Professor publishes new textbook on implant prosthodontics

Todd Schoenbaum, professor in the Department of Restorative Sciences in the Dental College of Georgia, has published a new textbook titled Implant Prosthodontics: Protocols and Techniques for Fixed Implant Restorations with Quintessence International Publishing Group.

“I created this book to enhance the overall skill and expertise of our profession in the treatment of implant patients,” Schoenbaum said. “The motivation for it for me is ensuring that our patients get better quality care, and the best way to do that is to help ensure that our colleagues are performing at the highest possible level.”

The book was designed as a concise clinical guide for restoring implants with fixed restorations — such as crowns and bridges — in patients who are experiencing the loss of some adult teeth. It provides the essentials of implant prosthodontic workflows and protocols based on the best available current evidence.

This is Schoenbaum’s second textbook on the topic, but this book is designed from an educator’s perspective and dives into the fundamentals. In order to make it as efficient and practical a tool as possible, the text is easily searchable by procedure and includes a detailed guide on how to properly execute each procedure.

Each chapter provides guidance on selecting appropriate protocol or components, explains the rationale for the given procedure, provides a step-by-step protocol and discusses special considerations and potential complications.

“It’s a very visual learning experience with nearly 700 diagrams and photographs of procedures and case studies, more than 25 protocols, and it has a multimedia component with the QR codes that link to instructional videos,” Schoenbaum said.

To make the book maximally applicable and to remove any erroneous extrapolation from one system to another, the author has included directions and photographic demonstrations for three of the major implant manufacturers: Nobel Biocare, Straumann and BioHorizons.

Implant dentistry is still relatively new to the profession, according to Schoenbaum. While it has grown in popularity over the last 30 years, he hopes clinicians will benefit from the additional training and knowledge in the book.

“I would say interest in implant dentistry continues to increase. Traditionally, we have not been able to dedicate enough time to implants in dental education, so I created this book as a way to enhance the overall quality of care our profession provides to patients. I hope in some small way it achieves this goal,” Schoenbaum said.

The textbook is available for pre-order now, with full release no later than January 2022.

Read about Schoenbaum’s other recent project, an academic journal.