Dental Implants: Immediate Placement and Loading in the Esthetic Zone

Extraction of an anterior tooth is always a traumatic event for patients, regardless of their age. In the past, patients were required to wait long months for bone healing and for implant integration, using an uncomfortable removable denture. In the last decade or so, dentists came to the understanding that when done correctly and in the right cases, immediate placement and loading techniques can result in aesthetically pleasing temporary and long-term results, while maintaining supporting bone and soft tissues. In fact, it was found, that placing an immediate implant rather than waiting can in fact prevent some of the bone resorption which happens after extractions

Dental Education Economics: Challenges and Innovative Strategies

This article reviews current dental education economic challenges such as increasing student tuition and debt, decreasing funds for faculty salaries and the associated faculty shortage, and the high cost of clinic operations and their effect on the future of dentistry. Management tactics to address these issues are also reviewed. Despite recent efforts to change the clinical education model, implementation of proposed faculty recruitment and compensation programs, and creation of education- corporate partnerships, the authors argue that the current economics of public dental education is not sustainable. To remain viable, the dental education system must adopt transformational actions to re-engineer the program for long-term stability. The proposed re-engineering includes strategies in the following three areas: 1) educational process redesign, 2) reduction and redistribution of time in dental school, and 3) development of a regional curriculum. The intent of these strategies is to address the financial challenges, while educating adequate numbers of dentists at a reasonable cost to both the student and the institution in addition to maintaining dental education within research universities as a learned profession

Management of Schneiderian Membrane Perforations during Sinus Augmentation Procedures: A Preliminary Comparison of Two Different Approaches

Background: The aim of this study was to retrospectively analyze two different sealing techniques for sinus membrane perforations produced during sinus floor augmentation by a lateral approach. Methods: A total of 172 lateral-approach sinus floor augmentation surgeries were performed on 130 patients. Sixty-one membrane perforations (35%) were reported. Most of the perforations were caused by accidental membrane tearing and 16 (26%) were caused by deliberate incision for mucocele removal. In 31 perforation cases (51%), the Schneiderian membrane was sealed by suturing, while the remaining 30 cases (49%) were sealed using a low-resorption collagen membrane coverage. Results: Out of the 31 cases treated with a suture-sealing techniques, 26 (84%) were successful, presenting graft integration. Failure occurred in the other five (16%) cases. Out of the 30 perforations sealed with low-resorption collagen membranes, 28 (93%) presented successful graft integration, while two (7%) failed. Conclusions: Both surgical techniques yielded therapeutic success