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ePaper created 2014-11-07, 14:16:52 | version 1.30.01
implants3_201448 I NEWS Global dental implant manufacturer Straumann has announced that it has purchased about 12 per cent of RODO Medical's shares for an undisclosed sum. TheU.S.companyhasdevelopedanovelsystemthat simplifies the implant restoration process signifi- cantly. RODO Medical's Smileloc System is a reten- tion mechanism utilizing shape memory properties of nitinol, a nickel-titanium alloy, which has been used in stents and other medical devices, including orthodonticarchwiresandendodonticfiles,formany years. It allows for easy fixation of crowns or den- tures to implant abutments without the need for re- taining screws or cement,the two main methods for securing restorations, the latter of which has been associatedwithcomplications.“Smilelocisaninno- vative concept,” said Straumann's CEO Marco Gadola.“The first clinical results are promising and I agree with the developers that, when it becomes commercially available, it might substitute some of the current fixture technology.” Straumann acquires 12 per cent of RODO Medical Promising superior clinical outcomes, plenty of new dental implants are launched to markets each year.A report by researchers from the Cochrane Oral Health GroupinMelbourneandManchesterhasrecentlysug- gested that there may be no differences in terms of long-termsuccess,regardlessoftheshapeoftheim- plantorthematerialused. The researchers reviewed randomised clinic tri- als conducted around the world from the group’s owndatabase.Fromthis,theonlystatisticallysig- nificant difference observed was in relation to surfacepreparations,withsmoother(turned)sur- facesbeingfoundtobelesspronetobonelossas- sociated with periimplantitis than were rougher surfaces. Similarresultswerereportedbythegroupinase- ries of earlier reviews,of which the first was pub- lished in 2002. In the most recent update, two of the review authors independently compared 38 differentimplanttypes,whichhadbeenplacedin 27 trials involving more than 1,500 patients, ranging from the early 1980s to early 2014. According to Cochrane, there are more than 1,300 different dental implants available on the market today. The total value of fixed tooth replacementswasestimatedtobeUS$3.4billion in 2011, a figure that some analysts expect to almost double in the next five years owing to the increasing demand of an ageing population and more dentists starting to place dental im- plants. Cochrane reports no evidence for Superior long-term success of dental implants [PICTURE: ©IM PERFECT LAZYBONES] Anumberofstudieshavelinkedperiodontitistosystemicdiseases,suchasdiabetes, and complications in pregnancy. Now, new research has provided additional evi- dencethatreceivingtreatmentforperiodontaldiseasemayresultinreducedhealth carecostsandfewerhospitalisationsforpregnantpatientsandindividualswithcer- tainchronicconditions. Inthestudy,researchersattheUniversityofPennsylvaniareviewedinsuranceclaims dataofalmost340,000individualswhohadbeendiagnosedwithperiodontitisand were either pregnant or had one of the following conditions:Type 2 diabetes,coro- nary artery disease,cerebrovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis.They found that treating periodontal disease was associated with statistically significant de- creases in annual medical costs of 40.2 per cent (US$2,840) for diabetes patients, 40.9 per cent (US$5,681) for patients with cerebrovascular disease,10.7 per cent (US$1,090)forpatientswithcoronaryarterydisease,and73.7percent(US$2,433) forpregnantpatients.Inaddition,asignificantdecreaseinhospitaladmissionswas observedinsomeofthegroups.“Thesecost-basedresultsprovidenew,independ- ent,andpotentiallyvaluableevidencethatsimple,non-invasiveperiodontaltherapy mayimprovehealthoutcomesinpregnancyandothersystemicconditions,”there- searchers concluded.The study, titled “Impact of Periodontal Therapy on General Health:EvidencefromInsuranceDataforFiveSystemicConditions,”waspublished intheAugustissueoftheAmericanJournalofPreventiveMedicine. Periodontal therapy may Save patients over US $ 5,000 per year [PICTURE: ©PRESSMASTER ]