Interview: “ISQ is one of the key indicators for immediate loading when desired”

Dr Martin, what has been your clinical experience with the Osstell ISQ and how does it help to streamline patient care?
I was first introduced to Osstell in the early 2000’s and have followed its development in both a clinical and research setting. Over the past decade, the advancements made in the equipment have made resonance frequency analysis a predictable component within our clinical workflow. The ISQ measurement is integrated in our education of young clinicians as one of the tools to assess implant stability at the time of implant placement and restoration and, in many instances, at recall. This measurement assists in the streamlining of patient care by giving us the ability to monitor implant stability after implant placement in order to aid in determining the time for loading in variable clinical situations. In addition, the ISQ is one of the key indicators for immediate loading when desired.

How does the OsstellConnect platform benefit dentists and patient care?
As a beta tester, we have had the opportunity to contribute to the development of this online platform over the past few years. Its primary function was to create the largest database of ISQ measurements in the world, combined with the tracking of risk factors, clinical situations, grafting and other key data points, and thereby, provide valuable information for the future workflows of patient treatment. It has evolved into something more, and we are very excited to see the most recently released version that introduces the tracking feature of implants (manufacturer, type, lot number) and abutments as well as the referral and patient export features. OsstellConnect is becoming a singular reference resource for patient treatment information related to implant reconstruction. Whereas this can benefit the local referral network, I see advantages when patients move or have dental emergency situations during travel. Having web-based access to dental implant information can save time and energy for the treating clinician.

Your Osstell ISQ Symposium lecture will also focus on how ISQ can aid in training new implantologists. Could you elaborate on that?
Clinicians new to the placement of dental implants can lack clinical reference points in determining bone quality and primary stability—key components necessary in achieving secondary stability. Lack of experience in this area can influence the determination of timing for loading. With this, tendencies for extended healing times may become more common until the clinician gains experience and feedback from successes and failures. The ISQ is one additional measurement that can be performed at the time of surgery and subsequent visits in order to aid in assessing stability, providing valuable information for the clinician during preparation of the osteotomy and placement of the dental implant.

Is there anything you would like to add?
I hope you can join me at the Osstell ISQ Online Symposium. I look forward to sharing with you our experiences with ISQ and the OsstellConnect platform in our clinical practice and educational environment.

Editorial note: Dr William Martin’s symposium session, titled “Utilizing Osstell ISQ to streamline patient care and improve implant education”, will be broadcast on 16 September at 8 p.m. CEST. Participants will be able to earn a continuing education credit by answering a questionnaire after the lecture. Dental professionals who would like to attend the presentation may register on the Osstell Campus.

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