
Time has a way of filtering out those clinical procedures earlier promoted as the wave of the future. Many of today’s oral implantology procedures have endured the test of time and the scrutiny of the educated, becoming the foundation of future evolutionary techniques.
Modern oral implantology has stood the test of time and the scrutiny of our highest levels of education. Average success rates exceed 90% over ten years, and published success rates of 97-98% over ten years are now well known. We continue to progress with greater degrees of sophistication in research and clinical applications.
As the removable artial denture gave way to the fixed partial denture as the standard of care, so has the fixed partial denture yielded its position as the standard of care to the implant-supported restorations.
In many regions of North America and other countries of the world, implant-supported restorations are already the standard of practice for the management of any edentulous area. As professionals, we have the responsibility to; at least, understand the principles which will allow us to guide our patients in the management of their dental health. This is a field comprised of procedures which needs to be part of your treatment armamentarium. The simpler procedures are well within any dentists capabilities. The majority of your colleagues has already started or has made arrangements to develop their knowledge and skills in the field of Oral Implantology. Those that elect to delay this training will find themselves delaying their ability to compete with their colleagues.