College of General Dentistry Blog

Marking another milestone

Igor Blum FCGDent, Clinical Professor of Primary Care Dentistry and Advanced General Dental Practice at King’s College London and Editor of the Primary Dental Journal, and Sir Nairn Wilson CBE FCGDent, President Emeritus of the College and the journal’s first Editor, celebrate the publication of its fiftieth issue

Prof Igor Blum FCGDent (left) and Sir Nairn Wilson CBE FCGDent (right)

The latest issue of the Primary Dental Journal (PDJ) – the 50th to date – is a truly special ‘general dentistry’ edition marking this significant milestone.

Not only does the PDJ have a rich history of serving general dental practice, but it is also one of the premier journals for intellectual discourse on all aspects of primary dental care pertinent to members of the whole dental team.

First published in 2012, shepherded under the tenure as Editor-in-Chief of the then Professor (now Sir) Nairn Wilson, it brought together three publications of the former Faculty of General Dental Practice (FGDP[UK]): Primary Dental Care (a research journal for dentists), Team in Practice (a journal for Dental Care Professionals) and the newsletter First Hand.

The fourth volume of the journal, published in 2015, was produced with the assistance of a new Clinical Editor – Dr (now Professor) Igor Blum. In addition to themed issues on Consent (curated by Guest Editor, Andy Toy), Special Care Dentistry (Guest Editors, Debbie Chandler and Richard Valle-Jones) and Paediatric Dentistry (Guest Editor, Richard Welbury), the volume included the journal’s first ‘general issue’ with papers on a range of topics, including temporomandibular dysfunction, contemporary laboratory work, tooth surface loss, the effects of bisphosphonates in implant dentistry, reducing harm (iatrogenic damage) in the provision of care, risk assessment and the prevention and management of dry sockets.

Volume 6, issue 1 was a special, one-off, commemorative issue of PDJ to help mark and celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the formation of the FGDP(UK). In addition to a ‘conversation’ between Professor Nairn Wilson and the then Dean of the Faculty, Mick Horton, and a photo montage of the history of the faculty, the issue included commissioned papers by leading dental experts in the UK. This commemorative issue and the subsequent two themed issues – Dental Emergencies (Guest Editor, Russ Ladwa) and Extended Integrated Care (Guest Editor, Kathy Fan) were Professor Wilson’s last contributions to PDJ before passing on the baton to Dr Blum in 2017.

Professor Blum’s first issue as Editor-in-Chief was the December 2017 (Volume 6, issue 4) themed issue on Removable Prosthodontics (Guest Editor, Graham Stokes). Professor Blum’s vision for the journal was to evolve, grow and, in the process, continue to go from strength to strength. A further vision was to make the journal accessible on an international level, rather than limiting it to the readership in the UK, for the benefit of primary dental care teams and their patients around the world.

Within each annual volume, two or three issues are themed on specific and relevant fields of interest, and one or two ‘general dentistry’ issues cover a wide range of topics. Each issue offers a combination of research, clinical best practice papers and scenario articles which allow the whole dental team to work together to improve standards of patient care. In Spring 2021 the PDJ published its 10th Volume Anniversary special issue celebrating this remarkable milestone.

After nine years’ publication by the FGDP(UK), the College took over in 2021, and this 2025 Spring issue marks fifty issues of the journal as a source for dissemination of contemporary research, clinical and non-clinical articles relevant to general dental practice.

Since its inception, the PDJ has evolved substantially and earned an established place as an authoritative source in today’s dental literature. As such, it provides CGDent with one of its most valued membership benefits. While its purpose has been constant – to be a professional development journal for the whole dental team, and a record and source of news about the College – its editorial and production processes and standards have evolved over the years.

Most significantly, in 2019 the FGDP entered into a contract with Sage Publishing and the PDJ has progressed from an in-house ‘cottage industry’ publication to an internationally accessible publication with an electronic editorial management platform, ScholarOne. As such the journal benefits from the resources available through our publisher, which has facilitated its continued growth.

Over the years, we have watched with great pleasure how the PDJ has grown and gained ever-increasing standing and status in becoming an internationally recognised and esteemed journal, aimed at the whole primary care team. The journal is now indexed in PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus, and 1,500 papers – past and present – are available online to CGDent members through the PDJ Library and in over 10,000 academic institutions worldwide.

