DTUK1710

15perio TribuneJune 28-July 4, 2010United Kingdom Edition T hrough my weekly travels to different cities across America, I speak to many dental specialists and their groups on the hottest topics in dentistry, practice management and total facial esthetics. There are definite treads that are changing in all specialties across the board, whether it is short-term orthodontics versus long-term orthodontics, adhe- sive resin endodontics versus traditional gutta-percha endo- dontics or the conversation as to whether or not general dentists should be providing some of these specialty services. I would have to say that the biggest change of any single dental specialty that I have seen has been in the periodontal field. There has been a real mind-set change that deeply affects the profession. I am not commenting here on whether this change is good or bad – I will leave that up the to the reader to decide. It is certainly something to consider as general dentists who refer patients to periodontists on what your treatment will be for the long run. I have always believed that general dentists are the quarter- backs of any patient treatment case and we certainly rely on the skills and input of dental specialists, but the ultimate re- sponsibility should be on the general dentist. Removing teeth Here is what I am being told by many periodontists whom I have spoken to over the last couple of years: they would rather remove teeth and place implants than actually treat patients through traditional periodontal surgery and try having them maintain their dentition. The reason for this is really quite simple and every dentist knows this inherently. Patients refuse to take good care of their teeth even after they have gone through the time, cost, com- mitment and pain of traditional periodontal surgery. This is cer- tainly not earth-shattering news to any of you. For years in our own prac- tice, we have had patients who did not want periodontal sur- gery and would rather main- tain the state of their oral health with three to four-month recall prophylaxis visits. We would of- ten predict that their teeth would fall out within two to three years. Surprisingly, many of these patients have done reason- ably well 20 years later, with the occasional loss of a tooth here or there. This thought was blasphemy to periodontists for years and years, but certainly it seems that conservative non-surgical perio- dontal recall visits and treatment has helped many patients main- tain their dentition in a reason- able state so that they can func- tion and smile with their original teeth for years. Old habits As general dentists we have known that even with the best periodontal surgery treatment, patients would often fall into their old habits and eventually their dentition would fail any- way. Not all patients, but many of them. We have learned that we have to treat people as people and sometimes you just can- not change them no matter what you do. It seems to me that periodon- tists have now caught up with this concept and that is where Where did all the periodontists go? Dr Louis Malcmacher finds out what’s changed the face of periodontology page 16DTà Simply visit our website or call our freephone number below to order PAD Plus or to book a demonstration with one of our representatives www.dexceldental.co.uk 0800 013 2333 TREATMENT AREAS ? Endodontics ? Caries ? Periodontics ? Implants ? Trauma ? Dry socket * excluding VAT & delivery PHOTO ACTIVATED DISINFECTION TM A STEP FORWARD IN DENTAL DISINFECTION FROM DEXCEL DENTAL PAD Plus Photo Activated Disinfection system eliminates bacterial and fungal infections in the majority of dental procedures. This breakthrough in LED technology allows you to e ectively and e ciently eradicate 99.9% of all oral bacteria in one patient visit giving you increased pro tability and providing a less stressful patient experience. LED technology makes PAD affordable for all dental professionals PROVEN A4 Indesign.indd 1 13/5/10 11:17:18