Premier symposium

The Premier Symposium is a prestigious annual event held in London in early December and sponsored by Dental Protection and shulke. In spite of dreadful weather there was a near capacity audience and their efforts to attend were well justified by the high calibre of speakers.

Kevin Lewis, dental director of Dental Protection, hosted the day and introduced the first speaker, Prof Richard Palmer, whose topic was implants. Seven per cent (and growing) of all claims at DPL now involve implants. Prof Palmer looked at the surgical and biological complications. The success of the former are dependent on bone quality, implant length and width, and the torque used. Surgical damage could be caused to local nerves, adjacent teeth, poor location and the angle of the implant. Biological problems of the implants included risk factors such as periodontitis and smoking, loss of marginal bone and fracture. Prostheses could be lost through poor positioning, poor aesthetics or wear fracture. The list of risk factors also included bacteria, the implant surface, genetic factors, systemic disease, soft tissue recession, anatomical problems and parafunction. This was a powerful presentation representing recent cases at DPL – which should be noted by all those clinicians working with implants. We were left with the message to avoid smokers, periodontitis patients and certainly to avoid bruxers and use always strong components.