With the current international exposure of articles published in the PDJ, there have been many thousands of downloads and citations of articles. This confirms that the PDJ has an international reach and impact on the dental team and clinical practice, both nationally and internationally, improving standards of patient care.

As a result, the PDJ has started to attract international dental experts as guest editors. In the context of a new membership organisation borne out of a more established one, the journal has also played a central role in providing reassurance and continuity of service to members over the last four years and has developed an important role in supporting the College’s membership retention and growth.

Looking back, we would like to express our sincere gratitude to the very many authors, guest editors, peer reviewers, staff and others who have contributed to each of the 50 issues to date and enabled us to reach this important milestone.

Special thanks must be extended to the former and current managing editors of the journal – Amy Brewerton, Hillevi Sellén, and Lily Atkins; to a member of the founding Editorial Board, Ario Santini FCGDent, who continues to provide highly rated abstracts of relevance to the contents of each issue of the journal; and to Darren Westlake, who has designed the covers and laid out the figures in each and every issue.

We are confident that we have created an attractive, distinctive, reader-friendly journal and it is our hope that you will enjoy the 50th issue and join the previous and current editorial team in celebrating all it stands for.

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE 50TH ISSUE

A list of the themed editions within the first 50 issues of the PDJ is available here

The titles and abstracts of PDJ papers are available to all dental professionals via the searchable PDJ homepage, with full paper access available to College members through the PDJ Library

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College celebrates 50th issue of the Primary Dental Journal

The College has this week published the fiftieth issue of the Primary Dental Journal, its quarterly peer-reviewed professional development journal for General Dental Practitioners and Dental Care Professionals working in primary care.

Translating current evidence into best practice, each issue of the PDJ offers a combination of research, clinical best practice papers and scenario articles which allow the whole dental team to work together to improve standards of patient care. Unique in its dedication to general dental practice, the PDJ’s general issues include a range of papers on a variety of relevant topics of interest, and its themed issues explore subjects in depth and are guest edited by renowned experts in their fields.

First published in 2012, the PDJ brought together three publications of the former Faculty of General Dental Practice of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FGDP): Primary Dental Care (a research journal for dentists), Team in Practice (a journal for Dental Care Professionals) and the newsletter First Hand. Since 2019, the PDJ has been published in partnership with one of the world’s leading journal publishers, and the College took over editorial production from the FGDP in 2021.

CGDent is the UK’s only medical college run by and for dental professionals, and welcomes all oral health professionals into Associate Membership and those with relevant postgraduate qualifications, skills and experience into Full Membership, Associate Fellowship and Fellowship. Supporting professional development and recognition for the whole dental team, the College is building on the achievements of the FGDP in setting standards for general dental care, and has a vision to achieve Royal College standing.

The PDJ is printed and distributed to the College’s UK and international members, indexed in PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus, and 1,500 papers past and present are available online to College members and in over 10,500 academic institutions worldwide.

In addition to 9 general issues to date, themed issues of the PDJ have been published on:

  • Infection prevention and control
  • Radiology and radiation protection (x2)
  • Implant dentistry (x3)
  • Management of caries
  • Aesthetic dentistry (x3)
  • Medical emergencies
  • Advances in the restoration of posterior teeth
  • Non-surgical therapy and management of periodontal disease (x2)
  • Prescribing in dentistry
  • Communication, complaints & consent
  • Special care dentistry (x2)
  • Paediatric dentistry (x2)
  • Oral mucosal disease
  • Endodontics (x2)
  • Tooth wear
  • Orthodontics
  • Operative dentistry
  • Dental emergencies
  • Extended integrated care
  • Removable prosthodontics
  • Digital dentistry (x2)
  • Primary care oral surgery (x2)
  • Dental pain & anxiety
  • Dento-legal matters
  • Fixed prosthodontics
  • Oral health and the ageing population
  • Leadership and professionalism
  • Urgent dental care & COVID-19
  • Dental trauma

The titles and abstracts for papers in all these issues are available to all dental professionals via the searchable PDJ homepage, with full paper access available to members of the College through the PDJ Library (members will need to be logged in to see this page).

