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32 I I feature _ interview implants1_2010 _ With increasing public awareness of the benefits of dental implants, an increasing number of patients are considering this treatment option. While current studies often focus only on clinical aspects such as osseo-integration, patient re- sponses to psychological and psychosocial changes are only infrequently addressed. Dental TribuneInternationalGroupEditorDanielZimmer- mannspokewithDrBoChenfromtheDepartment of Oral Implantology (Beijing University School of Stomatology in China) about her latest study on patients’ attitudes following implant placement and subsequent restoration. _Dr Bo, studies on patient satisfaction fig- uresofpatientswhohavehadmaxillofacialsur- gery with implants are very rare, even in well- developed dental markets like Europe or the US. What motivated your study in China? Severe jawbone defects due to tumour resec- tion present a major problem for functional restoration (mastication, swallowing and speech), which severely influences patients’ quality of life. Reconstruction of lost tissue in order to facilitate implantplacementoftenmeansrelativelycomplex maxillofacial surgeries accompanied by certain morbidities. Unlike Europe or the US, where pa- tients suffering from head or neck tumours are mostly treated by ENT surgeons and plastic sur- geons, oral and maxillofacial surgeons in China treat such tumours in addition to conducting the subsequent bone reconstruction. The sample of such patients at the Peking University School of Stomatology is quite large compared with what is available in the literature. Thus, I decided upon in- vestigating patient satisfaction of this kind of treatment series. _Oral defects and edentulism can have a sig- nificant impact on people’s lives. How do they generally affect the social status of people in China? Oral defects and edentulism may lower body imagesignificantly.Peopletendtolimittheirsocial activities and contact with their surroundings. Theytendtobemoredepressedandfrustrated,less tolerant of their family and irritable. _Are dental implants already a standard treatment option for maxillofacial surgery in China, and if not why not? Maxillofacialsurgeryispractisedatahighstan- dard at the Peking University School of Stomatol- ogy and is quite affordable for the patients. But dental implants are not yet a standard treatment optioninChina.Althoughthelackofpublicaware- ness and availability of competent clinicians may contribute to this, the high cost of this treatment option, which is usually not covered by insurance, may be the most significant factor. “Patients’satisfaction towards functional Reconstruction is very high” Author_Daniel Zimmermann, Germany

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