The LASAK company celebrated its 25th anniversary during the annual IMPLANTOLOGY conference on Friday, 15th April 2016, at Prague Castle. Over 200 dentists and dental technicians from the Czech Republic and abroad gathered in the Lobkowicz Palace to commemorate this significant occasion. The scientific part of the programme – in which six presenters shared and presented their experience from implantology practice – was followed by a celebratory cocktail party.
The 25th anniversary of its foundation is a notable event for the Czech company, LASAK. LASAK company is a pioneer in the field of modern dental implantology, developing important advanced technologies and, thus, making a significant contribution to the developments on this field for the last 25 years. LASAK know-how includes such breakthrough technology as the hydrophilic, bioactive surface of titanium implants (the BIO-surface), which stimulates and speeds up the process of osseointegration. This type of surface treatment enhances current implant procedures, widens the field of clinical indications, shortens the treatment time, and, last but not least, it reduces treatment costs.
LASAK was the first company to launch hydrophilic, bioactive surface dental implants on the European market, in 2000. In 2011, the company started producing precisely milled CAD/CAM superstructures (LASAK CadCam), and Cranio-Oss cranial implants. In 2013, LASAK launched its new BioniQ® implant system, which quickly gained wide acceptance and was received positively by users. This year, the narrow S2.9 implant was added to the system. As a result, BioniQ® is now a comprehensive dental implant system suitable for the treatment of all types of clinical situations. LASAK also offers customized, individual solutions, which exceed the offer of its competitors.
At the annual conference, it was the presentation given by Stefan Fickl, DMD, PhD, from the University Hospital in Würzburg, Germany, that drew the most attention. In his presentation, he focused on alveolar ridge preservation techniques, which can reduce tissue atrophy following tooth extraction. One approach can be to immediately insert a dental implant and to graft the remaining extraction socket with xenogenous bone substitutes. The soft tissue can also be supported either by additional grafting measures or using immediate provisional crowns. Prof. Antonin Simunek, MD, PhD, and Dana Kopecka, MD, PhD, from the University Hospital in Hradec Kralove, CZ, presented a series of case reports from their own practice. Firstly they introduced the audience to the initial situation, then presented possible solutions followed by the concept they had chosen in their department, along with all of its consequences – advantages and disadvantages.
A Spanish oral and maxillofacial surgeon, Arturo Bilbao Alonso, MD, PhD, PhD, from the University Hospital in Santiago de Compostela, shared his experience of the reconstruction of atrophic posterior maxilla using pterygoid implants. These implants show similar success rates to implants inserted in conventional areas of the maxilla. However, they require much higher manual skills from the surgeon. On the other hand, they allow prosthetic solutions without the need for augmentation or posterior cantilever extension of the bridge.
Different concepts of prosthetic treatment, in a variety of clinical situations, were presented by Tomas Vosahlo, MD, from Hradec Kralove, CZ. The long-term stability and biological integration of the implant and its crown are the objectives of implant-supported prosthetic treatment. Anterior restoration requires a solution that takes into account the demand for an esthetic result.
The long-term results of treatment with narrow-diameter implants, with a diameter of 2.9 mm, were the topic of the last presentation given by Martin Starosta, MD, PhD, from Olomouc, CZ. Based on 15 years’ clinical experience, he proved these implants have a good esthetic result, as well as a minimal level of complications, in other words – reliability. The implants have been used for the restoration of upper lateral incisors and lower incisors while respecting the original tooth anatomy to the highest possible extent.
The participants had a great opportunity to discuss and share their impressions, opinions and experience from both the presentations and their practice during the social part of the conference. The cocktail party followed immediately after the scientific part of the programme in the Lobkowicz Palace. All art lovers had the opportunity to see the Lobkowicz family’s private collection in the museum which is located in the palace. The visitors enjoyed some of the most valuable artefacts, such as the original manuscript of Beethoven’s Eroica, The Hay Harvest painted by Brueghel, The River Thames with St. Paul’s Cathedral on Lord Mayor’s Day by Canaletto, the collection of historical arms and a copy of the Infant Jesus of Prague. The festive atmosphere was concluded with fireworks above Charles Bridge. The palace terrace offered a magnificent view both of the fireworks and the city.
