"THE IMPLANTOLOGIST"
THE QUALIFICATIONS AND THE CHOICE OF THE
BEST IMPLANTOLOGIST FOR YOU:
UNFORTUNATELY, NOT ALL THOSE WHO CALL THEMSELVES IMPLANTOLOGISTS
ACTUALLY HAVE THE QUALIFICATIONS WORTHY OF THAT TITLE. (I
certainly agree with that one...)
- AN IMPLANTOLOGIST MUST BE A DENTIST! (Well,
an Implantologist, must be a Dentist! But, a dentist does not have
to be an Implantologist to work with dental implants. As a matter
of fact, "Implantologist" is a made up name implying some sort of
specialty status in the use of dental implants. Implantology is NOT
a specilaty!)
- QUALIFIED DENTISTS HAVE EITHER THE DDS (DOCTOR OF DENTAL SURGERY)
OR DMD (DOCTOR OF MEDICAL DENTISTRY) DEGREE. (ok)
- AN IMPLANTOLOGIST MUST HAVE TRAINING IN IMPLANTOLOGY! (No
such animal as an implantologist.... what they really mean is that
the dentist who is either placing or restoring dental implants should
have training in that discipline....)
- TAKING A COURSE IN IMPLANTOLOGY IS NOT ENOUGH TO QUALIFY A DENTIST
AS AN IMPLANTOLOGIST. EXPERIENCE, EXPERIENCE AND MORE EXPERIENCE IS
VERY NECESSARY. (Of
course experience is important. Why do you think they call it the
"practice" of dentistry? Just remember, everyone starts from some
place. I have seen trained individuals such as oral surgeons or periodontists
do a beautiful job on their first implant placement and I have seen
some so called implantologists who do hundreds of implants do them
all really poorly!)
BEFORE YOU DECIDE ON AN IMPLANTOLOGIST,
ASK A FEW QUESTIONS:
- ARE YOU A MEMBER OF (AAID)
THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF IMPLANT DENTISTRY? (The
AAID is an organization of dentists who like to do implants. So is
the Academy of Osseointegration and the American Academy of Implant
Prosthodontists and several other organizations. None of these organizations
have any official status in Dentistry nor does membership impart any
special ability or training.)
CREDENTIALED MEMBERSHIP REQUIRES PROOF OF MASTERY OF SEVERAL IMPLANT
SYSTEMS AND THE COMPLETION OF RIGOROUS WRITTEN AND ORAL EXAMINATIONS.
(This is not
proof because there is no definitive academic program that participants
must follow.)
- APPROXIMATELY HOW MANY IMPLANTS HAVE YOU DONE?
(We know that there is a significant learning curve in this field,
but after the first 50, research shows a fairly constant result. And
again, specialty trained individuals usually pick this field up quite
rapidly. It is not important how many you have done, just how well
you do them....)
THERE IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR EXPERIENCE, SO BEWARE OF THE IMPLANTOLOGIST
WHO HAS DONE ONLY A FEW IMPLANTS. (Experience
does NOT assure Quality!)
- WHAT TYPE OF IMPLANTS DO YOU DO?
THE IMPLANTOLOGIST MUST KNOW ABOUT ALL THE PROVEN TYPES OF IMPLANTS......BEWARE!
(Absolutely ridiculous!. Think about it for a minute. I would much
rather go to someone who has mastered one implant system and does
it real well than to some "jack of all trades". Besides, research
has shown that endosseous root form implants have the highest success
rates in all applications so why would anyone want to go into the
lesser systems....?)
- DO YOU BELIEVE IN IMPLANTS ONLY AS A LAST RESORT?
AN INEXPERIENCED IMPLANTOLOGIST WILL ALWAYS FIND REASONS FOR NOT
DOING THE IMPLANT PROCEDURE NO MATTER HOW BADLY YOU NEED IMPLANTS,
BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOT MASTERED THE ART OF IMPLANTOLOGY YET. (Hold
onto your hat... Except for the "Implantologist" part, I agree with
this statement. The biggest problem with this technology is that
there are not enough dentists trained in it. That will correct as
time goes by...)
- DO YOU GUARANTEE THAT MY IMPLANTS WILL LAST?
BEWARE OF THE IMPLANTOLOGIST WHO CLAIMS THEY CAN DO EVERYTHING
AND GUARANTEE THEIR IMPLANTS WILL WORK FOREVER. (
I also agree with this statement although, you should be assured
that the dentist performing the service stands behind it.)
FINALLY, DO YOUR HOMEWORK AND HAVE A LIST OF QUESTIONS READY BEFORE
YOUR APPOINTMENT. IF HE REFUSES TO ANSWER ANY OF YOUR QUESTIONS,
GET A SECOND AND THIRD OPINION. TO BE SAFE, GET ALL THE FACTS BEFORE
YOU DECIDE. (I
agree with this as well.)
I practice in
an area of the country where there happens to be a fairly large number
of dentists who refer to themselves as "implantologists". My impression
has usually been that their work does not live up to the standards
of dentistry utilizing dental implants that many specialists would
uphold. Of course there are specialist who can not do this phase of
dentistry real well either. If you want to find a dentist that is
competent in this area of dentistry, you could look at the following
points:
- Does the dentist providing the specific procedure
have a good reputation for this type of work?
- Are there other dentists who would recommend
this individual?
- Does the dentist have specialty training?
- Is the dentist certified by a legitimate specialty
board? (Check with the American Dental
Association if you are not sure.
- Have you talked to other patients of this
dentist who have had the same procedure?
- Are you comfortable with this dentist?
- Do you feel reasonably assured that this dentist
will stand behind his or her work?
- Did you get another opinion?
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