, Portugal.“All-on-4” for edentulous jaws is a treatment procedure that uses tilting posterior implants. This facilitates an optimal support for an acrylic bridge that can be fabricated and functioning within just a few hours after surgery. “All-on-4” is based on Nobel Biocare’s pioneering Immediate Function™ capability.The All-on-4 clinical solution has been developed to maximize the use of available bone and to allow for Immediate Function™. This means that an fully edentulous patient can change his condition and have a fixed implant suported prosthesis with in a very short period of time. The All-on-4 with NobelGuide™ enables the dentist to use CT scan data as the basis for surgical planning in a 3D computer environment. From the computer-based planning, Nobel Biocare provides the dentist with a Surgical Template to guide him safely during flapless surgery. To take advantage of Immediate Function™ and place a highly aesthetic prosthetic reconstruction at the time of surgery. All-on-4 changes what has become “traditional” thinking with regard to immediate loading for the edentulous patient. The concept has near universal application, with a simplified approach to the entry-level fixed restoration that has the potential to make this treatment affordable for an even greater segment of our population. The recommendations for the high-end prosthesis are also unique and offer the most versatile option in the marketplace for the ceramo-metal fullarch final restoration.
Compliments of Dr. Juan Carlos Mejia Escalante, English speaking Medellin Dentist
Colombiamoda 2008
March 11, 2008Colombiamoda 2008 will be held July 8th-10th. at Plaza Mayor and other locales in Medellin.
If you are into fashion, you will love visiting Medellin.
Colombiamoda is billed as the largest fashion show in Latin America. Having celebrated its 18th anniversary this past July it is rapidly becoming known internationally as one of the most important fashion events to attend in the world.
Medellin is regarded by many as the largest textile center in Latin America so it is little wonder this event continues to grow in importance for the local economy.
Well attended you ask?:
450 national and international exhibitors.
1730 international buyers.
7260 national buyers and visitors from Alemania, Argentina, Australia, Bahamas, Barbados, Bélgica, Belice, Bolivia, Brasil, Canada, Costa Rica, Chile, Ecuador, El Salvador, España, Estados Unidos, Francia, Guatemala, Holanda, Honduras, Israel, Italia, Japan, Mexico, Noruega, Holand, Panama, Peru, Polonia, Reino Unido, Dominican Republic, Singapur, Suiza, Trinidad and Tobago and Venezuela.
60.000 meters of exhibition and services space.
400 national and international journalist.
The trade show
A place where you can find the new trends for formal, casual, jeanswear and sport collections for the feminine, masculine, junior, children and baby market. Ideal for wholesalers, chain stores, department stores, boutiques and distributors.
Business, fashion, sensations and brands is what everybody breathed this past year in Colombiamoda. It takes place every July.
This important business center that has become one of the most important in the Latin American textile and apparel sector is held at the Plaza Mayor Medellin, its Recinto Ferial, Centro de Convenciones and The Teatro Metropolitano.
**For visiting the catwalks you need an invitation, the Colombiamoda’s badge is not valid.
These invitations can be hard to come by but if you get lucky and snag a couple of tickets to attend a catwalk fashion exhibition it will dazzle your eyes with the beauty of the Colombian fashion models. Knowing somebody in the industry is always an advantage.
The general exhibition halls are open to the public on a daily basis. Entrance ticket purchase required. Eye candy is free.
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