The October, 2004 editorial elicits many questions in addition to Dr. Birek’s, “What do you think?” In the March, 2004 editorial of the Journal of Implant Dentistry (Vol. 13, No. 1), Dr. Morton Perel anticipates and advances many of these questions and offers a prudent warning: “Exceeding the speed limit on the highway could result in a ticket. Exceeding the speed limit in implant dentistry could result in failure. Proceed with caution.”
My crystal ball has pristine clarity. It reveals that many of today’s successfully integrated implants are failures waiting to happen, because of the impatience, aggressiveness and at times avarice of clinicians and manufacturers. What’s the hurry?
Dr. Fredrick Muroff, Montreal
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Recently I had the privilege of donating time working with the Dentists in Weno, Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia to enhance their endodontic services. The six dentists who work in the government dental service serve approximately 60,000 people and scores of islands, many quite isolated and virtually all reachable only by boat. The task to provide adequate care (including prophylaxis, school screenings, etc.) beyond extraction for pain relief (or even to provide extractions for people on outer islands) is mammoth.
While many of the islands of this region of the world suffer similar challenges (as does much of the developing world), I was especially moved by the need in Chuuk. The doctors in the one and only dental clinic do not have a working suction, x-ray or autoclave. Due to limited budgets and fees, it is very challenging for them to provide services beyond the aforementioned extractions and simple fillings. This open letter is written to encourage donations of any kind for these islands to promote their oral health. Disposable supplies, the items above and/or volunteers who might wish to travel to Chuuk to work for some period of time (especially in the outer islands) would be of great value to the local doctors and people.
Please contact me via e-mail if you are interested in making a donation of any sort or for more information. Your help is and will be most gratefully received.
Richard Mounce, DDS, Portland, OR. lineker@aol.com
