The New York Times has published a consumer-oriented article on dental implants. They discuss the options: dental implant versus bridge and the coverage dental insurance companies provide for this service. This well written article is an excellent introduction to dental implants especially useful to share with patients considering this treatment.

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With economic pressures affecting millions of Americans, dentists may have noticed a drop in patients opting for a brighter smile, but they are seeing another phenomenon: a rise in the number of teeth grinders. “I’m seeing a lot more people that are anxious, stressed out and very concerned about their financial futures and they’re taking it out on their teeth,” said Dr. Steven Butensky, a dentist with a specialty in prosthodontics (aesthetic, implant and reconstructive dentistry) in Manhattan. One of his patients lost hundreds of thousands of dollars invested with Bernard L. Madoff. Another reported that he had lost a job with a seven-figure salary. A third, a single mother with a floral design business on Long Island, said she was working twice as hard for half as much.

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The New York Times health section recently published an informative article on the trend away from using bridges to replace missing teeth and toward replacement with dental implants. The comments section of this article is also particularly lively and well-worth reading.

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Patients who subconsciously take out stress on their teeth at night is nothing new. But the recession is. A periodontist, Dr. David Samuels reports that he can practically see the impact of the economy in his patients’ X-rays. “On these films right here that we’re looking at, this area right here represents the top of the tooth – a fracture of the top of the tooth from clenching and grinding,” Samuels says. “You also see flattened surfaces on tops of the teeth. And then if you look down here below, you’ll see the bone loss associated with clenching and grinding. So even on the X-rays, you can see evidence, if you will, of increased stress in someone’s life. And we do see more of that now than we used to.” About twice as much. Samuels is also the head of the Massachusetts Dental Society. A survey of its 5,000 members reveals business from stress-related tooth injuries has generally doubled. The most common remedy for teeth grinding is a preventative bite guard. Generic ones you can buy a drugstore cost about $25. Samuels says they’re better than nothing. But he recommends custom-fit ones.

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SurgeryTec is a Netherlands based website that allows members to upload and share surgical technique videos and slideshows. The site has a majority of medical surgery related videos, but some oral surgery/implantology related surgeries are also included.

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A shortage of NHS dentists is leading to thousands of needless deaths from mouth cancer, according to dental experts. "The survival rate of mouth cancer has not improved in 30 years," Nigel Carter, chief executive of the British Dental Health Foundation said. "If people were able to gain easier access to a dentist then the 50 per cent mortality rate could be significantly improved. It is Britain`s secret cancer despite killing more people annually than cervical and testicular cancer put together." There are 4,750 new cases of mouth cancer in Britain a year. A recent BBC documentary reported that there is an epidemic of poor teeth in Britain. 1 in 5 people never visit the dentist. 1 in 10 is terrified of the dentist chair. Sugar consumption, eating disorders, and bad diet make Britain’s global reputation for being a nation of terrible teeth completely justified.

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The ITI (International Team for Implantology) has released their second hardcover treatment guide. Volume 2 of the ITI Treatment Guide deals with the clinical aspects of various treatment protocols in the anterior and posterior regions for both single- and multi-tooth gaps as well as for free-end situations. Besides an analysis of recent literature on the topic of “Loading protocols in implant dentistry”, volume 2 of the ITI Treatment Guide provides the practitioner with a framework for risk analysis and subsequent implant treatment planning for partially dentate patients. Volume 2 was officially launched at the 2007 EAO Congress in Barcelona.

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A Washington State disciplinary board has fined a Lynnwood dentist $10,000, suspended his license at least through the end of the year and ordered him to take 41 hours of continuing education courses. The case involved a patient treated between June 2004 and November 2006 who needed nine dental implants. In its order, the commission found that the dentist failed to adequately examine, assess, evaluate, diagnose or develop a treatment plan for the patient. He did not adequately check out the patient`s complaints of severe pain during eight follow up visits after the surgery. One of implants had either been installed in or had migrated into the patient`s sinus cavity, the commission found. No X-rays were taken for six months following the surgery, according to the disciplinary board. The dentist also prescribed more than 3,148 tablets of two narcotics for pain, Oxycodone and Percocet, during a 29-month period ending in November 2006. The commission said that he did not document the reasons for prescribing the high levels of narcotics, calling it extremely excessive. The commission officially suspended his license for seven years. However, the suspension could be put on hold after Jan. 1 if he meets the continuing education, mentoring and other requirements specified in the order. The dentist`s attorney has requested reconsideration of one part of the order, which prevents him from doing surgical implant procedures.

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Straumann’s academic partner, the International Team for Implantology (ITI), introduced the first Volume of the ITI Treatment Guide in cooperation with Quintessence publishing. Volume 1, entitled `Implant Therapy in the Esthetic Zone – Single-Tooth Replacements` was introduced to the professional community at the EAO’s 15th Annual Scientific Meeting in Zurich.It takes its readers through the entire process, starting with the assessment of the patient’s individual esthetic risk profile and proceeding to through ideal three-dimensional implant placement and proven prosthetic management options. The various aspects are illustrated using patient case studies. Detailed illustrations serve to clarify any potential ambiguities. An analysis of potential complications in esthetic implant dentistry completes this first volume.

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DentalXP is an educational website with videos, images, protocols and articles related to implantology and cosmetic dentistry. The Salama brothers and Dr. Garber and Goldstein seem to be the principle contributors. Content is free after registering. Some cutting-edge technique videos as well as clinically-useful forms are the chief attractions.

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The General Dental Council (UK) convened a small working group in December 2005 to to consider what training standards would be necessary for a general dental practitioner before practising implant dentistry, to publish those standards and then periodically to review them in the light of developments in implant dentistry. Such standards could be used not only by practitioners but also by the GDC in the consideration of patient complaints against dental practitioners who, allegedly, practise implant dentistry beyond the limits of their competence. The GDC and the working group wanted to ensure patient protection by establishing and maintaining standards of training in implant dentistry.

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