Dental implants are an amazing advancement in the field of dentistry but they remain a mystery to the majority of people. This mystery has kept many people from pursuing dental implant placement and has led to a lot of misinformation regarding them. My intention in writing this book is to de-mystify dental implants; it is about shedding light on what we as dentists know and what you as a patient should know. The truth is, the anatomy of a dental implant, the process by which they are placed and the biology by which they stay in your mouth is very simple; it’s just that until now there has not been a reference for the non-dentist to understand what a dental implant is.
Once you’ve read this book you will understand what a dental implant is and equally important what a dental implant is not. You will be better informed as to what you can expect from a dental implant, what criteria has to be met in order to be a candidate and the pros and cons of dental implant therapy, including a good idea of the financial investment. You will increase your knowledge and your vocabulary so that when you are seeking a practitioner and interviewing him or her as a potential care giver you will be confident in understanding what he or she is recommending for you. Also, as we are becoming more and more inundated with advertising on this and all sorts of dentistry, you will be better able to filter out the quality claims from those that are potentially misleading.
Before undergoing any dental procedure you should feel fully confident that what is about to be done is the right thing and the practitioner is the right person for the job. It is not ok to blindly trust in a product or process. You must take initiative and educate yourself so you can make an informed, quality decision and this book will assist you in obtaining this knowledge.
