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By Ken Hebel, BSc, DDS, MS, certified prosthodontist, and Reena Gajjar, DDS, certified prosthodontist n Until recently, implant dentistry was considered to be a therapy that wasprimarilyprovidedbydentalspe- cialists, and as such, training regula- tions were not an issue because most specialties incorporate implant ther- apy into their residency programs. With implant dentistry becoming more mainstream and being incorpo- rated into general practices, educa- tors and licensing bodies are starting to set training guidelines and param- eters for practice. Background Several years ago, the Institute for Dental Implant Awareness (IDIA) released a document, “Recommended C.E. Training Protocols to Meet the Legal Standard of Care for Implant Placement.” Although not legally enforceable, this document provided someguidelinesforcontinuingeduca- tion programs to meet the standard of care for implant therapy. These guidelines were based on existing guidelines in the United Kingdom and reviewed by many dentists, both general dentists and specialists. The release of such a document indicatestheawarenessbytheprofes- sion for guidelines to be established, both for the protection of patients and the profession. Many undergraduate dental schools do not offer a full curriculum in implant dentistry. As such, many dentists are required to obtain their implant education through post-grad- uate continuing education programs. With the proliferation of implant courses,itiscriticaltobeawareofthe training that is considered adequate by the profession in order to embark on implant therapy in your practice. It has been established that short- duration programs (one to three days in length) cannot fulfill the minimum standard that the profession con- siders appropriate for training in implant dentistry. Standard of care Didyouknowthatalthoughalicensed dentist can perform any dental proce- dure, if a general dentist chooses to perform treatments that are not rou- tinely performed by general dentists, the law holds all practitioners to the same standard of care that would be provided by specialists providing similar treatments? As such, it is imperative that den- tists who are not formally trained in implant therapy pursue educational programs that meet and exceed the minimum guidelines that are pro- posed by not only the profession but by their licensing body. Recently, the Royal College of Den- tal Surgeons of Ontario (Canada), the licensing body for dentists in Ontario, released a draft document proposing minimum standards of educational requirements for any dentist per- forming implant therapy. Although this document applies only to dentists in Ontario, it is suggestive of the direction of the pro- fession in establishing standards and indicative of what current practition- ers of implant therapy consider the minimum educational requirements. In addition, although these requirements are not legal require- ments, when a licensing body takes these steps to provide recommenda- tions regarding training, it can be assumed that should an issue arise for a dentist providing implant ther- apy, the college and other involved parties will defer to these recommen- dations regarding the type and scope of training that dentist received. Cross-training One interesting aspect of these pro- posed guidelines is that regardless of what phase of implant therapy you choose to provide to your patients, you should be trained in all phases. Dentists providing only the surgical phase need to be trained in implant prosthetics, and those providing prosthetics need to be trained in sur- gical considerations. This cross-training is indicative of the complex, integrated nature of implant therapy and the sugges- tion that one is not competent in one aspect of implant therapy without understanding all aspects. Another interesting aspect is the requirement for continued education and training. Implant dentistry is such a new and exciting area within dentistry that techniques and prod- ucts are still changing and advanc- ing. The need for more frequent continuing education is more critical in this field than in other areas of dentistry. So what does this mean for you? If you are considering incorporating implant dentistry into your practice, or if you already provide one or both phases of implant dentistry, we rec- ommend you follow these steps: • Review the RCDSO proposed guidelines and review the IDIA train- ing protocols. Both these articles can be found on our website, www.hands ontraining.com, under the “Down- loads” tab. • Research your licensing body and determine if it has set any mini- mum standards or guidelines. • Make sure the training you are considering, or have already taken, fulfills those minimum standards (or refertotheexistingguidelinesifyour licensing body has not yet set any guidelines). • Make sure the training institu- tionthatyouchooseprovidesnotonly a comprehensive training program but also provides tools and resources that allow you to review, refresh and continue to learn. It is critical to emphasize that even with continued education, a general dentist should only practice in accordance with his or her train- ing and experience. As such, patients who present with complex treatment situations — or a level of difficulty beyond the practitioner’s training and skill set — should be referred to a specialist. In any profession, guidelines are set to not only protect the providers within that profession but to protect the interests of the public. Without proper guidelines, the standard of care is diminished, and in many situ- ations, a low standard of care not only affects treatment outcomes but also establishesadamagingreputationfor that particular therapy. Guidelines within implant den- tistry are long overdue, and the establishment of educational recom- mendations will serve to raise the standardofimplanttherapyprovided and improve treatment outcomes to protect both the public and the pro- fession. exhibitors32 Greater New York Dental Meeting — Nov. 26, 2012 Does your implant training hold up? 3Shape opens new office near Los Angeles Location strengthens services for 3Shape’s customer base throughout the West Coast area n 3Shape continues to expand its presence around the globe with the opening of a new office in California. Located in Rancho Cucamonga, near Los Angeles, the office will offer training, technical support, product demonstrations and business support to 3Shape partners and end-users. Local service, support, training — Pacific Time 3Shape’s latest expansion will meet the increasing demands for CAD/ CAM solutions in the area and lay the groundwork for the increased activ- ity surrounding the release of 3Shape TRIOS® , a digital impression solution system for dentists. The opening of the new office demonstrates 3Shape’s commitment to maintaining the market’s highest standards for service, according to the company. Customers and partners all over the West Coast will now have quick local access to 3Shape technical supportandsalessupportduringtheir normal business hours (Pacific Time). Henrik Vestermark, the vice presi- dent of operations in North America, said: “The opening of this office repre- sentsourcommitmenttoofferthebest support and training possible. We are witnessing a strong growing demand for our latest CAD/CAM solutions, and the new office allows us to continue building our market, while promoting the advantages of digital dentistry and ensuring our customers’ maxi- mum uptime and competitiveness.” The office will be managed by Vest- ermark, who has also been managing the East Coast office in New Jersey. The new office will host modern train- ing facilities and equipment where users and partners can benefit from hands-on courses in 3Shape’s digital technologies for labs and clinics. Rancho Cucamonga address 3Shape 9227 Haven Ave., Suite 360 Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., 91730 5 3Shape’s office in Rancho Cucamonga. (Photo/Provided by 3Shape) Here at the GNYDM For more information on 3Shape, stop by the booth, No. 5520. Here at the GNYDM Ken Hebel and Reena Gajjar can be reached at www.handsontraining.com or info@handsontraining.com, by call- ing (888) 806-4442 or by stopping by the booth, No. 807. Proposed guidelines finally catch up to legal standard-of-care expectations for general dentists placing implants