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Press release, April 6, 2006
The average success rate of Astra Tech dental implants is almost 99 %, according to the findings of an international study involving 15 countries. This remarkable achievement, to be presented at a major conference in New York, April 6-8, includes excellent results for patients who normally have a poor prognosis.
Professor Clark M. Stanford at the University of Iowa in the United States is one of the 300 dentists engaged in Astra Tech’s clinical trials involving about 800 patients in the USA and 14 European countries.
“In my part of the study, we have focused on extremely difficult cases,” he says. “In spite of the fact that 80 % of the implants were placed in critical areas of poor jawbone quality, we have reached a success rate of 95 %, using an early loading protocol in the area of the upper jaw.”
The equally impressive 98.6 % overall success rate is the result of more than 15 years of scientific research and development carried out by Astra Tech, a leading supplier of medical devices and a subsidiary of the AstraZeneca group.
The performance of implants in poor quality jawbone and during early loading is closely tracked in the on-going research program.
Professor Stanford will present his findings at the Astra Tech World Congress that takes place in New York, April 6-8. He is one of 80 speakers, drawn from all over the world, who will present their latest dental implant research to an audience of 1,500 delegates.
The focus of Professor Stanford's work is the effectiveness of Astra Tech's latest innovation, the fluoride-modified titanium surface OsseoSpeed™, which attracts and stimulates bone-building cells at the implant site in the early healing phase.
“Early healing and an increased amount of bone around the implant give stability,” he explains. “This is crucial when we install implants in soft bone at the back of the upper jaw, the most critical area. It also enables earlier loading.”
At the congress, Dr. Andreas Thor, of Uppsala University Hospital in Sweden, will also detail what happens in the early interaction between the fluoride-modified surface and blood cells.
“Our laboratory tests show that OsseoSpeed™ activates the blood in a way that other tested biomaterials don’t,” he says. “The modified surface releases more growth factors that stimulate bone building cells.”
“The use of fluoride is clearly a smart and simple solution to speed up the healing process.”
For further information, please contact:
Kerstin Wettby, Head of Market Communication Dental, Astra Tech AB Phone: +46 31 776 30 00/32 02,
cell phone +46 705 16 32 02
E-mail: kerstin.wettby@astratech.com
Janie Shen, Director Corporate Communications, Astra Tech Inc., USA Phone: +1 781 890 6800/6604
E-mail: janie.shen@astratech.com
Astra Tech, a subsidiary of the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, develops and produces dental implants and advanced medical devices. With these products, Astra Tech aims to improve treatment results, facilitate procedures, reduce health care costs and enhance the quality of life for patients.
Astra Tech’s headquarters, located in Mölndal, Sweden, house facilities for research and development as well as production. The company has 15 subsidiaries in Europe, North America and Asia/Pacific and is represented by local partners in other selected markets.
Astra Tech had sales of SEK 2.3 billion in 2005 and employs approximately 1,600 people.
www.astratechdental.com
Research references:
Mellonig, J, Stanford, C, Wagner, W. S, Early loading of Fixture MicroThread™ OsseoSpeed™ (Astra Tech). A preliminary report. Abstract, IADR/CADR 83rd, March 9 12, 2005.
Thor A, Wannfors K, Sennerby L, Rasmusson L. Reconstruction of the severely resorbed maxilla with autogenous bone, platelet-rich plasma, and implants: 1-Year Results of a controlled prospective 5-year study. Clin Impl Dent Rel Res, 2005;7 (4):209-20.
Ellingsen, J.E., Johansson C.B., Wennerberg A., Holmén. A. Improved retention and bone-to-implant contact with fluoride-modified titanium implants. Int J Oral Maxillofac Implants 2004;19: 659-666.
Berglundh, T, Abrahamsson, I, Albouy, J-P, Lindhe, J. Bone healing at implants with a fluoride-modified surface. An experimental study in dogs. Accepted in Clin Oral Impl Res.
Abrahamsson, I., Berglundh, T., Lindhe. Bone healing at fluoride modified implant surfaces. Abstract. The Astra Tech International OsseoSpeedÔ Meeting, Gothenburg, Sweden, June 26, 2003.
Cooper, L. F. et. al. Fluoride modification effects on osteoblast behavior and bone formation at TiO2-grit blasted c.p. titanium endosseous implants. J Biomaterials. Biomaterials 27 (2006) 926-936.
Barewal, R, Stanford, C. A randomized prospective clinical trial of the effect of three loading protocols on stability - an interim report. Appl. Osseoint. Res. 5, 62-67, 2006
Stanford, C. et. al. Multicenter clinical evaluation (FOCUS) of a fluoride modified dental implant. Abstract. IADR/CADR 83rd , March 9-12, 2005.
Stanford, C, Johnson, G, Fakhry, A, Gartton, D, Mellonig, J. Outcomes of a fluoride modified dental implant one year after loading in the posterior maxilla when placed with the osteotome surgical technique. Appl. Osseoint. Res. 5, 50-55, 2006.
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