2018 Volume 31 Issue 4 Pages 259-278
Japan, with an increasing number of elderly people needing long-term care in a super-aged society, urgently needs to develop clinical guidelines on implant maintenance for elderly people with declining independence. The purpose of this position pa per is to categorize the troubles encountered in the care of patients with dental implants and to indicate actual practices and key points. From the members of the Japanese Society of Oral Implantology, 12 expert panelists who had experience of many problems of implant maintenance during dental visits and were familiar with their solutions were selected. Through repeated discussions in many panel meetings, the problems of implant maintenance during dental visits were identified.
During a dental visit, state of the oral cavity, general conditions, and background of elderly patients who cannot orally care for themselves must be grasped, and medical staff, care managers, and patients should understand the changes in these factors over time. The solutions and responses that can be made differ greatly depending on the medical care facilities, the environment, differences in the experience of medical staff, and the patient's background. Thus, it is necessary to select safe treatments appropriate to each situation. Since the inability to distinguish implant manufacturers is a serious problem, the spread of implant cards should be actively encouraged, and a system for sharing patients' oral information should be created.
This paper features many opinions based on clinical experience. However, clinical guidelines on implant management during dental visits should be formulated in the future based on the accumulation of evidence through clinical research.
