Dental Implant Education

Print This Post

I am a general practitioner and have taken about 80 hours of continuing education courses in the surgical placement of dental implants. I feel somewhat confident that I can place a single free-standing dental implant in a simple case.

I was wondering what kind of education and training others have had in the placement of dental implants. More importantly, when did feel confident to place your own dental implants? What kind of cases are you seeing where you feel comfortable in placing dental implants? Which dental implant cases are you still referring out?

Free Daily Email Alert Click Here>>

Get OsseoNews.com Comments delivered daily! Click Here to subscribe.

3 Responses to “ Dental Implant Education ”

• Anonymous January 3rd, 2006

  
  

  Crawl, walk, then run. Start with the simplest cases, i.e., 2 implant overdentures or single teeth with ample bone. Use a surgical stent that will allow (or maybe I should say restrict you) to put the implant in exactly the position you want in all 3 dimensions. Do all the thinking, i.e., treatment planning on models before you ever go to the mouth.

  Have fun! Implant dentistry has been the most rewarding discipline of dentistry that I have been involved with and I’ve done it all.

• Joseph Kim, DDS January 3rd, 2006

  
  

  You’re ready when you know you can provide a predictable result. For implant surgery this includes medications, the actual procedures, and managing potential complications. I started with the anterior mandible. Starting with implant overdentures can really help you get comfortable with the instrumentation, the steps of the procedure, and speed. You also have much less to remember compared to other locations, except the mental loop. Just be sure to choose a thicker (faciolingually) mandible, but one that has enough interocclusal space so that you have some wiggle room if your vertical placement of the fixture is not ideal. B sure not to overdo it with the drilling so you don’t burn the bone. Also, most of the time you should tap the bone in this area unless you want to bend a fixture mount.

• Mark P. Miller, DDS, MAGD January 4th, 2006

  
  

  Yes…to all the comments. After restoring for many years, I thought I would NEVER place. Then after a lot more than 80 hours, Jack Hahn said something significant. He said, with so many hours, when exactly do you plan to use what you’ve learned? That served as a real challenge to my intellect and skill level. I studied like crazy for my first surgery and hired a long time surgical assistant for the procedure. As I began and got into my first overdenture case I thought to myself, “What the heck do you think you’re doing?” My mind went blank. But just settle down, go slowly, rely on your knowledge base, and guess what…things go better than you anticipated and the rush of accomplishing a new skill in phenominal. If you’ve got the equipment, and the training, and the patient, and the intestinal fortitude…GO FOR IT!

---

Leave a Comment

Note: Please refrain from ad hominem attacks, and promotional comments. Outside links are not permitted in comments. Though we require an email to route questionable comments to our editors, we will NEVER publish your email or use it for any other purpose. Thank you for your understanding.

Name (required)

Email (Required, Will NEVER be published)

Website

Note: At times your comment may not appear on the website immediately, because it has been sent to our editors for approval. Once approved, we will publish the comment. There is NO need to resubmit your comment, if it does not appear on the website immediately.

Wed August 20 2008

FREE Weekly Email

Keep current on the latest dental implant discussions! It's Free!

>>Click Here to Subscribe to OsseoNews.com Now!

---

---

Sponsor