There is no recognized
specialty of dental Implantology, however, through a loophole in the law,
the AAID has declared itself an organization of "Credentialed Specialists"
and has won test cases in the state of Florida and the state of California.
These victories when used by AAID members to hold themselves out as specialists
in Dental Implantology present a totally false picture to the public and
I am confident that organized dentistry and the valid specialties that do
exist will eventually overturn these rulings. The fact of the matter is
that organized dentistry and the real specialties have been totally unprepared
for this unprecendent move and have not yet had the opportunity to move
to protect the public. Once all the facts are presented, the public will
be made aware and they will once again be protected from fraudulent actions
by the AAID membership.
First, let me explain
how specialties in dentistry (and medicine) are organized to train and provide
the public with credentialed practitioners who are capable of providing
advanced treatments. There are now nine recognized specialties in Dentistry.
Three of these specialties deal specifically with dental implants and they
provide trained professionals to provide these services for their patients.
These specialties are Prosthodontics, Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and
Periodontics. Working together, these trained specialists can provide the
very best care in their respected fields including the areas of implant
placement and implant restoration. General practitioners can practice and
include these procedures in the treatment of their patients and some of
the general practitioners can become very good at providing these procedures.
The specialist, however, take many years of recognized advanced training
in dental school and hospital residency to master these techniques in an
organized and recognized manner. The General practitioner must learn these
techniques through short course of a one day or more duration. You can understand
that there is a significant difference in the training of a specialist that
involves several years of classroom and patient care under strict supervision
with specified guidelines as opposed to the dentist who takes some weekend
courses without any standardization or regulation.
Oral surgeons will
study as many as 6 years after dental school to learn their way around the
oral cavity. They will train rigorously to provide all sorts of surgical
procedures while learning how to protect the patient and maximize the result
to better the patients dental condition. Periodontists typically train for
three years after dental school learning specific areas of surgery which
will also include dental implant placement. Prosthodontists typically train
for three years to learn the best ways to restore dental implants. In some
programs today, Prosthodontists are also trained in implant placement although
that is still rare. General dentists never get implant training in a dental
school environment, because there is just not enough time to teach such
specialized techniques. But, any general dentist who wants to place and
restore dental implants is by law free to do so, even if it is not in the
best interests of the patients.
I am a Board Certified
Prosthodontist and my training enables me to efficiently and predictably
restore dental implants. I started doing that in 1984 and my results have
always been very good. In 1989, I started to learn on my own to place dental
implants surgically. Today I place about 1500 implants per year for my own
patients and for the patients of other Prosthodontists and general dentists.
I am good at it and I have a very high success rate, but I am not a specialist
in Implantology. My specialty covers only implant restoration and I would
never think to mislead the public into feeling that I have specialty training
in implant placement. I often consult and work with oral surgeons and periodontists
when I feel my patients need that level of expertise and it always works
out very well for my patients. Over the years, I have trained many general
dentists to restore and to even place dental implants and I would like to
think that they do a very good job for their patients with those techniques.
However, none of us are specialists in Dental Implantology and to hold ourselves
out as such, no matter what the legal rulings have been, is wrong.
I have been to several
AAID meetings. I have lectured before them and I have stayed around to hear
and see what some of them lecture about. I have always been disappointed
in the quality of the work that has been on the screen. This is marked diference
from lectures that I have seen in other organizations, most notably the
Academy of Osseointegration which used to be made up of dental specialists.
Not all of you will
have access to an Oral Surgeon or a Periodontist or a Prosthodontist. I
do not object to having a general practitioner provide implant services
for someone provided he or she has done their homework and has taken the
time to really get good at it. Just because they have taken 150 hours of
continuing education which can be quite variable and have passed a very
arbitrary written test does not mean that they are a specialist in this
area. It does mean that they are trying to learn how to do these techniques
and if you have found someone that has succeeded in mastering dental Implantology
You will be fine. Unfortunately, my findings have been that many of these
so called "Implantologists" are just not up to the standards that
real specialists uphold.
My suggestion to
the patients is to check someone out carefully. Call the state dental board
and find out if there are any complaints or judgments against the person
that you are considering. One of the members of the AAID who has had one
of the biggest dental implant practices in the world has had more dental
malpractice suits against him than anyone else. Find patients who have been
treated by the person you are considering and find out how they made out
with their dental implants. Most specialists continue to get significant
referrals in this area because they have few problems.
Do not let anyone
tell you that he or she is a specialist in Dental Implantology The courts
are looking at something other than their real training and these organizations
and individuals are betting on that to give you false information. Be selective
about how you pick your dental practitioners and try to find a board certified
specialist whenever possible.
If any of you have
specific questions about the credentials of a dentist that you are considering,
please feel free to contact me. I get 20,000 people every week visiting this
site to find out the real information about dental implants. I get a lot
of questions and a lot of sad stories by people who were tricked into thinking
that a non-credentialed dentist was a specialist in dental implants....
S.
Robert Davidoff, DMD, FACP
Please note that
the opinions expressed on this page are strictly my own. Anyone wishing
to rebut these opinons, please contact me and I will be glad to publish
your comments...