One of Dr Helmut G. Steveling’s patients is his father-in-law Gerhard Merkle. Back in 1995, Steveling placed seven implants in his then 65-year-old patient—a solution that continues to function equally well to this day.
As many in his generation did, Gerhard Merkle lost some of his teeth as a child, when dental care was different than it is today. He lived with a fixed bridge for many years but the chewing capacity was severely reduced. When in his sixties, he decided to do something about it. For him, the only treatment alternative was dental implants. Seven implants were placed, one in the front and six in the molar regions.
At the end of 2014, almost 20 years after the implants were first placed, Gerhard Merkle returned to the clinic. The checkup revealed that all the implants still functioned perfectly.
“During these 20 years, I haven’t thought about my implants. They are like my own teeth.” Gerald Merkle
See an interview with Gerhard Merkle on Dentsply Sirona Implants’ patient information site.
Documentation for lifelong quality
Well-documented implant systems allow clinics to respond on a factual, tested basis and offer their patients solutions that last throughout their lives. In Germany, we met Dr Helmut G. Steveling, who has worked with dental implants since 1987, to discuss the importance of relying on long-term documentation in the clinic’s everyday work.
Read more about how Dentsply Sirona Implants works with documentation.
