: Tomas Linkevi?ius
: Zero Bone Loss Concepts
: Quintessence Publishing Co Inc USA
: 9780867158342
: 1
: CHF 153.10
:
: Zahnheilkunde
: English
: 304
: DRM
: PC/MAC/eReader/Tablet
: ePUB
Bone loss is still a major issue that dentists encounter, but it is a complication that can be prevented. This book combines years of clinical experience with peer-reviewed scientific evidence to present the different strategies that can be used to achieve zero bone loss-not just months after prosthetic delivery but years after treatment. The book is divided into sections on surgical techniques and prosthetic techniques, and there are case studies with recommendations and procedures for many types of clinical situations, implant choices, and prosthetic solutions.

Tomas Linkevicius, DDS, Dip Pros, PhD, is a professor at Vilnius University in Vilnius, Lithuania, where he completed his postgraduate studies in prosthetic dentistry and obtained his prosthodontist specialty. Dr Linkevicius received his dental degree in 2000 from Kaunas Medical University in Kaunas, Lithuania and defended his doctoral dissertation at R?ga Stradins University in R?ga, Latvia in 2009. Dr Linkevicius has authored dozens of publications in international peer-reviewed journals. He has also contributed to several books, including Cementation in Dental Implantology (Springer, 2015) and Implants in the Aesthetic Zone (Springer, 2019). During the course of his research, Dr Linkevic?ius developed zero bone loss concepts, an evidence-based clinical protocol that demonstrates how to achieve and maintain crestal bone stability around dental implants. He lectures internationally on this topic and is an active member of several professional organizations, such as the Academy of Osseointegration and the European Academy of Osseointegration. Dr Linkevicius maintains a practice specializing in prosthodontics and implant dentistry and continues to study zero bone loss concepts at the Vilnius Research Group.

INTRODUCTION TO ZERO BONE LOSS CONCEPTS

I will start with the first questions I ask during my courses and lectures: Do you have crestal bone loss around implants that you place and restore? Are you here because you want to understand why this sometimes happens? Most people I speak to respond in the affirmative: Many of their implants have some degree of bone loss. This is a major issue that can be encountered in any practice. However, crestal bone loss does not have to occur. With this idea in mind, I createdzero bone loss concepts: the protocols to achieve the status of zero bone loss.

Zero bone loss is achievable—not just months after prosthetic delivery but years after completion of treatment.Figure 1 demonstrates an extraordinary case with results for which we constantly strive. The inevitable questions are: Why was this case so successful? What can we do to attain these outstanding results?

Fig 1(a) Maxillary implant in 2013.(b) The same patient in 2018.

This is the question that I hope to answer with this book, using concepts taken from two realms: clinical practice and scientific research. However, each of these, taken individually, has its shortcomings.

Clinical Practice

There are many books that show very successful clinical outcomes, but they are frequently based only on the authors’ experiences. The results are great, but just because one clinician reports these results, it does not mean that readers will have the same outcomes. The unfortunate response is the well-known phrase, “It works in my hands.” Readers may try to mimic the results with less than desirable outcomes and then become discouraged. Usually, those readers or course participants may begin to blame themselves, questioning their ability to perform contemporary treatment. In the speaker’s world, there is a new term,podium dentistry, which refers to clinicians presenting only their good experiences rather than the entire picture, including complications.

Scientific Research

It can be a challenge for strict science to be taken seriously by the clinical world because it is often viewed as too far removed—or even boring. Evidence-based implant dentistry is of course the ideal situation, but it is seldom achieved, because the truth is that clinical studies are very difficult to perform correctly and without bias. Another challenge that arises is that ethical rules are becoming stricter, and patients are becoming more and more reluctant to take part in clinical trials. These factors have made it more difficult to get approval from ethics committees and conduct clinical trials. The result is a situation where the scientific and clinical worlds start to distrust each other, which is the worst outcome. Therefore, true success is achieved when treatment is performed based on clinical evidence with the appropriate logic and technical skills.

Integration of Science and Clinical Practice

The purpose of this book is to combine these worlds—scientific and clinical—into one. This gives clinicians exactly what they need: clinical procedures backed by solid clinical evidence. That was the idea behind the development of the zero bone loss concepts.

I was once confronted by a colleague with the argument that it is not possible to have zero bone loss around implants. Of course, I agreed, but explained that we must do our best to move in that direction. We are making great progress, because one of the studies demonstrated only 0.2 mm of crestal bone loss—almost zero!1

I strongly believe that it is possible to achieve bone stability with different implant systems, surfaces, implant-abutment connections, and prosthetic solutions (Fig 2).