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exhibitors 44 Greater New York Dental Meeting — Nov. 27, 2016 By Dentatus Staff n In the event patients become eden- tulous, dentures many offer advan- tages compared to other alternatives. They are esthetically pleasing, easy tomaintainandcosteffective;however, these benefits are often hampered by patient discomfort and may lead to dif- ficulty in chewing, pronunciation and freely expressing facial movements such as smiling or laughing. It has been suggested that eventu- ally nine out of 10 people will com- plain of difficulties with a mandibu- lar denture.1 Many over-the-counter products provide a band-aid solution to some of these complications but never get to the core of the problem, while dentists dedicate countless hours to adjustments and managing patient dissatisfaction.2 To compensate, denture wear- ers often change their daily rou- tine and diet in ways that expose them to greater health risks. With a greater focus today on the relation- ship between dentistry and systemic health, we recognize that edentulism hasadirectimpactonapatient’sover- all health, with problems ranging from psychological to nutritional and even to digestive concerns. According to Dr. Carl Misch, stud- ies demonstrate that complete tooth loss is associated with illness, citing 28 percent of the edentulous popula- tion who take medicine for gastroin- testinal disorders.3 Clearly this situation often leaves dentists less than excited about pro- posing dentures as a viable solution. Some dentists may be prolonging tooth extractions, particularly in the mandibular arch, because of poor retention of dentures and continual bone resorption. But there are inno- vative treatment options that can dramatically improve the patient experience with a lower denture and prevent bone resorption. Many patients have benefited from newly adapted protocols for securing lowerdenturesusingminimallyinva- sive implant treatment. In particular, the genre of narrow diameter, or mini implants, has made access to treat- ment more attainable because of the reduced costs, time and complexity in planning. The ADA endorsed this treatment in 2004.4 Onesysteminparticularhastaken measures to develop a protocol that compensates for ridge changes and bone resorbtion by cushioning the interface between a patient’s denture and his or her ridge while optimiz- ing comfort. With 10 years of long- term clinical and university-based research support, the ATLAS® Den- ture Comfort™ Implant System is an ideal system to retain lower dentures, according to the company. With a hermetically retained liner that is easy to maintain, patients express very high satisfaction and describe ease in both insertion and removal of their dentures.5–7 The Tuf-Link® silicone material provides cushioned support and sta- bilization with gentle, firm retention while distributing the chewing force on the ridge and implants, all without housings, O-rings or adhesives. This overcomes restrictions of parallel- ism, space, stress and other limiting obstacles of edentulism. Patients no longer suffer with sore spots caused by a hard acrylic denture base rub- bing against the gingival tissue. The ATLAS minimally invasive procedure is usually performed with- out a surgical flap. Because ATLAS implants are immediately loaded, patients are able to leave with a cush- ioned,comfortableandstabledenture after a one-visit chairside procedure, according to the company. Editor’s note: References are avail- able upon request. Change your patients’ lives with the ATLAS Denture Comfort Implant System Here in New York For more information on the Atlas Im- plant System, visit Dentatus at booth No. 1714. Ad