Please activate JavaScript!
Please install Adobe Flash Player, click here for download

Dental Tribune Middle East & Africa No.1, 2017

Visit us at stand 7G01! AEEDC 2017 - Dubai Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre 7th - 9th February 2017 ByDTI TOMSK, Russia: One of the reasons for dental implant failure is rejec- tion of the implant owing to the body’s immune response. Immune cellsidentifytheimplantasaforeign bodyandcauseinflammationandfi- nally rejection. A new bioactive coat- ing for medical implants, developed by Russian scientists, may be able to invert this immune mechanism and encourage healing around the implant. Scientists at Tomsk Polytechnic Uni- versity have proposed resolving the issue of implant rejection by coating implants with a biologically active compound that is an analogue to the cytokine interleukin-4. This sub- stance is able to control the behav- iour of the innate immune cells, the macrophages, forcing them to stim- ulate the healing process instead of rejectingtheimplant. “A feature of macrophages is their enormous plasticity: under different conditions the same immune cells can either fight with the implant or, conversely, stimulate the healing process. We are trying to synthesize thesecompounds,whichcouldforce macrophages to differentiate into a positive phenotype,” said project manager Ksenia Stankevich, a PhD student at the Department of Bio- technology and Organic Chemistry at the university’s Institute of High TechnologyPhysics. According to the researchers, the coating could be used for polymeric and titanium implants, which are employed in implant dentistry, as well as orthopaedic and oral surgery. Therefore, the Russian scientists hope that their development will be universally applicable in implantol- ogy. Currently, they are at the stage of synthesising the compound and are conducting experiments to de- termineitsoptimalcomposition. Theresearchprojecthasreceivedthe support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research and was awarded agoldmedalattheRusBioTechinter- national exhibition in 2016, accord- ingtotheuniversity. Dental Tribune Middle East & Africa Edition | 1/2017 IMPLANT TRIBUNE D3 The Full Arch Promise ByDrFrankR.LaMarJr.,USA When patients seek dental implant treatment, not only do they bring specific needs, they also bring some hope. Health care marketing today has only increased these expecta- tions, and has set up more doctors to fail to meet them. Not because they aren’t capable, but because they haven’t reset their patients’ expecta- tions at the beginning. Many den- tists end up struggling to fulfill their own promises, and it can ultimately impact their reputations for years to come. The Promise of Great Teeth, Right Away One of the biggest challenges we face as dentists is our patients’ expecta- tionofimmediacy.Throughouttheir lives,consumershavebeendelivered things fast. Fast food, overnight de- livery, two-day gift deliveries from across the globe. People have been trainedtobelievethatfastisbest. This has become true in the dental implant / full arch delivery space as well, despite the fact we know that the human body requires time to heal and adjust. Biology just hasn’t kept up with the 24-hour-turna- roundpromise. Unfortunately, patients don’t know any better. They are driven by the imagined fear of spending weeks or months with no functioning teeth. So they buy the marketing ploys and pursueimmediategratification–and put us squarely between their time- sensitive demands and their own long-termsatisfaction. Fooling Ourselves, Fooling OurPatients How easy is immediate load, and full arch dentistry in general? After a weekend of training, many den- tists imagine they know all there is to know about the newest, fastest approaches to full arch implant re- construction. Proven? Who cares? Easy is attractive, and they jump into serving their first few cases with op- timism and the hope that these fast services will attract more patients anddelivermoreprofits. Once patients return for follow-up visits, many doctors come to realize they don’t have the comfort level or the tools to complete the process as simply as they had envisioned. That first denture conversion? It was just step one of what turns out to be a multi-step process. Teeth right away… plus nine months. A little bit longerthanthepatienthadoriginally thought. In addition, healing and prosthetic failures are more common in im- mediateloadcases. Thelosttimeand patientinconvenienceoftencreatesa lessthanidealsenseofadentist’ssat- isfactionwiththispartofthepractice. By taking the fast track, patients ul- timately spend more time in your chair, reducing your profitability. You end up married to an unhappy patient,workinghardtosatisfythem – every extra minute in your chair leading to additional frustration for youboth. TheRisktoOurReputations Patients rely on us to help them ex- pand their understanding of the full arch process, and especially of what is healthy. When we don’t reset ex- pectations, explain the best way to achieve optimal results, and then de- livertothosepromises,patientshave everyrighttobeunhappy. Unfortunately, practitioners don’t only pay with increased unprofitable chairtime–patientsholdourreputa- tionsintheirhands. Today, dental services and other health care providers are ranked online along with car dealerships and dry cleaners. Negative word of mouth harms our reputations, but badreviewsandhorrorstoriesshared online can not only affect percep- tions, but also search engine results –foralltosee. What PatientsReallyWant When we first meet with patients – regardless of why they say they’ve come to the office – we should ask what their ultimate goals are. Their top answers shouldn’t surprise you: a natural look; the ability to eat all types of foods; and long-lasting im- plantsthatdon’trequirespecialcare. Although we inevitably talk about two other concerns – cost, as well as time without their permanent teeth – those concerns didn’t push the pa- tient to come in, yet being honest aboutbothdoesn’tdrivethemaway. We should discuss how many im- plant procedures we have success- fully completed, and share the low failure rate of the protocol we follow. Weencouragepatientswhoareshop- pingaroundtoreallyunderstandthe failure rates and the actual time-to- completion with our competition, especially those who make unrealis- tic promises. What sounds too good tobetrueusuallyis. Yes, patients carry fears with them. They don’t want to be without teeth for any period of time; they don’t want to be embarrassed by their ap- pearance; they don’t want to experi- ence discomfort much less any real pain. Many don’t think longer-term, butquiteafewhavedoneenoughre- search to ask about healing and suc- cessrates. In the end, patients want a trusted advisor. Someone who knows what they are talking about and can deliv- er on the promises they are making. Someone who is honest about the risks and can speak to the different optionsavailable. TheUltimatePromise Every patient asking for dental im- plantsisseekingonecommongoal:a successfuloutcome. They require their doctors to balance hopeful expectations with honest and expert guidance. For us, it is im- portant not to be pressured to make unrealistic promises based on man- ufacturers’ generalized marketing strategies. Instead, get smart about the implant protocol you want to specialize in – understand the entire process, well beyond the initial loading. Embrace all the continuing education avail- ableandseekoutotherpracticesthat havehadsuccess. Chooseyourimplantprotocolsbased on the resources made available to you. Until you have seen your first dozen patients through the process, havingotherexpertsavailableforad- viceanddirectionisinvaluable. With a depth of resources and expe- rience at your disposal, you will be in a better place to make the ultimate promise to your patients: that you will see them through to the finish line, creating a healthy mouth and lasting smile that will match all their mostimportantexpectations. Dr.FrankR.LaMarJr. Dr. LaMar is a Doc- tor of Dental Surgery specializing in pros- thodontics and dental restoration. Bioactive implant coating stimulates healing process

Pages Overview