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Retrospective: Euro Implanto, all about implantology!

Dr Jacques Bessade speaking at Euro Implanto in Nice. (Photograph: Philippe Alibert)
Nathalie Schüller, DTI

Nathalie Schüller, DTI

Mon. 7. May 2018

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NICE, France: On 26 and 27 April, the fourth Euro Implanto was held at the Hyatt Regency Nice Palais de la Mediterranée. The event welcomed international speakers who debated on the congress theme: “What can we expect from implant dentistry?”

For congress president Dr Renaud Petitbois, “The goal of Euro Implanto is to bring to all the best in the most recent innovations in implantology”.

Ahead of the congress, Dr Alexandre-Amir Aalam, periodontist and clinical assistant professor at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles in the US, presented his technique for the regeneration of soft tissue using platelet-rich fibrin in a hands-on practice and live-surgery workshop.

In the opening session, Prof. Serge Armand, chair of the scientific programme, highlighted the most important milestones in implantology over the past 50 years. To emphasise the importance of what a successful treatment needs, both he and Dr Jean-Pierre Brun quoted novelist Anatole France: “If you are failing to plan, you are planning to fail”.

The osseointegration of an implant is what clinicians are looking to obtain, but aesthetic integration too has become essential for both practitioners and patients, who have become more demanding and involved in the outcomes they are looking for. Bone regeneration is possible when the implant is already in place as Dr Jerome Surmenian demonstrated, and Aalam also showed that it is possible to generate gingival tissue when it is insufficient. Dr France Lambert had the same opinion and further explained that it is better to increase the gingival thickness prior to implant placement. For Dr Ady Palti, the best for the papilla is to reduce the size of the abutments. When there is a need for more papillary tissue, a concave-shaped abutment is more suitable.

Dr Franck Hagege explained to attendees the necessity of making it a priority to preserve as much dental tissue as possible. As peri-implantitis is associated with implant failure and loss, he emphasised the need to understand hard- and soft-tissue behaviour to minimise the possibility of peri-implantitis.

Dr Gérard Scortecci told the audience that his patients have a 98.5 per cent osseointegration rate with a very low incidence of peri-implantitis. He rarely performs bone grafting prior to implant placement; rather when needed it is done simultaneous to the surgery for placement of the implant. For Dr Jacques Bessade, 48 per cent of peri-implantitis cases are due to poor implant placement, making it too difficult for the patient to achieve good dental hygiene. He recommends the use of conical implants with Morse internal connections and disc implants. Furthermore, he stated that a removable prosthesis is much better adapted for good hygiene, for both the practitioner and the patient.

Dr Patrice Margossian emphasised the importance of a therapeutic plan as the basis of any treatment. Hagege further added that digital technology cannot replace the skill of the physician; his or her experience, knowledge and ability to treat each case individually cannot be replaced by the possibilities of digital technology.

Several speakers expressed the necessity of returning to the fundamentals of dentistry. Implantology has progressed very rapidly and in the process the emphasis has shifted from the basis. A return will also add value to implantology.  

For his presentation, Brun looked at the history of dentistry and the essential role of the dentist in the patient’s life. The mouth is central to survival, he explained, as it is the route for sustenance and healing. It also expresses our feelings, and the dentist is an essential actor in keeping it healthy.

According to Petitbois, while most congresses in the last year have seen a decrease in the number of attendees, the attendance figure for the latest edition of Euro Implanto increased by a fifth. An even better turnout is expected at the next Euro Implanto, to be held in Nice in 2020.

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