Expert advice about restorative, crown and bridge, and implant dentistry

Louis Malcmacher, DDS, MAGD

 

I just returned from the 2017 American Dental Association Annual Session (at the time of writing). Everyone reading this should plan to attend the ADA Annual Session because it brings an incredible array of dental continuing education together in one place. And this year, it will be in Honolulu—I hope to see you there!

At the 2017 meeting, I was honored to be part of an Ask the Experts panel, moderated by my longtime mentor and friend, Gordon Christensen, DDS, MSD, PhD, chairperson of Clinicians Report and Practical Clinical Courses. The members of the panel were Jon Suzuki, DDS, PhD, MBA, the former dean of University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine and the current chairperson of the Food and Drug Administration Dental Products Panel; Michael Glick, DMD, the former dean of State University of New York at Buffalo School of Dental Medicine and the current editor of the Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA); Lee Silverstein, DDS, MS, FACD, FICD, a world-renowned dental educator, author, and periodontist; and yours truly (figure 1).

In a very fast two-and-a-half-hour session, a number of questions were asked about restorative, crown and bridge, and implant dentistry. Dentists also asked about the high costs of dental education, if private-practice dentistry has a future, and if dentistry is part of medicine. Here are some highlights from this excellent session.

Implants

What is the best implant system? Our expert panel thought the best implant system available is the one that works well in your hands. Dental professionals should be well trained before surgically placing implants, and CBCT should be considered for complex implant cases. Should the implant crown be screw-retained or cemented? There was significant agreement here: screw-retained implant crowns were highly preferred by the panel. Dr. Glick’s expertise in oral medicine was invaluable in this dental implant discussion.