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my first
implant
with Gordon J. Christensen, DDS, MSD, Ph.D
Inclusive magazine would like to thank Dr. Gordon
Christensen for generously agreeing to appear in our
inaugural My First Implant column, where clinicians
take a moment to recall what it was like to place an
implant for the first time — because everyone has to start
somewhere.
Inclusive magazine: What made you decide to start placing
implants?
Gordon Christensen: I have been placing implants for
about 25 years now. My first course was at Mayo with
[Per-Ingvar] Brånemark himself as the instructor. Then
I went to Sweden for subsequent courses. After working
with oral surgeons and periodontists, some of whom did an
excellent job, I decided that the prosthodontic portion was
often more difficult than the surgical portion, so I started
placing implants myself.
IM: Tell me about your first experience. How did you choose
that first patient, and what was the treatment plan?
GC: The first patient was an elderly edentulous female. I
placed two implants in the mandibular canine areas — an
excellent way to start.
IM: Were you nervous before the procedure?
GC: Of course. Any new procedure causes anxiety.
IM: So, how did that first case go? Did it turn out as you’d
expected?
GC: It went perfectly, just as I had planned.
IM: Any surprises? Looking back, would you have done anything
differently?
GC: I placed implants in animal heads that I obtained from
a local slaughterhouse before placing them in an actual
person. This made the first human placement very easy. I
would do that again. In the hands-on courses I personally
provide in Utah through our organization today, Practical
Clinical Courses, we have participants place implants in
two different simulated mandibles. Then, taking that next
step, placing implants in a human, is relatively easy for
course participants.
IM: What implant system did you use? How did you decide
on this?
GC: My first implants were Brånemarks — which are no
longer made. That particular system was the one on which
I originally was instructed.
IM: How long before the final restoration was delivered? What
was it like?
GC: Twenty-five years ago, we were instructed to cover the
implants with soft tissue and wait at least four months —
preferably six — before loading. The prosthesis was an
overdenture. I have subsequently placed hundreds of these
with success.
IM: Did this first case have any impact on your second case?
How long before the next patient was treated?
GC: My second implant case took place within a few weeks.
The success of that initial case made the next one easy and
eagerly anticipated.
IM: What advice would you give to someone looking to get
started placing implants?
GC: My advice would be:
Take a broad-based, overall implant course.
Decide which brand of implants you want to pursue.
Take a course from that company.
Do your first case on a patient with an edentulous
mandible.
Make an overdenture.
Do your next patient as soon as possible after that first
patient.
Continue to enroll in more complex courses.
Join an implant organization such as the American
Academy of Implant Dentistry, the International
Congress of Oral Implantologists or the Academy of
Osseointegration.
Enjoy this relatively simple and highly successful
procedure. IM
– My First Implant: Dr. Gordon Christensen – 11