LETTER


Implantology and Periodontal Disease: The Panacea to Problem Solving?



Giovanni Matarese1, Luca Ramaglia2, Luca Fiorillo1, Gabriele Cervino1, Floriana Lauritano1, Gaetano Isola1, 2, *
1 Department of Biomedical, Odontostomatological Sciences and of Morphological and Functional Images, School of Dentistry, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
2 Department of Neurosciences, Reproductive and Odontostomatological Sciences, School of Medicine, University of Naples “Federico II”, Naples, Italy


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Creative Commons License
© 2017 Matarese et al.

open-access license: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0), a copy of which is available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode. This license permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Biomedical, Odontostomatological Sciences and Morphological and Functional Images, School of Dentistry, University of Messina, Messina, Italy; Tel: +390902216904; E-mail: gisola@unime.it


Abstract

Introduction:

The specialty of periodontology has changed dramatically in recent years. With the long-standing goal of retaining teeth in a functional and esthetical state, the periodontology has developed a high level of expertise in the regeneration of bone and connective tissues that support the teeth. However, periodontists have also joined maxillofacial surgeons as the primary providers of implant surgery.

Methods:

The tremendous innovations of periodontists induced also by the marketplace resulted in predictable periodontal treatment outcomes for most patients by the implants led to a dramatically different marketplace in which many patients with periodontitis can be treated by the implants rather than the traditional periodontal treatment.

Results:

The aim of this article is to focus on the innovator’s dilemma for periodontists today is that key elements of our rewarding contributions to dentistry in recent decades are unlikely to be part of a strong and rewarding future for the profession.

Conclusions:

With the intriguing role of the personalized medicine approach that integrates genomic and clinical information to predict a possible predisposition, we do not suggest a reduced role for periodontists in dental implant surgery but rather a more prominent role in complex cases to achieve surgical implant needs and proper reconstruction and long-term maintenance of the patient’s health.

Keywords: Periodontal disease, Implantology, Periodontium, Epidemiology, Peri-Implantitis, Implant-prosthetic therapy.