REVIEWS   

Minerva Medicolegale 2008 September;128(3):127-41

Copyright © 2008 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: Italian

The assessment of damage in implantoprotesis

Antonina A., Cascino F. M., Liotta R., Zerbo S., Procaccianti P.

Dipartimento di Biotecnologie Mediche e Medicina Legale Università degli Studi di Palermo, Palermo,

The use of dental implants as prosthetic pillars has long represented a technique with no scientific basis. It is entrusted to a series of experimental techniques that are not supported by research or clinical and histological studies. In spite of developments in science, failures do occur and require attentive, expert legal medical evaluation, which is discussed here. The authors have proposed a range of surgical forms and techniques and the published success statistics have reported variable results that at times have been in contrast with other reported data. Modern implantology and increasing resort to prostheses on endo-osseous implants, on the other hand, offer good functional recovery for the rehabilitation of the oral cavity in patients who are partially or wholly edentulous. In the light of technical improvements and constant research into new materials for use in implants, the authors examine the new and consequent prospects in the context of professional responsibility when the professional is called on to quantify biological damage in a dental context. Many functions have to be considered in assessing dental damage (aesthetic, phonatory, masticatory, neurological), which is composite par excellence. Also on the basis of the literature, the authors set out the possible references to aid in evaluation methodology, and the European and international situations are described.