Oral implantology, whether metallic or ceramic, has undoubtedly had a global impact on the profession and on the daily lives of our patients. In the early days, implants were only placed by a few dentists, trained in specific centres, and for a few patients, who had the means to access the treatment. In recent decades, most educational institutions specialised in oral health offer training, and this is increasing not only the number of dental professionals who are considering oral implantology as a specialisation but also the number of patients, who have more access than ever to information regarding dental implants and are therefore increasingly requesting metal-free solutions for their long-term well-being.
According to major opinion leaders and media surveys, in years to come, there will be a significant conversion to ceramic implantology in dentistry. In our opinion, the training of dentists is extremely important in order to be prepared for this new era. In the South American region, the latest trends from Europe and the US are always closely watched, and today it has been almost a decade since we have introduced metal-free implantology to our daily practice. It has been a difficult road for us, because until several years ago, we did not have the necessary supplies or the training in South America. Thanks to access to international websites with medical science papers and publications such as ceramic implants—international magazine of ceramic implant technology, promoted worldwide, it has become a little bit easier, considering the outstanding information being made very accessible for every dentist wishing to enter the field of ceramic implantology.
Those difficulties forced us to find a plausible solution. With a group of colleagues with experience in metal-free implantology, the Sociedad Argentina de Implantología Cerámica (Argentine society of ceramic implantology; SADIC) and Academia Brasileira de Implantologia Cerâmica (Brazilian academy of ceramic implantology; ABICeram) were created with the objectives of the promotion of ceramic implantology in our region and the transmission of knowledge to other dentists. In addition, it has been of great importance for our organisations to have received intense support from the only company in South America with proprietary technology and knowledge in the development and production of ceramic implants using the ultimate technology of ceramic injection moulding that allows production of 3D native impurity-free implantable surfaces with nano-, micro- and macro-roughness.
The company donates its products to our not-for-profit organisations for medical and scientific purposes and, through this corporate philosophy, also helps to improve our economy, having positive social and environmental results. Without this support, it would have been impossible to develop and accelerate our missions and actions. The experience we have gained in collaboration with SADIC and ABICeram dentists has allowed us to make recommendations on one-piece and, currently, two-piece ceramic implant systems that are quickly being incorporated into the growing community of dental professionals and university curricula in our region.
There is still a long way to go, but the good thing is that we know where we want to go. We are convinced that we are on the right track, especially when we see the joy of patients who have searched for metal-free dental implant solutions and see their final result. Finally, the future has arrived, and we are proud to say that we are art and part of it.