Fittingly, the new 50th issue is a bumper ‘General dentistry’ edition with papers covering a wide range of topics such as an assessment of how artificial intelligence can assist in the evaluation of patients’ medical histories; a guide to skin cancer and what to look for in protecting your patients; how digital innovations can enhance occlusal diagnostics and treatment precision; the role of hypnosis in patient stress and pain management; and minimum intervention oral care. In this special issue, six papers have been made available in full to the whole dental profession free of charge. A full list of papers is available here

A reception to celebrate the first 50 issues of the PDJ was recently held in London, hosted by Professor Sir Nairn Wilson CBE FCGDent (Chair of the first Editorial Board), Professor Igor Blum FCGDent (current Editor-in-Chief) and Dr Roshni Karia MCGDent (President of the College).

The next three issues of the PDJ will be on oral medicine, leadership and temporomandibular disorders, and dental professionals can make sure to receive these by joining the College. Membership is available from £45 and includes a range of other benefits.

While full PDJ access is reserved for members, non-members can access the College’s standards and guidance publications free of charge online, and receive its free monthly email of news and events, by becoming a College Subscriber

Commenting on the publication of the 50th issue, Sir Nairn and Prof Blum said:

“The Primary Dental Journal has a rich history of serving general dental practice, and is pertinent to members of the whole dental team. It has earned an established place as an authoritative source in today’s dental literature and is one of the premier journals for intellectual discourse on all aspects of primary dental care. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to the very many authors, guest editors, peer reviewers, staff and others who have contributed to each of the 50 issues to date and enabled us to reach this important milestone.”

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT THE 50TH ISSUE

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New PDJ online: The 50th issue – General dentistry

The 50th issue of the Primary Dental Journal, ‘General dentistry’, is now available to view online.

This latest PDJ marks the fiftieth issue since its initial publication in 2012, under the College’s predecessor organisation, the Faculty of General Dental Practice – FGDP (UK). In their editorial, current Editor-in-Chief, Prof Igor Blum, and Chair of the first Editorial Board, Professor Sir Nairn Wilson, celebrate this milestone with a nod to all who have contributed, by reflecting on the early days of the PDJ and where the journal is now in improving standards of patient care:

“Not only does the journal have a rich history of serving general dental practice, but it is also one of the premier journals for intellectual discourse on all aspects of primary dental care pertinent to members of the whole dental team.”

This special ‘bumper’ issue includes a wide range of General dentistry topics, such as an assessment of how artificial intelligence (AI) can assist in the evaluation of patients’ medical histories; a guide to skin cancer and what to look for in protecting your patients; how digital innovations can enhance occlusal diagnostics and treatment precision; the role of hypnosis in patient stress and pain management; and minimum intervention oral care (MIOC). A full list of papers is below.

Full online access to the majority of articles is reserved for College of General Dentistry members and Primary Dental Journal subscribers, who can also expect their printed copies to arrive around the end of May. New joiners wishing to receive a copy of this issue can let us know by emailing [email protected]

For non-members / non-subscribers, at least one paper in each issue is made available online free of charge, with all other articles available to purchase via the links below.

An annual print subscription to the PDJ is included with membership of the College, which also includes online access to over 1,500 current and past articles in the PDJ Library and a range of other benefits.

On behalf of the College, the PDJ editorial team would like to express its gratitude to all the authors and peer reviewers who have contributed to this issue.

ISSUE CONTENTS:

CGDent members can view full articles by logging in via the yellow button below, then clicking ‘Access the PDJ Library’:

PDJ MEMBER ACCESS

The next issue of the journal, Oral Medicine, is due out in Summer 2025.

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New PDJ online: Implant dentistry (part two)

The new issue of the Primary Dental Journal, ‘Implant dentistry (part two)’, is now available to view online.

While Implant Dentistry (part one) covered the roles of dental team members in managing implant patients within dental primary care, this part 2 issue focusses on clinical aspects of implant dentistry, including complications and adverse events, and recent technological advancements in the field, providing strategies for dental professionals.

