DTUS0710

By Dov M. Almog, DMD and Michael Nawrocki, DMD Virtual dental implant planning: the next step Already in 2005, a report from Kalorama Information1 estimated that the growth in implant-based dental reconstruction products would outstrip other areas of dental devices and products. According to that report, 40 per- cent of the western population is missing one tooth or more; in the United States alone, approximately 10 percent of the population is com- pletely edentulous; and every year about 2 million Americans loose a tooth due to sporting accidents. As a result, there has been a rapid increase in the number of practitio- ners involved in implant placement, including specialists and general- ists, with different levels of exper- tise. Unfortunately, there has been a simultaneous raise in claims and suits involving dental implants, mostly associated with damage to the mandibular nerve and maxillary sinus perforations. This is in addi- tion to failure associated with poor alignment.2 Therefore, considering that den- tal implants are the fastest growing discipline in dentistry, there is little doubt that cone-beam computerized tomography (CBCT) is the pre-emi- nent method for viewing and under- standing three-dimensional anato- my and the foundation for success- ful implementation of oral implan- tology, one of the most important branches of dentistry today. CBCT carries very important radiographic, restorative and surgi- cal information for dental implant planning, taking the guesswork out of what we do, and it is rapidly emerging as the diagnostic imag- ing standard of care. This infor- mation includes implant trajectory, distribution, depth and proximity to critical anatomical landmarks such as the mandibular canal, maxillary sinus, adjacent roots and alveolar cortical plates and undercuts. Clinical: Digital Perspective DENTAL TRIBUNE | March 201010A AD loans are deferred, payments aren’t required, but you can’t qualify for deferment once the loan is in default, so don’t wait until you are behind in payments to apply. Continue mak- ing payments until your request is approved. 9) Health-care bills. Most medi- cal bills aren’t reported to credit bureaus until they are sent to col- lection agencies. Doctors will rarely initiate a patient credit check before starting a major treatment case. With health care bills ranked in order at No. 9 and a new era with a tough economy, can your practice benefit from a proactive approach to patient financing? DT About the author Keith D. Drayer is vice presi- dent of Henry Schein Financial Services. Henry Schein Finan- cial Services represents the only 3.99 percent same-as-cash patient financing and no dedi- cated terminal program. Henry Schein is the leading distribu- tor of services and products to office-based health care practi- tioners. Drayer can be reached at hsfs@henryschein.com or (800) 443-2756. f DT page 8A g DT page 13A