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Clay HANSEN, DDS
A graduate of The Ohio State University College of Dentistry, Dr. Hansen is the owner of Palouse View Dental in Moscow, ID, where he provides his patients with high-quality restorative dentistry, implants, cosmetic dentistry, and family dental care. Each year, he participates in extensive postdoctoral studies led by the nation’s foremost clinicians. These continuing education courses provide some of the latest advances and most effective materials in dental technology today. Passionate about serving his community and supporting nonprofit organizations like Humanitarian Aid and Lifting Hands International, Dr. Hansen is currently serving a teledentistry mission in Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. He is a member of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry and was invited to be on the clinical advisory board for Implant Direct.
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
888.649.6425
implantdirect.com
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Simply Iconic
A conical hex implant designed for optimal primary stability, esthetics, and restorative ease
When I graduated from dental school, I vowed I’d never do another surgery again. But once I started practicing and taking care of people, my mindset shifted to where I wanted to meet more of my patients’ needs. I started placing implants in 2005, but with only a handful of surgeries a year, I was far from being an expert. I realized that I owed it to my patients to really dive into the field and excel at implant dentistry.
 
Several years ago, I decided to advance my implant education —eventually getting to the point where I am now, placing just over 100 implants a year. Around the same time that I upped my implant education, I also switched to the Legacy implant system from Implant Direct. It had a great thread pattern that really grabs the bone and promotes good initial stability, and a better platform switch compared to the trilobe system I was using.
About 2 months ago, I started using the Simply Iconic system from Implant Direct, which offers an ideal thread pattern and an even bigger platform switch than the Legacy.
For me, there are 3 key reasons why this implant system stands out:
#1—Implant Design
On the surgical side, it’s important that an implant be self-tapping with aggressive threads on the apical two-thirds to really engage the soft trabecular bone. In the cortical portion of the implant, which is where bone loss occurs, you want to see micro threads to help preserve that bone and encourage it to remain at platform level.
The Simply Iconic implant has coronal microthreads and progressively deeper buttress threads, which give me a tighter fit in the crestal bone, in addition to very good primary stability in both immediate and healed bone sites. I measure the implant stability quotient (ISQ), and for the 2 or 3 immediate cases I’ve done with Simply Iconic, the ISQ has been in the high 60s to mid-70s on the day of placement.
The surface of the implant is nice because it’s not perfectly flat. It’s a conical connection, so the surface has a little bit of an angle to it vs being perpendicular to the bone. This allows me to place it subcrestally and get a little more depth. I can tell right away when I place it that the bone is going to heal right across, encouraging better growth and bone-to-implant contact.
#2—Platform Switching
The key reason I switched to the Simply Iconic implant is because of its larger platform switch, which is super important. Even though there are several implant platform sizes to choose from, there are only 2 restorative platform sizes, which allows for bigger platform switches between the implant and the abutment or restorative body.
For example, when I place a 4.7-mm Simply Iconic implant, I’m going to be using a 3-mm platform, which gives me a 1.7-mm platform switch. That’s massive. I also have the option to go up to a 3.4-mm platform, which would still give me a 1.3- mm switch. In either scenario, I’m getting over a millimeter of platform switch, which allows for much better crestal bone health.
It's the biggest platform switch that I’ve ever worked with, and I’m excited to see how it’s going to impact my cases 5 or 10 years from now—in particular, how much more bone is present at the crestal level around these implants compared with previous systems.
#3—Simplicity
On the restorative side, most dentists want things to be as simple as possible. I’m balancing a dental assistant sitting next to me,  a lab tech somewhere else who’s going to have to create the restoration, and myself, whose job is to focus on placing the implant in a way that encourages an esthetic and well-fitting restoration—without having to fumble around and try to figure out which parts go with which implant.
One of the things I love about Simply Iconic is that instead of having a hundred-page catalog with different parts to sort through, there are only 2 restorative platforms—purple and gold. If I’m doing a digital scan, I only have 2 scan bodies and 2 sizes, and if I’m doing an analog impression, it’s just 2 impression copings. I just tell my assistant, “Here’s the color we’re working with,” and she immediately knows everything that I need for the procedure.
Additionally, a 5-mm healing collar is included with every Simply Iconic implant. It simplifies the procedure and saves us from needing so many items stocked on the shelf. It cuts down on inventory cost and hassle and makes life super easy for my assistant. No one needs to waste time poring over the logistics because someone already thought about every factor when designing this implant.
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