The 25th annual IMPLANTOLOGY 2023 conference, held on Friday, 21 April 2023, at the Cubex Centre in Prague, presented a number of interesting topics and lectures from leading experts from the Czech Republic and abroad. The conference was attended by over 100 visitors, who gained a great deal of new knowledge and experience in the field of implantology.
The conference’s first speaker was Peter Brunzel, MBA from Dental Results, Germany, who focused on introducing the PrimeLOC system. PrimeLOC is designed for total or partial removable prostheses completely or partially supported by intraosseous implants in the upper or lower jaw. Angled PrimeLOC attachments with an angulation of 18° enable disparallel inserted implants to be corrected. Peter Brunzel presented the advantages and unique properties of the new attachments, which allow even better results to be achieved in prosthetic treatment using hybrid restorations.
The next speaker was prof. Dr. Jörg Neugebauer, PhD, who, besides the private Dres Bayer & Kistler clinic, also works at German universities in Berlin and Cologne. He followed up on the previous speaker’s talk by presenting case studies and examples of how PrimeLOC attachments are used in the treatment of his patients. He presented a number of recommendations based on his own experience, as well as on the results of many professional studies, such as a comparison of the failure rate of prosthetic replacements when using various types of attachments. Professor Neugebauer offered an interesting perspective on PrimeLOC attachments, not only as an affordable option for stabilizing the overall prosthesis to improve the quality of life of elderly patients in particular.
The third speaker in the first block of talks was MUDr. Lenka Vavřičková, Ph.D. from the dental clinic of Hradec Králové University Hospital, who specializes primarily in implant-supported prosthetics, aesthetic dental rehabilitation, gnathology and prosthetic materials. In her talk, MUDr. Vavřičková described her own experience with the fully digitalized production of implant-supported prosthetics. Although many literary sources mention the advantages of excellent accuracy and speed, it turns out that it is not yet possible to completely abandon conventional ways of producing prosthetic works in all indications and rely solely on scanners, milling machines and 3D printing.
The first block of lectures before the break was ended by MUDr. Et Ing. Aleš Janoušek representing the LASAK company. “Implantology is a complex field that includes both medical and technical aspects. Unlike the medical side, the technical aspect of implantology is rarely presented, seldom discussed and often neglected,” he said at the beginning of his presentation. He, therefore, drew attention to the most common technical difficulties encountered, presented some possible solutions to problems that arise, and above all, highlighted the importance of prevention, which is very easy if the recommended procedures are followed.
The topic of digital implantology was also included in the second block. Experience with passive navigation was presented by MUDr. Jiří Hrkal from the Stomatological Centre HDC Kladno s.r.o. He described a number of case studies to elaborate on his 10-year experience using sets for the passive guided surgery of various implant systems (LASAK, Bego, Osstem, Straumann…), their potential, and advantages and disadvantages. Guided implantology can facilitate safe and relatively accurate implantation. However, an excellent mastery of the basic implantology technique of “freehand” implantation is always necessary.
The complications involved in dental implantology from the perspective of maxillofacial surgery were presented by MUDr. et MUDr. Jiří Holakovský, head of the Dental Clinic of the General University Hospital in Prague. He focused on complications and, in certain cases, errors made by doctors he had encountered, which can and do pose a significant risk to the patient’s overall health. He selected some interesting case studies from his work at the University Hospital, which deals with some of the most serious and problematic cases, and reminded his colleagues that sending a patient to this type of facility promptly can often turn out to be the most inappropriate solution for everyone involved.
The last speaker at the conference was MUDr. et MUDr. Tomáš Vosáhlo from the Hradec Králové Dental Studio. His talk focused on multi-unit dental reconstructions with dental implants. In his theoretical introduction, he discussed planning prosthetics for implants to ensure that the result is as stable as possible, as well as different treatment concepts in connection with various types of dental damage. He presented case studies showing the treatment procedures and explained the reasons for choosing a specific technique or material when making prosthetics. “To restore teeth functionally and aesthetically, the entire process must be planned properly,” he pointed out.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to all the speakers, partner companies and all attendees, and we look forward to seeing you at next year’s event.
Special thanks go to the expert moderators of the conference, MUDr. Jiří Holakovský and MUDr. Pavel Hyšpler, for ensuring that the lectures went smoothly and for their professional management of the discussions.
The LASAK team