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What you said about implants

June 1, 2006
We asked. You answered. What do you and your colleagues like and dislike in the world of implants? Read on…

We asked. You answered. What do you and your colleagues like and dislike in the world of implants? Read on…

Recently, Dental Equipment & Materials asked Dr. Charles Vogel, a respected general dentist and implant specialist in Springfield, Mo., for his views on the current and future status of implants. Below are some of his thoughts on that, as well as his views on an online survey conducted by DE&M.

DE&M: What are your views of dental implants?

Dr. Vogel: Certainly, dental implants have and are going to change the total concept of the way that we practice dentistry. This primarily has to do with predictability and the fact that they can be altered from being a crown abutment to an overdenture abutment or other kinds of attachments by just screwing and unscrewing things.

DE&M: What about the implant versus healthy tooth debate? Should implants be used when healthy teeth are present, in your opinion?

Dr. Vogel: Certainly, I am not recommending that we take out a bunch of healthy teeth to put in implants just because we can. However, I believe that, in the next 10 years, we are going to see teeth sacrificed much earlier. When teeth are sacrificed early, there is often good uninfected bone available, allowing a dental implant to be placed immediately or rather soon into a healthy site. Uninfected bone and a healthy site give the dentist confidence that the implant is going to be solid and not subject to fracture, reinfection, and so forth.

Patients should understand that, if a tooth is healthy, it should be kept. However, if that tooth can’t be saved or repaired, then the patient needs to know his or her options with dental implants.

DE&M: What do you see in the future for dental implants?

Dr. Vogel: I view dental implants as growing a titanium root in your jawbone, then putting a tooth on top of it. Through recent literature, I understand that, within 15 years, the dental implantologist will actually be regrowing a tooth bud in that area and letting a tooth regrow in that space. At this point, from a technical and medical standpoint, that certainly seems possible.

I believe we are currently only seeing a tiny tip of the dental implant iceberg and what that may involve. The word “dental implant” may be replaced with “tooth replacement implant” to cover all kinds of ways that we grow and replace teeth in the future.

DE&M: What are some of the results you saw from the survey that intrigued you?

Dr. Vogel: Regarding ceramic abutments, I believe this is a technology that will be prominent in the future. Currently, there are many unknowns about the ceramic abutment. Many dentists haven’t had a chance to work with them or use them. However, I believe that will change in the next decade. I believe ceramic abutments will become very common. Right now, I would explain it like going to a new car show and seeing a model that is three or four years away from being on the market. It looks good and it’s intriguing, but that’s all that you really know about it at the moment.

Also, I certainly believe there is a difference in the perception among urban and rural practices. Implants shouldn’t be just reserved for the big-city practices. Dentists who practice in small towns and farming areas can offer implants to their patients as well. We have the teaching skills and the technology to show every dentist how to place dental implants.

Dr. Charles Vogel is a general dentist located in Springfield, Mo. In 2003 and 2004, the Consumer Research Council of America recognized Dr. Vogel as one of America’s Top Dentists for outstanding Restorative and Implant Care. Dr. Vogel was voted “Best of the Ozarks Dentists” by readers of the Springfield News Leader in 2004 and first runner-up in 2003. He is proud of these honors and happy to serve the Ozarks for the past 40 years. He can be reached at [email protected].

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