Basal implant in France

The university system (the dental faculties which train future implantologists) is under fire from critics for not having invested in cortical implantology and more precisely basal implantology (BAx). Accusations that go even further since they would have consciously invested in less efficient systems under pressure from large groups. While the French are recognized in specialties such as orthodontics or microbiology, oral surgery as well as to it took a considerable delay mainly because of large multinationals not wishing to lose their monopoly thanks to lobbying actions on French university teachers.

Who are the big winners from this slowdown in development?

The first winners are obviously the multinationals, since students in dentistry will have been trained only with their products and will naturally be more prone to buy / sell them to their patients. The other winners are the university teachers who are graciously given dental surgery equipment.

Who are the losing ones?

The losers are of course the patients since modern technologies are safer and less expensive than traditional bone grafts + implants exist. They will therefore have no other choice but to pay pharaonic sums in France to go to one of the 2 dental surgeons authorized in BAx basal implantology or to travel abroad.

This is a question that is debated even within the congress of dental surgeons. The use of smooth titanium which is the basis of basal implantology is used with success for many years in specialties such as orthopedic surgery with prostheses of hips for example, reconstructive surgery such as titanium implants to reconstruct bone after a fracture.

Outside of France, BAX basal implantology is spreading in many countries (USA, Russia, Canada, Asia and Eastern Europe) and has received clearance from the US Health Safety Agency (known to be strictest in the world). Despite the many studies that show a higher success rate, implantology basal implant which is also called cortical implant or strategic implant is only taught in a few universities and dental faculties like that of Nice. We can highlight different reasons:

Certification of dental surgeons

It is necessary for dentists wishing to perform immediate basal implantology (BAx) to review all their achievements. The rules imposed in traditional dental implantology cannot be transposed to basal implantology. They will even be for some of them strongly contraindicated. Immediate loading is a striking example. When it will be necessary to wait 3 and 6 months for osseointegration of the traditional dental implants, basal implants will be loaded within 72 to 96 hours after implantation. This allows the distribution of the chewing forces. To allow timely completion of prostheses, technical means are necessary. These are unfortunately still missing in France since dental clinics with this technology can be counted on the fingers of one hand. We come to the second problem encountered by French dentists. Material means.

Basal Implants

Technical and human resources

The basal implantology protocol requires significant technical and human resources compared to traditional implantology which only requires a dental surgeon and his assistant. In the latest generation of basal implantology, the prosthesis (bridge) must be fixed within 72 to 96 hours of placing the dental implants.

The tests in the mouth are carried out throughout the process. This requires both that the dental clinic has a dental prosthesis laboratory within it, but also that these technicians are trained for this type of treatment. The dental prosthesis laboratory is also specific with specially designed devices. The clinic must have a medical imaging system and suitable implantology equipment. Given the fact that 90% of implantologists in France work in private practice, most do not have sufficient infrastructure.

This is a question raised by the dental surgeons of Anveli during the last international congress of implantology. Why are lobbying activities not prohibited in French universities? While the brands Nobel Biocare and Straumann (brands of bone grafts and traditional dental implants) provide dental faculty teachers "free", how can we not think that there is a conflict of interest here?

How do not think that these are the same teachers? Dental universities in major European countries are the theater of trade wars between multinationals in the world of dentistry, which is losing market share in many countries. Universities in many countries, including France, are subsidized by a major implant brand, which also produces bone graft materials. Some say that they could lobby the management.