The issue’s Guest Editor is Professor Ilser Turkyilmaz, Associate Dean of Digital Innovation, Professor and Chair at USA Case Western Reserve University’s School of Dental Medicine. Professor Turkyilmaz explains the thinking behind the collection of topics in the part 2 issue:

“As we continue to advance in the field of implant dentistry, clinicians face an ongoing challenge to adopt and incorporate modern tools and materials that elevate the quality of patient care while simultaneously reducing the complexity of their workflows. Our goal with this issue is to enrich the knowledge base of both new and experienced practitioners, empowering them to achieve optimal patient outcomes…in the dynamic field of implant dentistry.”

Papers included in this issue cover a range of digital and analogue workflows, with the core emphasis on the importance of thorough treatment planning, reinforced by advanced imaging techniques. A full list is below.

Full online access to the majority of articles is reserved for College of General Dentistry members and Primary Dental Journal subscribers, who can also expect their printed copies to arrive around the end of January. New joiners wishing to receive a copy of this issue can let us know by emailing [email protected]

For non-members / non-subscribers, at least one paper in each issue is made available online free of charge, with all other articles available to purchase via the links below.

An annual print subscription to the PDJ is included with membership of the College, which also includes online access to over 1,500 current and past articles in the PDJ Library and a range of other benefits.

On behalf of the College, the PDJ editorial team would like to express its gratitude to all the authors and peer reviewers who have contributed to this issue.

ISSUE CONTENTS:

CGDent members can view full articles by logging in via the yellow button below, then clicking ‘Access the PDJ Library’:

PDJ MEMBER ACCESS

An earlier version of this article was published on 26 December 2024. The next issue of the journal, General Dentistry, is due out in Spring 2025.

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Calling all PDJ authors

The College is reaching out to all past contributors to the Primary Dental Journal – authors, guest editors, peer reviewers, book reviewers and editorial board members – who are invited to attend a reception marking the impending 50th issue.

The event, The Primary Dental Journal: celebrating 50 issues, will take place in London on Thursday 30 January 2025.

First published in 2012, the PDJ was produced for nine years by the Faculty of General Dental Practice of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FGDP), with the College taking over following the transfer-in of the FGDP over in 2021.

The College has distributed invitations to the reception by email to those PDJ contributors for whom it holds a functioning email address. However, the College does not hold functioning email addresses for all past PDJ contributors, and would like to encourage those to whom this applies to get in touch.

If you are a current or past member of the College and have previously contributed to the PDJ, we have sent an invitation to the email address you have most recently registered with us. We also hold email addresses for those who subscribe to our monthly e-newsletter and those who have registered for an account on the College website (for purposes such as viewing our standards and guidance publications). We have sent invitations to such individuals via those email addresses where we have determined that they belong to a PDJ contributor.

We also hold email addresses for non-member contributors whose papers were published by the College rather than the former FGDP (i.e. those appearing in issues from volume 10, issue 2 [Summer 2021] onwards). Unless subsequently updated via online account registration, these are the email addresses used for correspondence with the Managing Editor of the PDJ prior to publication of the relevant paper. We have sent invitations to these contributors using these email addresses.

However, the College may not hold an email address for any PDJ contributor whose paper was published prior to Summer 2021 (i.e. in volumes 1-9 or volume 10 issue 1) and who is not a member, newsletter subscriber or website account holder. We may also not have been able to verify that a particular non-member email address registered through our website belonged to a given PDJ contributor.

If you are a past PDJ contributor but are not sure which issue your paper was published in, please search the online PDJ Library. You do not need to be a member or otherwise logged in to perform a search.

If you were a contributor to an issue of PDJ published by the College but your email address has changed since publication of your paper(s), please let us know at [email protected]

If you are a past PDJ contributor for whom for any reason we may not hold a verified email address, we would love to hear from you, irrespective of whether you wish to attend this particular event – please write to us at [email protected]

REGISTER TO ATTEND HERE

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PDJ editor honoured with prestigious international research award

Professor Igor Blum, editor-in-chief of the College’s Primary Dental Journal, has been chosen as this year’s winner of the esteemed International Association for Dental Research (IADR) Ivar Mjör Award.

