Biohorizons Global Symposium
On April 27 through 30th , I was at the Biohorizons Global Symposium in Pheonix, Arizona. The weather was beautiful but I spent 21 hours indoors during these 3 days participating in continuing education courses as well as attending the main podium talks on advancements in biomaterials unique to the Biohorizons implant product line. Biohorizons has a complete product line of endosseous implants as well as biologicals for use in implant dentistry. It is the fastest growing implant company in the world and does business in over 50 countries.
The main focus of the meeting was how the unique properties of the product line increase the predicability of implant treatment in immediate placement, immediate function and esthetic reconstructive cases. The main podium speakers were international authorities in the field and included Drs. Carl and Craig Misch, Maurice Salama, Mike Pikos, Hom Lay Wang, Michael Ricci, Myron Nevins, Bach Le and Steven Gans. The following is a summary of key topics regarding current implant treatment.
The Biohorizons Laser Lok surface on the neck of their regular length and total body of their short implants has been shown to guide the migration of fibroblasts and osteoblasts providing a strong soft and hard tissue connection between the dental implant and recipient site. This has been found to provide a stabilizing effect to soft tissue and bone levels dramatically decreasing normally accepted physiologic bone loss found around other implants. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown the predictability of this effect which appears to be a "game changer" in the necessary design features of implants for optimal long-term health.
Current therapy for anterior implants in the esthetic zone indicates the necessity of bone and soft tissue grafting either at the time of tooth extraction or during implant placement. The consensus as recently as 5 years ago that immediate implant treatment in the esthetic zone was predictable, has not stood the test of time. Long term labial gingival migration of 1-2mm around these implants has shown the need to avoid immediate extraction implants in the esthetic zone if there is not an intact labial plate of bone greater than 2mm in thickness and a thick gingival biotype. This effectively eliminates up to 75-80% of patients as candidates for this procedure. Even if these conditions are present, it appears that grafting is still advantageous to avoid the long term complication of labial gingival recession.
Regarding implant designs, it appears that platform switching does not prevent these long term problems. It is more effective to use an implant engineered and research proven to preserve bone levels and soft tissue attachments as the Biohorizons implant line does. More information is available at biohorizons.com.
Dr. Panek