WHAT THE ACADEMIA SHOULD KNOW ABOUT IMPLANTS

Dr. Leonard I. Linkow, DDS, DMSc*

I was just in the middle of deep involvement with writing my eighteenth book on implant dentistry- this time on the greatest implant ever created- the tripodal mandibular subperiosteal implant which I introduced to the profession in 1984.

It is now 5:00AM in the morning and I am sitting at my desk to begin this letter to you with many disturbing figures, not because they have the potential to shock or intimidate but mainly because they will resonate throughout my introduction on just about everything that I have to say to you.

Let me introduce myself: my name is Leonard I. Linkow. As a leading pioneer in implant dentistry and considered by many the world over as father of Implantology. I have treated more than 100,000 patients using more than 101,700 implants in my 50+ years of practice.

I had seventeen books published in implant dentistry where I considered nine of them bibles of implant dentistry.

And I want it to be known that I never received one penny of the royalties from any of the books sold but instead had the publishers receive the same to use the proceeds to pay for the translators to translate the volumes into various languages.

So why I am now writing another book if I receive no returns? Because there is a great need to illuminate the negative approach of the dental profession regarding subperiosteal implants and their tremendous need for the millions of edentulous patients who desperately need them.

Now let’s get into the facts and figures of subperiosteal implants.

However, first let me mention a few other implants that proceeded the mandibular tripodal subperiosteal implant.

In 1964 I introduced the very first self-tapping screw type implant which I called the vent plant. Prior to this every screw implant had to first have the osteotomy performed with a bone tap before the implant could be inserted.

In 1967 I introduced the immediate loaded one piece blade/plate form implant. Both of these implant designs became extremely popular and have certainly passed the test of time.

In 1984, after designing and redesigning the original subperiosteal implant since 1952 I introduced to the profession what I consider today the greatest and most needed implant of the world.

If it is such a great implant then why doesn’t the academia teach them to their students and use them in the universities? Simply stating, the academia, unfortunately know absolutely nothing about subperiosteal implants. If they also avoided inserting the endosseous blade/plate form implants it further shows you what they don’t know.

I will make this statement once more—there is absolutely no implant design that is on the market today to come close to the uniqueness of design and constant need for the mandibular tripodal subperiosteal implant nor its long time success in the most severely atrophied jaws.

Another reason for the academia’s dilemma of ignorance is because the few blade companies that existed could not feed the universities freely as did the screw companies and thus research on those uniquely designed endosseous blade implants were neglected.

Even more of a disgraceful scenario by the academia and the rest of the dental profession was the fact that subperiosteal implants were not “shelf implants” like screws and blades and thus could not be sold at random. Instead, they had to be designed and cast individually so their implant companies could not benefit by marketing them. Thus, very few doctors ventured out to do subperiosteal implants, especially the tunnel visioned Academia.

There is no one in the entire world who has done as many subperiosteal implants as I have done and I can say this with absolutely no reservations that when the surgery, prosthetic procedures, the occlusion and design of the implant framework as well as the removable over denture is done correctly there will not be seen any bone resorption beneath the entire metal framework for as long as thirty or forty years. These results can be obtained as long as the procedure was done over severely resorbed mandibles, even in cases of mandibular nerve dehiscence.

Elderly patients who over the years due to periodontal conditions had lost most of their teeth leaving them very little bone to insert blades or screw type implants successfully.

There exist millions of these poor people who have been toothless for years and desperately need to once again become a part of our society.

Subperiosteal implants are the answer.

I have often shown a 52 year post operative clinical and radiological tripodal subperiosteal implant with no bone resorption. How many cases of screws can pass the test of time as well?

I am willing to challenge anyone on the true value of tripodal subperiosteal implants and I will continue to accuse the tunnel visioned and stubborn academia for their lack of understanding the true significance of these implants.

I have absolutely no fear in my aggressive remarks as I have been retired for the past ten years and have no monetary interest or money invested in these magnificent implant designs.

I have finally come to a simple design for totally edentulous maxillae where no other types of implants can be inserted. Using only the anterior nasal spine, the canine eminences and the palatal side of the alveolar crest is all that is needed for a long standing subperiosteal maxillary implant.

All of the bone mentioned consists of dense cortical bone that is as hard as the bone used for mandibular subperiosteal implant.

To view hundreds of these magnificent implants just click on your computer to “Linkow library.org”.

*Dr. Leonard Linkow was born in Brooklyn, New York on February 25, 1926. He placed his first dental implant in 1952, four months after he graduated from dental school. By 1992, Dr. Linkow had placed over 19,000 dental implants and stopped counting. He retired from private practice in 2002 leaving a body of work that included 12 books and 36 patents. Many implant dentists around the world refer to Dr. Leonard Linkow as the father of modern implant dentistry.

Four classic textbooks written by Dr. Leonard Linkow may be read for free elsewhere on this website at NYCdentist.com/Linkow.

Editor’s note:  A few weeks ago I asked Dr. Linkow to summarize all of his knowledge and experience in dental implantology into a few pages.  The result, transcribed above unedited, appeared via US mail on two typewritten pages. Contact me if your dental school or dental implant study club is interested in hearing Dr. Linkow in person.  One may discover that the “latest” innovations in implant dentistry were invented by Dr. Linkow forty years ago!  Feel free to post your comments below.
–Dr. Jeffrey Dorfman, Jan 29, 2012

Categorised in: Dr. Dorfman Says

This post was written by Dr. Jeffrey Dorfman