Professor Igor Blum (right) being presented with the Ivar Mjör Award 2024 by Professor Richard Wierichs, Chair of the IADR Network for Practice-Based Research

Given annually, the award is named in honour of the late President of the IADR, the Norwegian dentist Professor Ivar Mjör, who was a world-renowned researcher and one of the most eminent champions of practice-based dental research in Europe, the US and elsewhere.

The highest award conferred by the IADR for practice-based research, it was given to Professor Blum in recognition of his distinguished contributions to the field, particularly the national and international importance of his translation of practice-based research findings into clinical recommendations.

His impactful publications on the management of failing dental restorations, the reasons for the placement and replacement of direct restorations, and the longevity of posterior composite restorations placed in practice-based settings were among those considered by the selection committee.

Professor Blum coined the term ‘reparative dentistry’, and the citation also notes that his contribution over a quarter of a century to the development, teaching and promotion of the repair of failing yet serviceable dental restorations, as a minimally invasive alternative to replacement, has paved the way for it to become an internationally acknowledged and recognised treatment approach.

Another notable example of his influence are his 2002 standardised diagnostic description criteria for dry socket (alveolar osteitis). ‘Blum’s definition’[i], which is widely referenced in textbooks and presentations and has become the most used definition for dry socket worldwide, has been cited in over 750 journal papers to date.

Professor Blum was also nominated in recognition of his promotion of practice-based clinical, educational and research articles through the Primary Dental Journal (PDJ), in combination with its increased international profile during his tenure as editor. The PDJ is our quarterly, peer-reviewed, professional development journal. Uniquely dedicated to primary dental care, each issue is distributed in print to our UK and international members and subscribers and made available online in over 10,500 academic institutions worldwide.

Professor of Primary Care Dentistry and Advanced General Dental Practice at King’s College London, and a consultant and specialist in restorative dentistry, Professor Blum is only the second UK-based recipient of the Ivar Mjör Award – the first being Professor Sir Nairn Wilson, the PDJ’s inaugural editor.

The award was presented in October in Bern, Switzerland.

[i] Blum IR. Contemporary views on dry socket (alveolar osteitis): a clinical appraisal of standardization, aetiopathogenesis and management: a critical review. Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2002 Jun;31(3):309-17. doi: 10.1054/ijom.2002.0263.

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Oral medicine, leadership and TMD – PDJ themes for 2025

The College has announced the themes and guest editors for the 2025 issues (volume 14) of its Primary Dental Journal (PDJ).

(l-r) 2025 PDJ guest editors: Dr Ziad Al-Ani, Dr Emma Hayes and Professor Sreenivas Koka FCGDent

The Spring issue will be a general edition with articles covering a wide range of topics relevant to general dental practice. The 50th issue of the PDJ, it is expected to be published in April.

The Summer issue will be the first to be dedicated to oral medicine. Due out in July, it will be guest-edited by Dr Emma Hayes.

The Autumn issue, devoted to leadership in dentistry, will be guest-edited by Professor Sreenivas Koka FCGDent and will go to press in late September.

The Winter issue will be the first thematic edition of the PDJ to explore temporomandibular disorders (TMD). Guest-edited by Dr Ziad Al-Ani, it will be distributed in December.

Uniquely dedicated to primary dental care, PDJ is the College’s quarterly, peer-reviewed, professional development journal. In partnership with one of the world’s leading journal publishers, each issue is printed and distributed to the College’s UK and international members and subscribers, indexed in PubMed/MEDLINE and Scopus, and made available online in over 10,500 academic institutions worldwide.

Dr Hayes is a Consultant and Clinical Lead in Oral Medicine at King’s College London Dental Institute, with special interests in facial pain and paediatric oral medicine conditions. After qualifying as a doctor from the University of Oxford in 2008, she worked in the north of England and gained Membership of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh. She then studied dentistry on King’s College London’s three-year programme for medical graduates, also working part-time in oral and maxillofacial surgery. Graduating in 2013, she completed specialty training in oral medicine at the Eastman Dental Hospital in 2019. She also holds a Postgraduate Certificate in Medical Education from University College London and contributed to the 2023 update of the Oral Medicine Specialty Training Curriculum.

