Still advertising lies

I may or may not be reading the right type of newspaper (if and when I have time!), therefore I may or may not be reading the right type of advertising! I refer specifically to half page advertising (which, my analysis indicates, costs in the region of £30,000) promising comfortable, long-lasting dental implant treatment, be that single tooth, all on four, or alternatives, for patients whose mouths are neglected and, in most cases, as far as I could judge from the illustrations, riddled with periodontal disease. If we read the article by Emma Elliot and colleagues¹ in the current issue, then there is a possibility that such patients may have a psychiatric self-neglect problem, which is the first thing that may make them unsuitable for (implant) treatment, which readers will know involves meticulous home and professional aftercare. Add to that that the research is loud and clear that dental implants do not perform optimally when placed in the mouths of patients who have existing or pre-existing periodontal disease² or in smokers.³ This is confirmed by a recently published systematic review by Ferreira and co-workers, who identified 1823 articles and included 19 cross-sectional, case-control and cohort studies.⁴ They concluded that the presence or history of periodontal disease was a potential risk factor for various complications in implant therapy, with an increased risk of 2.3 times, including an increased risk of marginal bone loss, implant loss and the occurrence of peri-implantitis (a condition that is notoriously difficult to correct), which may jeopardize the longevity of dental implants. They advised that individuals with active periodontitis should undergo effective periodontal therapy prior to implant rehabilitation in order to reduce the risk of developing peri-implantitis. In addition, individuals with a history of periodontitis, rehabilitated with implants, should remain in a rigorous maintenance programme due to their susceptibility. Do the potential patients responding to the aforementioned advertising understand any of this?