Dental Implants Belong to the General Dentist

Should dental implants should be a formal dental specialty? Three of four dentists (77%) say no.

“I don't think it is necessary to make this a specialty since oral surgeons, periodontists, prosthodontists and general dentists like me all place dental implants, and many restore," offered one doctor. "I do think fellowship training is good, and credentialing is valuable."

Though 85% of general dentists oppose having implant dentistry as an official specialty, only 67% of specialists feel the same. While some feel that dental implant surgery should only be done by a specialist, most agree that general dentists are fully capable of restoring implants.

Here are some further comments from dentists on dental implantology:

“The oral surgeons or periodontists should be placing the implants in the bone – a good restorative dentist can place the dental implant crowns or over- dentures.” (Florida dentist)
“I do not believe dentists should be placing tooth implants unless they are certified specialists in implantology.” (Alabama dentist)
“It IS a specialty when done at the highest levels.” (Dental implantologist)
“Implant dentistry should become a subspecialty recognizing those doctors (specialists and non specialists alike) that have received additional training to perform tooth implant dentistry proficiently.” (Periodontist)
“Implants are a part of my General Practice, and have been since 1986. I would hate to see certain fractions in dentistry fight over this….i.e., Oral Surgeons, Periodontist, dentists, etc. It WILL be ugly.” (Massachusetts dentist)
“Implants should be dental school course just as endodontics, periodontics, etc.” (General dentist)
“The last thing dentistry needs.” (New Jersey dentist)
“There are enough turf wars about dental implants as it is. No need to have a separate specialty.” (General dentist)
“The politics of delineating who the 'specialists' are is an impossible task.” (New York prosthodontist)
"Things are good as they are. We should not elevate individuals to royalty status.” (Texas dentist)

http://dentalER.com william jarmolych

As a practicing specialist for over 35 years(no, I do not place implants), I have treated a large number of implant complications and failures. I have also provided expert testimony and reveiew for the legal profession for the many problems and complaints secondary to implant proceeures. The vast majority of all these cases were general dentist in origin.

It seems absurd, but consistent with my clinical observations, that most dentists feel dental implants “belong to the general dentist”. Its very apparent that this pervasive attitude underscores the self-serving mentality of many in our profession.

As long as dentists continue to view potentially important and valuable services as vehicles for self-enrichment rather than for enriching the lives of their patients, dentistry will always be viewed as suspect and a second class profession.

Of course implantology should be a recognized specialty or at least a subspecialty with an appropriate regimen of acedemic and clinical protocol. To play games with with two week or two month courses or informal “study clubs” is is a disservice to the well being of the public.

To those who maintain that implants belong to the “general dentist”…would you allow a family medical practitioner , adept at handeling a catheterto place, a coronary stent ??
http://cornerstonedentalnj.com John Beckwith

As a general dentist for 25 years, I as most of my colleges have seen dentistry change since dental school training. Wouldn’t it be a disservice to our patients to not offer current dentistry in a general practice? Should we extract teeth and not graft bone for future implant placement? Should we not utilize rotary in instrumentation for endo? How about employing newer dental materials or do we continue with pin amalgams? Dentistry IS changing and requires us to keep abreast. Fortunately is is also more routine and predictable than when these newer procedures/concepts were first introduced. Simple implants placement has become routine in my practice and offers patients a great benefit in cost reduction and convenience. Advanced continuing education is a must with a credentialing process. Dental specialties should be reserved for complex cases, not simply to keep the disciplines separate. Adhering to the politics of dentistry and not pursuing advanced training and education to embrace these advancements becomes a disservice to the public and makes good dentistry unaffordable to many people.
http://www.compatibleabutments.com keith goldstein

there are so many courses and organizations specifically focused on implant dentistry and that dentist who attend these courses and receive these certifications and market them accordingly to many of us is the same as attending a speciality program- look at programs like the ABOI it takes several years and a tremendous time committment to complete this – one of my doctors received this and he is a general dentist and i as an implant rep would have him place implants in my mouth and others over many other specialist because of his level of expertise….
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Dental Implants Belong to the General Dentist

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