Professor Koka is Dean of the University of Mississippi Dental School. In addition to qualifying as a Doctor of Dental Surgery, he holds a Master’s in Prosthodontics from the University of Michigan, an MBA from Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a Master’s in Applied Sciences from Johns Hopkins University and a PhD from the University of Nebraska. He was the founder and owner of Premium Dental Editing in Rochester, Minnesota, and of both Koka Dental Clinic and the non-profit Career Design in Dentistry in San Diego. He has been a lecturer at the University of Michigan and University of California Los Angeles, and a professor at Loma Linda University, the University of Nebraska and the Mayo Clinic. Author/co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed articles and nine book chapters, he is co-founder of the Future Leaders in Prosthodontics (FLiP) programme and founder of the Shaping the Future of Implant Dentistry (SHIFT) leadership workshop series. Brought up in Romford, he emigrated to the United States at the age of 19 and is one of 16 dentists in his family.

Dr Al-Ani is a Senior Lecturer and Senior Recognised-Excellence-in-Teaching Fellow at the University of Glasgow Dental School, and former professor of Temporomandibular Disorders at the College of Medicine and Dentistry. He graduated BDS and completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Damascus, before being awarded an MSc in Prosthodontics and PhD on temporomandibular disorders and occlusion at the University of Manchester. He then became a Clinical Teacher in Restorative Dentistry and Research Co-ordinator for the TMD clinic at Manchester, later obtaining Membership of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh, Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy and a Postgraduate Certificate in Academic Practice. He is a former Director of the International Association for Dental Research’s Prosthodontics Research Group, former member of the editorial board of the Journal of Prosthodontics, and author of the books ‘Temporomandibular Disorders: A Problem-Based Approach’ and ‘Practical Procedures in Dental Occlusion’. 

Submissions will be accepted for the issue on leadership until 7 January 2025 and for the issue on TMD until 7 April 2025. Submissions on any other topic relevant to primary dental care can be made until 7 July 2025 for consideration for the Spring 2026 general issue. Instructions for authors are available here.

Dr Al-Ani’s paper, Whiplash-associated temporomandibular disorders: a review article (PDJ vol. 12, no. 1, March 2023) has been made available for all dental professionals to download free of charge.

He was also author of Temporomandibular Joint Osteoarthrosis: a review of clinical aspects and management (vol. 10, no. 1, March 2021) and Occlusion and Temporomandibular Disorders: a long-standing controversy in dentistry (vol. 9. no. 1, April 2020), and co-author of Occlusion on a single implant-supported crown: any differences? (vol. 11, no. 2, June 2022).

These are available in the online PDJ Library to College members and PDJ subscribers, as is Dr Hayes’ paper, An overview of vesicobullous conditions affecting the oral mucosa, (vol. 5 no. 1, March 2016).

Members can read these articles by logging in via the button below, then clicking ‘Access the PDJ Library’:

PDJ MEMBER ACCESS

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New PDJ online: Implant dentistry (part one)

The latest issue of the Primary Dental Journal, ‘Implant dentistry (part one)’, is available to view online now.

The implant dentistry theme has been split across two consecutive journal issues – parts 1 and 2. Papers in this part 1 issue include the role of the general dental practitioner in the care of the implant patient; dental nursing in implant dentistry; the hygienist’s role in the management of the implant patient in primary care; and dentolegal considerations in implant dentistry. The main objective of this first issue is to provide readers with a cutting-edge update on the topics, and to raise awareness of the need to manage implant patients in primary care.

The guest editor of this part 1 issue is Amin Aminian FCGDent, a Specialist in Prosthodontics in Greater Manchester. Amin explains the impetus for the collection of papers, and urges readers to share these Implant dentistry issues with all colleagues:

“My aim…was to highlight how implant therapy can, and should, be predominantly provided in primary care. The articles highlight how implant dentistry can positively impact our patients’ quality of life, regardless of the care setting.

“I sincerely hope you enjoy the two implant dentistry issues. At the outset, they were intended for all members of the primary care team, be it those who have yet to begin their implant journey or those more experienced in all aspects of the treatment. The articles highlight the important role all members of the team need to play, with the patient central to the care plan.”

