For those that experience the installation of dental implants, or All-on-4 dental implants, the initial sentiments towards having a brand new, perfect smile can be overwhelming. With confidence restored and normalcy rejuvenated, the premise of having a perfect smile is intoxicating. However, maintaining these implants can be crucial to long-term oral hygiene and preservation of your perfect smile.
For those of you who follow the triad of oral hygiene, you typically need not worry about this preservation as much as your counterparts. As always, brushing and flossing twice a day, with rinsing with an antibacterial mouthwash, typically can preserve your gums and bone structure enough to avoid dental implants in the first place. But, even after your installation, you must continue preserving your oral health to avoid a condition known as peri-implantitis.
“Peri-implantitis, [is] a condition where tissue and bone around dental implants becomes infected, [and] besets roughly one-quarter of dental implant patients,” with no accurate way of predicting who will respond well to the treatment of the condition (Henderson, 1). This condition can cause the weakening of the tissue and bone within the anchor points of your dental implants and can practically demolish any hopes of a new install. But a new study is changing the field of discovering and preventing peri-implantitis.
Introducing FARDEEP, an algorithm assembled by artificial intelligence created at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry. FARDEEP (Fast and Robust Deconvolution of Expression Profiles) analyzes oral tissues to discover common trends among patients who develop conditions like peri-implantitis. By collecting samples from patients undergoing reconstructive therapy, FARDEEP will allow periodontists the capability of recognizing patterns leading to this condition before the infections begin to take place. As a preventative method, this will allow periodontists to assess the risks of certain tissues and bone structures. Already, FARDEEP has located a trend among patients that have higher immunity to peri-implantitis. Patients that have higher amounts of “immune cell subtypes for bacterial control can suppress the recolonization of pathogenic bacteria and show better regenerative outcomes.” (Henderson 1). Basically, with higher amounts of this certain type of immune cell, the chance of developing the condition is lower.
With the capability to detect these immune cell clusters, periodontists can make assessments of first-time patients with confidence towards their long-term implant health. Though we are not conducting this study, the results in return will improve our services and directly impact your long-term oral health. Though many of you may not be interested in the happenings of the industry, we strive to constantly be in touch with the newest information to improve our abilities as a periodontist. As we await the University of Michigan’s study to conclude, we hope that the information provided to us can also be shared with our patients, both in practice and in thought.
Thank you for reading another one of our online blog posts! Be sure to tune back in as we post frequently. As always stay safe and healthy, and if you are looking for more information, check out our website at www.innovativeperio.com.
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