The IDIA has been working diligently for the past few years to establish guidelines for meeting the legal standard of care for implant placement.   In March, 2009 a committee of surgical specialists, restorative dentists and our legal consultant, Mr. Arthur W. Curley, JD completed the development of new training guidelines to meet the legal standard of care for basic implant placement.

The IDIA supports the private practice team approach to implant dentistry. However, we also recognize that it is necessary to have minimum training standards in order to protect patients who might seek treatment from dentists who have only taken an abbreviated (1-3 days) course. Our intention with the guidelines is simply to address the "weekend warrior" problem and curtail the promotion of abbreviated training courses as being fully adequate to begin placing implants immediately upon completion of the course.

If any of your "non-surgical" colleagues are interested learning to place implants, we highly recommend that you suggest downloading the guidelines and reading them prior to selecting training courses.

Most of the major implant companies are now supporting and distributing these guidelines, including Astra Tech, Biomet 3i, Neoss, Nobel Biocare, Straumann and Zimmer. The details of the companies' commitment to implementing the guidelines can be found in our latest newsletter, which was recently mailed to the entire surgical profession.

The IDIA is currently in the process of contacting the other implant companies, as well as training organizations and dental organizations to discuss their participation in this initiative. We believe that with complete collaboration between industry and the profession, we will be able to significantly reduce the number of complications and failures that are resulting from inadequate training.

Additionally, we are in the process of evaluating implant training programs throughout the country to determine compliance with the guidelines. We will be listing those training courses that are in compliance with the guidelines on this site in the near future as a resource for "non-surgical" dentists who want to incorporate implant placement into their practices and meet the legal standard of care.