Implant Dentistry – a journey from the beginnings to what has become an established discipline

Prof Igor Blum’s editorial introducing the PDJ implant dentistry issues is available to read here.

Part 2 – which is due out in winter and guest-edited by Professor Ilser Turkyilmaz of New York University – will have a greater focus on clinical aspects of implant dentistry, including complications and adverse events, and recent technological advancements in the field.

Full online access to the majority of articles is reserved for College of General Dentistry members and Primary Dental Journal subscribers, who can also expect their printed copies to arrive in the next 2–3 weeks.

For non-members / non-subscribers, at least one paper in each issue is made available online free of charge, with all other articles available to purchase via the links below.

An annual print subscription to the PDJ is included with membership of the College, which also includes online access to over 1,400 current and past issues in the PDJ Library and a range of other benefits.

On behalf of the College, the PDJ editorial team would like to express its gratitude to all the authors and peer reviewers who have contributed to the publication of this issue.

Joining gift: Implant Dentistry parts 1 & 2

To mark the publication of the first of our new PDJ issues on implant dentistry, anyone joining the College or its Register of Mentors in Implant Dentistry before 31 December 2024 will receive a printed copy. They will also be sent part 2 once available.

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ISSUE CONTENTS:

CGDent members can view full articles by logging in via the yellow button below, then clicking ‘Access the PDJ Library’:

PDJ MEMBER ACCESS

Editor sought for the Primary Dental Journal

The College is currently recruiting a new Editor for the Primary Dental Journal. To find out more, click here

College of General Dentistry Blog

Implant Dentistry – a journey from the beginnings to what has become an established discipline

Igor Blum, Clinical Professor of Primary Care Dentistry and Advanced General Dental Practice at King’s College London and Editor of the Primary Dental Journal (PDJ), introduces two issues of the PDJ dedicated to implant dentistry

Modern implant dentistry begins with the pioneering work of Per-Ingvar Brånemark (1929-2014), professor of anatomy at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and André Schroeder (1918-2004) professor of operative dentistry and endodontics at the University of Bern, Switzerland. Professor Brånemark studied bone healing and regeneration and discovered in 1957 that bone could grow in close proximity with titanium without being rejected, developing a permanent attachment between bone and titanium. He termed this phenomenon ‘osseointegration’. 

Osseointegration established a new era in dentistry and paved the way for the development of the principles of biological acceptance of implants based on the science of bone biology. The first patient receiving titanium dental implants was 34-year-old Gosta Larsson, a man with a cleft palate, jaw deformities and missing teeth in his lower jaw. In 1965 he had four titanium implants (fixtures) placed into his mandible which were restored with a fixed prosthesis. The dental implants served for more than 40 years, until the end of Mr Larsson’s life.1

Early histological evidence demonstrating dental implant osseointegration was published in 1976 by Professor André Schroeder. He then went on to develop improved dental implant designs, and in 1980 Professor Schroeder founded the International Team of Implantology (ITI) of which he was the founding president. The ITI evolved into the largest global organisation of Implant Dentistry today.

At the Toronto Conference on Osseointegration in Clinical Dentistry in 1982, Professor Brånemark gave his landmark presentation that convinced dentists that a new era had dawned for dental implants, which became rapidly adopted as a new method of root-shaped screws in the jaws.2 He is widely known as the ‘father of modern dental implantology’ because of his milestone contribution in the field of implant dentistry. In tandem with the pioneering work in dental implants, and following the recognition of long-term success of osseointegration, this work was extended to orthopaedics for small and large joint replacement.3

The introduction of the concept of osseointegration of implants resulted in a paradigm shift that affected the dental care of partially dentate and edentulous patients. Dental implants continued to evolve with research and innovation over decades resulting in the treatment planning involving the implant option becoming part of mainstream dentistry in the present day. The widespread use of dental implants requires dental professionals to be up to date with maintaining the implant patient, regardless of whether the dental practice is offering the provision of dental implants. It is therefore essential for dental professionals to have appropriate training and a sound clinical understanding in the care of and maintaining the implant patient.

