Implants: Now a Standard of Care

The advent of CAD/CAM technology and other significant advances continue to boost confidence in implant restorations among dental professionals.

"Implants are no longer 'smoke and mirror' technology. They've proven themselves and, for the last five years or so, many technicians and dentists consider them to be the standard of care for qualified patients," says Chris Morris, owner of ADL Dental Laboratory, Louisville, Kentucky.

Once skeptical of the complexity and long-term viability of implants, restorative dentists have become more comfortable prescribing implants as the first choice in tooth replacement and view them, in most cases, as the best method of preserving bone and tissue. "Restorative doctors now look at implants as an essential part of their armamentarium; it's an everyday part of their practices," says Dr. Mark Cherewka, the on-staff dentist at Thayer Dental Laboratory, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania.

In fact, some restorative...