A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry. The dentist's supporting team aids in providing oral health services. The dental team includes dental assistants, dental hygienists, dental technicians, and sometimes dental therapists.
A dental implant is a prosthesis that interfaces with the bone of the jaw or skull to support a dental prosthesis such as a crown, bridge, denture, or facial prosthesis or to act as an orthodontic anchor. The basis for modern dental implants is a biologic process called osseointegration, in which materials such as titanium or zirconia form an intimate bond to bone. The implant fixture is first placed so that it is likely to osseointegrate, then a dental prosthetic is added. A variable amount of healing time is required for osseointegration before either the dental prosthetic is attached to the implant or an abutment is placed which will hold a dental prosthetic/crown.
There are a number of professional degrees in dentistry offered by dental schools in various countries around the world.
The UCLA School of Dentistry is the dental school of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) located in the Center for Health Sciences building in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. The school has several educational and training programs, conducts oral and dental health research, and offers affordable dental care at three locations: Westwood, Venice, and Inglewood. The school also participates in several outreach endeavors, including numerous health fairs during the year, STEM pipeline programs and provides dental care for underserved populations in the region. The School of Dentistry is considered among the nation's best research-intensive dental schools.
Maxillary sinus floor augmentation is a surgical procedure which aims to increase the amount of bone in the posterior maxilla, in the area of the premolar and molar teeth, by lifting the lower Schneiderian membrane and placing a bone graft.
Armin Abron is a Periodontist, who practices in Washington, DC. He is also an adjunct Assistant Professor of Periodontology at UNC School of Dentistry in Chapel Hill.
The University of Sydney School of Dentistry also known as Sydney Dental School is Australia’s first dental school and a constituent body of the University of Sydney, Australia.
Laser-assisted new attachment procedure (LANAP) is a surgical therapy for the treatment of periodontitis, intended to work through regeneration rather than resection. This therapy and the laser used to perform it have been in use since 1994. It was developed by Robert H. Gregg II and Delwin McCarthy.
Dennis Perry Tarnow is an American dentist specializing in dental implant research. He is director of implant dentistry at Columbia University College of Dental Medicine and a speaker on the subject of implant dentistry.
A barrier membrane is a device used in oral surgery and periodontal surgery to prevent epithelium, which regenerates relatively quickly, from growing into an area in which another, more slowly growing tissue type, such as bone, is desired. Such a method of preventing epithelial migration into a specific area is known as guided tissue regeneration (GTR).
Irving Glickman was an American clinical researcher in the field of periodontology and author. He was one of the first to classify furcation defects and the role of occlusal trauma on periodontal disease and was described as "the father of periodontology."
Hom-Lay Wang (王鴻烈) is a Taiwanese-born periodontist and director of the graduate periodontal program at University of Michigan School of Dentistry.
A Sinus implant is a medical device that is inserted into the sinus cavity. Implants can be in conjunction with sinus surgery to treat chronic sinusitis and also in sinus augmentation to increase bone structure for placement of dental implants.
Platelet-rich fibrin (PRF) or leukocyte- and platelet-rich fibrin (L-PRF) is a second-generation PRP where autologous platelets and leukocytes are present in a complex fibrin matrix to accelerate the healing of soft and hard tissue and is used as a tissue-engineering scaffold for endodontics. To obtain PRF, required quantity of blood is drawn quickly into test tubes without an anticoagulant and centrifuged immediately. Blood can be centrifuged using a tabletop centrifuge from 3-8 minutes for 1300 revolutions per minute. The resultant product consists of the following three layers; topmost layer consisting of platelet poor plasma, PRF clot in the middle, and red blood cells (RBC) at the bottom. PRF is available as a fibrin clot. PRF clot can be removed from the test tube using a sterile tweezer-like instrument. After lifting, the RBC layer attached to the PRF clot can be carefully removed using a sterilized scissor. Platelet activation in response to tissue damage occurs during the process of making PRF release several biologically active proteins including; platelet alpha granules, platelet‑derived growth factor (PGDF), transforming growth factors‑β (TGF‑β), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and epidermal growth factor. Actually, the platelets and leukocyte cytokines play important parts in role of this biomaterial, but the fibrin matrix supporting them is the most helpful in constituting the determining elements responsible for real therapeutic potential of PRF. Cytokines are immediately used and destroyed in a healing wound. The harmony between cytokines and their supporting fibrin matrix has much more importance than any other platelet derivatives.
Bicon Dental Implants is a privately owned company located in Boston, MA. The company specializes in short dental implants that use a locking taper or cold welding connection to secure the abutment to the implant. Bicon is notable and worthy of mention for the following three reasons: First, Bicon implants are extremely short in length. The size of Bicon implants allow them to be placed in regions that are crowded with natural teeth and/or implants, or in regions that would otherwise require bone grafting. Second, the implants do not have the screw-form design typical of other available implants. Third, the abutments are connected to the implant via a locking taper. This is notable from both a medical and engineering standpoint as no other implant company offers an implant with a biological seal at the implant/abutment interface; almost all other implants possess an internal screw to connect their abutments.
Zygoma implants are different from conventional dental implants in that they anchor in to the zygomatic bone rather than the maxilla. They may be used when maxillary bone quality or quantity is inadequate for the placement of regular dental implants. Inadequate maxillary bone volume may be due to bone resorption as well as to pneumatization of the maxillary sinus or to a combination of both. The minimal bone height for a standard implant placement in the posterior region of the upper jaw should be about 10 mm to ensure acceptable implant survival. When there is inadequate bone available, bone grafting procedures and sinus lift procedures may be carried out to increase the volume of bone. Bone grafting procedures in the jaws have the disadvantage of prolonged treatment time, restriction of denture wear, morbidity of the donor surgical site and graft rejection.
Gingival grafting, also called gum grafting or periodontal plastic surgery, is a generic term for the performance of any of a number of periodontal surgical procedures in which the gum tissue is grafted. The aim may be to cover exposed root surfaces or merely to augment the band of keratinized tissue.
Jason C. Stoner is an American periodontist and implantologist.
Michael A. Pikos is an American implant oral and maxillofacial surgeon known as the CEO/Founder of Coastal Jaw Surgery and Pikos Institute.
A root-analog dental implant (RAI) – also known as a truly anatomic dental implant, or an anatomical/custom implant – is a medical device to replace one or more roots of a single tooth immediately after extraction. In contrast to common titanium screw type implants, these implants are custom-made to exactly match the extraction socket of the specific patient. Thus there is usually no need for surgery.
