Article
Following dental implant treatment, patient education is important for the maintenance of dental implants. The sharing of information and provision of advice will support patients in maintaining their dental implants long term. This information should include the technical aspects of their dental implants to enable patients to access dental care. This paper provides guidance on how to provide patients with information for dental implant maintenance effectively.
As dental care professionals, we have a duty of care to provide patients with full, clear and accurate information, before, during and after their treatment.1 Following dental implant treatment, patients may require assistance to maintain their dental implants and oral health. A patient may see different clinicians for placement, restoration and maintenance of implants. As time passes, the original treating dentist may no longer be practising, or the dentist or patient may move to another area. Therefore, patients should be provided with adequate information, to allow them to access appropriate dental care in the future.
Information sharing
On completion of active treatment, written information regarding the technical specification of the implant and implant prosthesis should be shared with the patient. Sharing this information will allow the patient to find suitable routine and emergency care in the future. Patients should feel reassured that, should an adverse incident occur when they are unable to attend their original treating dentist, they have sufficient information to allow effective treatment by another practitioner. Simply finding a dentist that deals with implants does not mean that the practitioner will have the components specific to the patient's implant system, nor that he/she can ascertain the components to order if the implant system is unknown. Therefore, having this technical information available for the practitioner can be useful.
Companies, such as Straumann® Implants (Basel, Switzerland), already provide patient ‘Implant Passports’,2 which can be given to patients for their records. A suitable form can be very effective at providing technical information to patients receiving implant provision. Such information can be given on a simple card or in a discharge letter, with technical information on one side and maintenance and emergency advice on the reverse. Figures 1 and 2 provide examples of what information can be included in patient information sheets.
Summary
Sharing information (including technical details) with patients regarding their implant treatment is an important component of promoting long-term care and maintenance. It can be an opportunity to reinforce patient education and can be particularly valuable when multiple dental care professionals are involved in the provision of, and care for, implantretained prostheses. By providing the necessary technical information about their dental implants, patients are more likely to be able to access appropriate routine or emergency dental care when required, even many years after original placement. It will also provide them with the necessary freedom to see other dental care professionals should they move away from the geographical area.