Is your arsenal properly equipped for implantology? – Kate Scheer

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  Posted by: Dental Design      3rd January 2018

Over the last decade, implantology has risen to prominence as one of the leading treatment pathways for patients suffering from functional, anatomical or aesthetic problems as a result of tooth loss. The UK’s ageing edentulous population, demand for preventive and cosmetic procedures, rising incidence of tooth loss, and patients’ increased sense of awareness have all contributed to the growing popularity of implants, as has significant advancements in technology and clinical outcomes. As such, the Global Dental Implants Market is expected to reach USD 4,497.1 million by 2022 supported by a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 6.1% during the forecast period of 2017 to 2022.

To ensure safe and predictable results, continuing research and development of implant designs, materials and techniques must remain a key priority moving forward, along with training and education on patient assessments, treatment planning, implant placement and integration, restorative treatment and subsequent maintenance. There are a number of courses available, ranging from an introduction to implantology to more advanced training for complex treatments, to give practitioners the theoretical and practical skills they need to place and maintain implants effectively and successfully. This includes the efficacious use of specialist equipment and tools that are required to deliver treatment safely and accurately, which have undergone immense transformation over the years to improve outcomes.

Among those advancements are piezomed instruments for piezosurgery, a tool that was first discovered in the 1880s but not applied in human oral surgery until 2000. Indeed, Tomaso Vercellotti discovered the benefits of its application whilst treating a patient with a split edentulous ridge. Without a piezoelectric device, he claimed, it would not have been possible to expand the ridge and place the implant in a single-stage surgery. Using a combined ultrasound and piezo effect, piezomed instruments are widely considered by many implantologists to be vital tools across a variety of applications, including preparation of implant sites, sinus-floor elevation, bone grafting, edentulous ridge splitting and lateralisation of the inferior alveolar nerve.

There are a number of reasons for the technology’s enduring popularity, not least of which is that piezosurgery is a much less invasive approach to oral surgery and implantology due to the greater level of precision that these devices afford. This is hugely gratifying for dentists, not to mention more conducive to safer, predictable and successful results.

For the patient, the practitioner’s decision to use piezomed instruments over more traditional rotary handpieces can have an outstanding impact on the healing process. The accuracy of the cutting helps to reduce blood loss and minimise the risk of accidental soft tissue harm. This helps to increase visibility in the working area during surgery and as such, the clinician’s precision and ability to perform surgery efficiently. Along with accelerated healing and reduced post-treatment discomfort for the patient, there is less thermal damage, which minimises the likelihood of bone necrosis. When you consider that overheating and subsequent bone necrosis can compromise the success of the osseointegration process – and in turn the final outcome of implant rehabilitation – piezomed instruments are by far the safer and more predictable option; which should not be undervalued.

There can be no doubt that together, the benefits of piezosurgery have allowed practitioners to take treatment to a new level in a way that no other instrument has before. Not only does this clearly demonstrate how far implantology has come, but also the crucial connection between staying abreast of technological advancements and being able to deliver safe, predictable and accurate implant treatments to patients.

Consequently, practitioners should take their time to research all the available tools on the market, as they could make all the difference to the provision of care. There are a wide variety of piezomed instruments available, but as with all dental tools, some are better quality than others. The W&H Piezomed range is particularly efficient and atraumatic, not least because each instrument is automatically detected and assigned to the correct power class once inserted into the handheld device. This not only facilitates operation, but increases safety too.

If the prediction that dental implantology will become more popular in the coming years is true, the demand for reliable and functional tools will be greater than ever. Staying ahead of the curve by learning and using the best technology available is therefore essential to achieving and maintaining successful implants long into the future.

To find out more visit www.wh.com/en_uk, call 01727 874990 or email office.uk@wh.com

Globe News Wire: ‘Global Dental Implants Market 2017-2022’. Published 17 July 2017. Accessed online 20 October 2017 at https://globenewswire.com/news-release/2017/07/17/1047469/0/en/Global-Dental-Implants-Market-2017-2022.html
Vercellotti T. Piezoelectric surgery in implantology: a case report–a new piezoelectric ridge expansion technique. Int J Periodontics Restorative Dent. 2000 Aug; 20(4):358-65. Accessed online 10 October 2017 at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11203575/


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