Although not a substitute by any means for a quality assured clinical training programme or structured course, the editorial team felt it was timely to produce an issue of the Primary Dental Journal devoted to Implant Dentistry. This theme has been split across two consecutive issues of the journal – parts 1 and 2.

Part 1, our Autumn 2024 issue which will be published imminently, addresses the role of the general dental practitioner in the care of the implant patient, dental nursing in implant dentistry, the hygienist’s role in the management of the implant patient in primary care, developing implant mentoring programmes, a personal journey from mentee to mentor, biomechanical principles of restoring a dentition with dental implants, a technician’s perspective on communication in implant treatment planning, placement and reconstruction in the digital age, the impact of implants on quality of life, and, very importantly dentolegal considerations in implant dentistry. The main objective of part 1 issue is to provide readers with a cutting-edge update on the above topics, including raising awareness of the need to manage implant patients in primary care.

Part 2, the Winter 2024/25 issue to be published in around three months’ time, will focus more on clinical aspects of implant dentistry, including complications and adverse events, and recent technological advancements in the field.

Implant Dentistry is truly an evolving discipline as seen by the remarkable advances since the early works of Professors Brånemark, Schroeder and many others over the past decades. Those dental professionals wishing to further their knowledge and skills in implant dentistry and wishing to choose postgraduate educational programmes or courses might also benefit from familiarising themselves with the College of General Dentistry publications Mentoring in Implant Dentistry: Good Practice Guidelines and Training standards in implant dentistry. The former describes the nature of mentoring which should be undertaken in order to safely carry out implant dentistry following completion of an appropriate training course, while the latter helps with identifying quality postgraduate education in implant dentistry.

I am very thankful to Dr Amin Aminian and Professor Ilser Turkyilmaz, the guest editors respectively of our part 1 and part 2 issues on implant dentistry, and to all our contributing authors, for producing such a wealth of excellent and informative articles which I am certain readers will find of interest and use.

The Primary Dental Journal is the College’s quarterly peer-reviewed journal dedicated to general dental practice. Printed copies of the Autumn 2024 part 1 issue on implant dentistry should arrive with College members in the second half of October.

Joining gift: Implant Dentistry parts 1 & 2

To mark the publication of the first of our new PDJ issues on implant dentistry, anyone joining the College or its Register of Mentors in Implant Dentistry before 31 December 2024 will receive a printed copy. They will also be sent part 2 once available.

References

1 Lewin T. Per-Ingvar Brånemark, Dental Innovator, Dies at 85. The New York Times, Dec 27, 2014. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/28/health/per-ingvar-branemark-dental-innovator-dies-at-85.html

2Zarb G, editor. Toronto conference on osseointegration in clinical dentistry. In Proceedings of the 1982 Toronto Conference 1983 (pp. 1-165). Mosby: St. Louis

3Albrektsson T, Lekholm U. Osseointegration: current state of the art. Dent Clin North Am. 1989 Oct;33(4):537-54

College of General Dentistry Recent event

The Primary Dental Journal: celebrating 50 issues

Thursday 30 January 2025, 4-5.30pm, London

The Court Room, Cutlers’ Hall, Warwick Lane, London EC4M 7BR

All past authors, guest editors, peer reviewers, book reviewers, editorial board members, production staff and other contributors to the Primary Dental Journal were invited to attend a reception marking the journal’s impending 50th issue.

The event, The Primary Dental Journal: celebrating 50 issues, took place on the afternoon of Thursday 30 January 2025 in the Court Room of the historic Cutlers’ Hall in London.

It was hosted by Sir Nairn Wilson CBE, the founding editor of the PDJ and President Emeritus of the College, and the current editor-in-chief, Professor Igor Blum.

Eligible individuals for whom we hold a functioning email address were sent an email inviting them to book their place.

Detailed information on eligibility, who we have emailed invitations to, and how eligible individuals who have not received an invitation can get in touch with us, is available here.

Associate Fellows and Fellows of the College attending this reception – and those eligible to join or upgrade to become one – may wish to note that it will be followed at 6pm by the Fellows’ Winter Reception upstairs in the Livery Hall. This is a chargeable event with separate ticketing arrangements of which all Associate Fellows and Fellows have been notified by email.