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Implant Emergence Profile Demystified

A wide mucosal emergence angle of the implant prosthesis can increase by as much as 30 times the risk for inflammation of the peri-implant tissue, as shown by a recent clinical study. It becomes therefore apparent that the prosthetic design of the implant supracrestal complex is critical for the long-term health of peri-implant tissue. Read more about the design features that are most important and the designs you need to follow when treatment planning with dental implants. Mucosal Emergence Angle, Deep Angle, Total Contour Angle

Not everything that glitters is artificial intelligence..!

Artificial Intelligence starts when an algorithm becomes able to programme and re-programme itself, thus be able to perform tasks for which it was not originally programmed to do or could not be performed with it’s original code. This implies a software which can “experiment” and learn not only to improve it’s performance but also to perform new tasks. An AI algorithm is a piece of software that can demonstrate cognitive skills only shown by living beings.
To give you an analogy, let me use one of the first lessons we all learn in early childhood: do not touch a very hot item or you get burned. Now if you want to protect your algorithm from getting burned, you insert in the algorithm: “IF hot, DO NOT Touch”. This is algorithm. But you programme your algorithm to wander around, algorithm touches the stove, gets
burned and implements the line in its code “IF hot, DO NOT Touch”… this is Artificial Intelligence!

Is the future static or dynamic?

Half a dozen major dynamic navigation systems focused in implant dentistry are now in the market, two of which are backed by leading implant manufacturers Straumann and Nobel Biocare. All systems use in principle the same optical tracking technology, but they each have its own proprietary design features which can impact ergonomics, accuracy, user experience, overall efficiency and cost effectiveness. The competition is going to be fierce and whether a clear winner is going to emerge in the end is up to everyone to speculate.
And while the masses will soon move into dynamic navigation, the early adopters are already documenting the rise of the robots! The marriage of the dynamic CAIS with the robotic arm has already borne fruit and the child is growing healthy and strong in two continents. Autonomous robotic implant systems are already in the market in US and China and although in an early stage of adoption, we see now the first peer-reviewed published results in the form of case series.

Implant Surgery with map and compass!

Have you ever thought why some people are fast to orientate with a map, while others tend to be always lost? Or, why some prefer to look at the navigation carefully once before driving, while others need to have it constantly in front of their eyes? And what does this all have to do with implant surgery? Today we will dissect a crucial skill for any implant surgeon, the spatial representation ability and we will discuss how to train and improve it for the benefit of your patients. Finally we have a small challenge to test your skills!

Tissue level versus bone level implants

Tissue Level versus Bone Level implants: Vol. 2 !

In our first article 2 years ago we explored the difference between tissue level and bone level implants with regards to risk for peri-implantitis. In this article, we discuss deeper about the emergence profile in the light of new knowledge and we also extend to assess technical complications and potential implications of the implant connection. We will discusss the ocncept of Emergence profile and the “deep” emergence angle and we will investigate closer what were the reasons behind the early success of Tissue level implants, as well as their limitations.

The benefits of Computer Assisted Implant Surgery: Seeing beyond the Average!

Static and Dynamic computer assisted implant surgery appear to deliver the same level of accuracy if we study the average deviation. But this is only half the truth. By analysing frequencies instead of the mean we could see some important differences and clinical implications, as it becomes obvious that both dynamic and static CAIS will deliver “plug and play” immediacy in 40% of the cases, as opposed to only 10% for freehand. If we extend to include the small modification group then we see CAIS serving successfully as much as 80% of the cases! Think of the time and resources saved, the logistics and the patient experience and you have already a major benefit of CAIS, certainly not described in the previously reported means. That is of course if you follow an immediacy procedure. With a conventional loading protocol, the benefit of CAIS is probably not that important in clinical terms.

Mechanical disinfection of implants: Tips and Tricks!

Mechanical disinfection remains the cornerstone of the management of Peri-implantitis. But do we best achieve our goals? From simply rinsing with saline and rubbing with a gauze to a whole Er:Yag Lazer, there is a whole spectrum of techniques and devices that seem to achieve comparable results. How do we choose and where do we strike the best balance?
Read below for some clinical “tips and tricks” to help you make the most of each approach! In this article, we discuss plastic, carbon fibre and titanium curettes, ultrasonic and piezoelectric tips, titanium brushes and Labrida brush.

CT-Epithelial hybrid graft and peri-implant soft tissue augmentation

The use of soft tissue augmentation techniques to increase the keratinised with around dental implants has been debated since long. This article disusses the need of soft tissue augmentations, the main determinants for decision making and presents a minimally invasive grafting technique, the Hybrid CT-Epithelial graft.

Bone Level vs tissue level implant

Bone level or Tissue Level..?

Tissue level vs Bone level implants is a discussion that goes back to the very DNA of implant dentistry. The original implant designed by Branemark was a bone level implant, intended to be submerged fully under the bone. Then the Tissue level design was proposed by Schroeder and IT, where the implant included a transmucosal colar. In this article, we investigate the wide spread belief that the use of Tissue Level implants reduces the risk for peri-implantitis. Fact or Myth?