Innovative Products Help Large Practice Offer Boutique-Caliber Service
Straumann® Bone Level Tapered Ø 2.9 mm Implant simplifies treatment planning and increases patient acceptance
Despite the fact that his grandfather and several other family members were dentists, David Feinerman, DMD, MD, did not choose his career path until he was giving tennis lessons in New York during college. One of his clients was an oral surgeon with medical and dental degrees, and he suggested that Feinerman should pursue the same combination if he liked both medicine and dentistry.
Feinerman spent some time in that surgeon’s office and eventually earned the dual degrees. He then practiced in Connecticut with a national organization and taught part-time at the University of Connecticut for 3 years before deciding to leave academia and purchase a private practice in Florida. Seeing an immediate demand for implants from Florida’s older population, he immersed himself in continuing education in that area and started study clubs to build a solid referral base for the Boynton Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery & Implant Center.
“The results snowballed, and we became one of the biggest oral surgery practices emphasizing implants in the entire country,” says Feinerman, who also now serves as an adjunct clinical professor of oral and maxillofacial surgery at the Nova Southeastern University College of Dental Medicine.
Throughout the practice’s growth, Feinerman has continued to place an emphasis on giving patients a boutique experience. There is a separate 1,200-square-foot suite, so the waiting room does not feel crowded, and the practice employs more than 20 staff members for three surgeons.
“We have a busy practice, but we want to ensure that every patient has a great experience here,” he says. “We do not want them to feel as if it is a large practice.”
Another part of the boutique approach is offering high-end treatments. To this end, Feinerman stays up-to-date on the latest innovative products coming to the market. One of those products is the Straumann® Bone Level Tapered Ø 2.9 mm Implant with SLActive® surface treatment.
More than 6 million people in the United States are missing one or both maxillary lateral incisors.1 The reduced interdental space of the lateral maxillary and mandibular incisors can make these cases challenging to treat. The Ø 2.9 mm diameter implant is designed to treat these patients while providing peace of mind.
“The 2.9-mm diameter implant from Straumann® is a great product because there are times when you are placing implants and every tenth of a millimeter matters,” Feinerman says. “Having a smaller diameter implant to use in these situations allows the dentist to avoid bone grafting and to navigate anatomic structures that might prove to be obstructions, such as adjacent teeth.”
Feinerman avoided small diameter implants in the past because they were not durable enough long-term. Straumann’s new implants, however, are made of Roxolid®, a titanium-zirconium alloy with a higher tensile strength2 and fatigue strength3 than comparable titanium implants.
“Roxolid is a physically stronger material than surgical-grade titanium for implants,” Feinerman says. “For the first time, we can confidently and reliably use a smaller diameter implant to support teeth.”
The Ø 2.9 mm implants feature small CrossFit® connections to provide simplified accuracy and confidence for component positioning. The apically tapered implant body is designed to allow for underpreparation to support primary stability in soft bone.
Additionally, the Ø 2.9 mm implants feature SLActive, a hydrophilic surface treatment designed to expedite osseointegration. The surface does not include an oxide layer that needs to be broken down by the body before osseointegration begins.
“SLActive is amazing,” Feinerman says. “In a well-healed site, the implant can fuse to the bone in as quickly as 3 to 4 weeks.”
This results in increased patient acceptance and more effective treatment.
“Patients avoid two things: complexity in their treatment plans and huge bills,” Feinerman says. “Often, orthodontic treatment is necessary to move teeth away from the implant site, or bone grafting is required to build up the bone for the implant. Being able to simplify treatment planning has increased patient acceptance rates.”
Dentists can be confident in the implants, Feinerman says, because of the extensive science and research behind all Straumann products.
“When they develop a product, it is supported with literature and case reports,” he says. “They do not rush to release anything without sufficient research.”
The result is a resource that helps Feinerman fulfill his mission of offering patients boutique-caliber treatment.
“Having the Straumann Bone Level Tapered Ø 2.9 mm Implant in our armamentarium,” he says, “enables us to place implants in places and situations where it would not have been possible previously.”
References
1. Symons AL, Stritzel F, Stamation J. Anomalies associated with hypodontia of the permanent lateral incisor and second premolar. J Clin Pediatr Dent. 1993;17(2):109-111.
2. Data on file with manufacturer.
3. Medvedev A, Molotnikov A, Lapovok R, et al. Microstructure and mechanical properties of Ti-15Zr alloy used as dental implant material. J Mech Behav Biomed Mater. 2016;62:384-398.
