In 2023 I celebrate my 30th year in dentistry. After graduating from dental school in 1993, I pursued a year of general practice residency, followed by 12 years as a general dentist. Subsequently, I spent three years in post-graduate studies, specializing in prosthodontics, which I have been practising for the last 14 years. Throughout my … Read more
If a picture is worth a thousand words, how much is an X-ray worth to a clinician’s diagnosis? What you see on the radiograph guides your treatment plan, and poorly taken X-rays with closed contacts and cone cuts can interfere with your clinical success. Guesswork and estimation used to be “givens” in X-ray capture. But … Read more
BACKGROUND Pharmacogenetic Testing for Better Treatment Outcomes Pharmacogenetics (PGx) is the combination of pharmacology (the study of drugs) and genetics (the study of individual, inherited traits). Pharmacogenetic testing identifies which gene variants an individual has inherited, and what that means in terms of which drugs and doses are likely to work best for them. (PGx) … Read more
The 2017 World Workshop on the Classification of Periodontal and Peri-Implant Diseases and Conditions has recommended adopting the term “periodontal phenotype” instead of “gingival biotype” by the dental community.1 This term is based on both gingival phenotype (gingival thickness [GT] and keratinized tissue width [KTW]) and bone morphotype (thickness of the facial and/or buccal bone … Read more
Edentulism in the posterior maxillary region presents a challenging scenario for dental implant rehabilitation due to vertical ridge dimension bone loss and the close proximity to the floor of the maxillary sinus. In addition, alveolar ridge width loss and thinning of mucosa is a common clinical scenario in areas of long term tooth loss. To … Read more
Abstract Malpostioned dental implants are a common challenge in implant dentistry with a potential to compromise function, aesthetics and the overall treatment success. This case report discusses the management of a malpositioned implant in the posterior mandible with a comprehensive approach, including long-term provisionalization for assessment. A 53-year-old female patient presented with compromised chewing function … Read more
Missing maxillary lateral incisors are one of the most common congenitally missing tooth conditions that exists and occurs in approximately 1-3% of the population.1 It is the most common missing tooth after the second premolar when excluding third molar agenesis and has been reported to be more prevalent in females and occurs more bilaterally than … Read more
Surgical protocols for osseointegrated implant placement have evolved significantly over time. It was not so long ago that the standard practice for implant surgeons was to place implants ‘where the bone was’ and let the restoring dentist deal with the myriad prosthetic problems this often created. In the early days of implants, this surgical paradigm … Read more
The loss of anatomy and architecture resulting from caries damage is the main cause of biomechanical transformations of the dental organ, leading to its weakening.1 Restoring the mechanical continuity and coronal-radicular seal of the tooth by restoration with fiber post and composite adhesives without aggravating this embrittlement is a priority objective, requiring the conservation of … Read more
Abstract Replacing a missing tooth in the anterior maxilla with an implant-supported crown (ISC) can be challenging. Reduced mesiodistal space can add further complexity to this treatment. A 61-year-old patient was examined with respect to compromised aesthetics and fit of a recently inserted ISC in site 12. Clinical and radiographic examination revealed that the fit … Read more
Dental Implants have impressive success rates approaching 95-97% and have become a preferred treatment plan for edentulous and partially edentulous dentitions for both patients and clinicians. However, success rates have increasingly been dampened by reports of implant failures with varying degrees of success for clinical rescue. Initial signs and symptoms for implant diseases have now … Read more
Dr. Francois Lechner Founder of Prisma Dentistes, Montreal, Quebec What is the one piece of technology you could not work without? The iTero scanner with the NIRI function is the piece of equipment I couldn’t live without in 2023. It gives me the opportunity to quickly demonstrate to the patient the issues that need to … Read more