This past weekend Dr. Chen attended the 44th Annual Arthur Merritt Lectureship on implant augmentation.  This is an annual event held by the Periodontic department of Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry.  Each year the Arthur Merritt lectureship invites distinguished speakers to share their expert knowledge in the advancing field of periodontics.  This year Dr. Chen had the pleasure of listening to Dr. Henry Greenwell sharing his research and clinical experiences on the topic of “The Role of Allografts in Implant Site Development and Root Coverage Procedures”

Not all patients who wants dental implants are candidates for implant treatments.  There are many factors we take into consideration when choosing the proper area to place the dental implant.  One of the major factor in determining the proper area to place the implant is the amount of bone left in the area.  Dental implants are used to replace areas where we have missing teeth, and it is in these areas where our bone can be the thinnest.  This is due to the fact that once our teeth are extracted or lost, the bone in that area can sometimes start to atrophy or goes away.  So by utilizing bone grafts and other techniques we can turn an otherwise inadequate implant site into an area where a dental implant can be stable and last a long time.  There are many different graft materials and techniques available to us and Dr. Greenwell was able to share with us the latest proven materials him and his team of specialists has been using so we can make sure we are providing the best treatments to our patients.

If you have further interest or questions regarding dental implants or bone grafting procedures, please feel free to contact us or Dr. Chen anytime!