From Volume 49, Issue 11, December 2022 | Pages 937-938
This article discusses the use of an implant passport to document and standardize important information relating to specific implant treatment for both the patient and their present and future clinicians. This aims to facilitate monitoring and provide salient information for any future clinician providing implant care.
Dental implant treatment has now become widely accessible to patients, and as such, patients may present to different centres for implant provision and maintenance. Implant treatment is praised for providing fixed solutions for tooth replacement, as well as anchorage for removable prosthesis, and where used appropriately, can provide good longevity, aesthetics and improve quality of life.1 For providers of implant care, the lack of information about existing implant work can present challenges to further treatment. The implant passport describes information that is included into the discharge information. The passport provides details relating to the implant fixture and prosthesis as well as key biological parameters to be retained by the patient and used by future clinicians who may become involved in their care.
The provision of dental implants on the NHS is limited to patients meeting certain eligibility criteria in secondary care centres. Funding is often tightly controlled and, in many institutions, is subject to individual funding requests to the commissioning body. For approved requests, secondary care funding may cover the active cost of treatment, but not post-treatment maintenance or the cost of further treatment. Patients are instead usually discharged back to primary care for long-term follow-up. The GDP has responsibility for monitoring implants for disease and providing preventive and supportive care (Table 1). Patients who receive implant restorations via the NHS should be made aware not only of the risks of biological and technical failure, but also that any costs related to implant maintenance and further treatment may not be funded by the NHS.2
| Responsibility of the GDP |
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| Responsibility of the provider |
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The challenges for GDPs providing implant monitoring and maintenance care have been highlighted.3 Succinct, baseline information on important parameters aids monitoring and early detection of problems. Implant providers should ensure that the following information is provided to the GDP and the patient:2
An example of an implant passport is provided in Figure 1. It is incorporated into the discharge documentation and sent to both the patient and GDP. The information provided in the passport ensures patients, GDPs and future providers of implant care are aware of the details of care provided, as well as baseline information to facilitate monitoring, maintenance, and prompt treatment going forward.
The implant passport forms an important part of the information provided to patient and their GDP at discharge. The authors recommend that providers incorporate the implant passport tool into their practice when discharging patients back to GDPs to facilitate information exchange and future treatment delivery.
