Dentists lobby to bring international practice of implants to Pakistan

New technology is pricy but better for the jawbone.

KARACHI:

Gone are the days of flashing a blingy grin with gold teeth. Dentists in Pakistan are now growing enthusiastic about advancements like implants which was the focus of the first ever symposium of its kind organised by the Federation of Implant Dentistry (FIDP) from January 21 to 23 at the DHA Country and Golf Club.

The international implantology event included lectures and training sessions by international experts from all over the world.

A dental implant replaces teeth by a method in which the periodontist places an artificial tooth root in the jaw to hold the replacement tooth or bridge. While this science is seen as the pinnacle of dentistry, there is very limited awareness on the procedure and even fewer experts in Pakistan, said Dr Irfan Qureshi, the founding member and president of FIDP.

Instead in Pakistan, the common way to replace teeth is with a bridge or crown, both of which use clips to place and hold the teeth. These techniques used metals or porcelain for the replacement tooth, which are resorbed or assimilated by the bone in that area of the jaw. Dental implants on the other hand uses nickel titanium alloys that do not have the same resorbtive effects on the jawbone and stay longer.

“It is the best replacement for a missing tooth,” said Dr Henriette Lerner, an associate professor at the University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Germany. She was motivated to come to Pakistan to speak on the technology because it was relatively new.

Dr Muhammad Ali, a local practitioner from the department of operational dentistry at the Fatima Jinnah Dental College, said that while there are a few government and private set-ups in the country providing implants, the procedure is very expensive. It costs at least Rs30,000 at a government hospital and Rs100,000 to Rs150,000 at a private facility.

But the price is still lower here than it is in the US where a patient has to fork out between $3,000 to $5,000, said Dr Jin Kim, who holds a Doctorate of Dental Sciences (DDS) and is a diplomate of the American Board of Periodontics and Oral Medicine. Nonetheless, this procedure that was introduced in the early 1980s is now the standard of care in dentistry. “This means that if a doctor does not offer this to a patient he can be held liable,” he explained.

It is this reason that prompted Qureshi to launch the FIDP in July 2011. The FIDP is not only the first, but so far also the only implant society in Pakistan and is affiliated with the International Congress of Oral Implantologists (ICOI) that is the largest and most prestigious implant organisation in the world, he said.

While dental implantology is taught all over the world at the undergraduate level it is not part of the curriculum in Pakistan yet. To change this too is one of the aims of the FIDP.

According to Dr Ali, while there is a saturation of dentists in cities there is an extreme shortage of dental specialists and experts all over Pakistan.Thus the three-day workshop also aims to train students and practitioners.

Discussions

Sunday was dedicated to a day-long seminar on dental implants in which five foreign speakers talked about the international practices in the field.

Dr Jin Kim talked about the implant maintaining protocol, highlighting the factors that determine long-term success. He spoke about designing, creating and maintaining pristine implantÐbone-soft-tissue interface.

Dr Henriette Lerner talked on the aesthetics and function in full arch rehabilitations of teeth and the benefits of mini dental implants. Dr Yong-Seok Cho from Seoul National University Dental Hospital shared his knowledge on easy and safe sinus bone graft technique.

Dr Marwan Qasim, a fellow of implantology at NYU visiting from Palestine, talked about the technique of implants in the posterior part of the upper jaw using a screw. Dr Mohammad Anabtawi spoke about the principles of bone grafting in dental implantology.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd,  2012.