On October 1, the Dr. Alba Sanchez from AHOA, a specialist in Oral Surgery and Buccofacial Implantology, defended his doctoral thesis on the results of immediate loading treatment in full arches during a telematic presentation in front of a court at the University of Barcelona. An excellent and detailed research work about which he offers us more details in this interview.
Congratulations Alba! What has the thesis research meant for you?
Thank you so much!
My personal experience has been very rewarding, since the process has allowed me to build knowledge from clinical practice to statistics applied to Health Sciences. The truth is that I have enjoyed it a lot, because I have been able to accompany the patients in the clinic as we learned about the results of the research included in this thesis.
What are your most relevant conclusions?
Mainly, we have observed that the type of immediate loading protocol that we use in patients who have to replace an entire arch with implants has favorable long-term results. It seems that the mechanical complications that can occur over time do not significantly affect the quality of life of patients. Ceramic fractures or the loosening of a screw that supports the prosthesis are some examples of complications. This can be explained because most of them can be solved in a simple way for the patient. Also, those who have received this treatment have a provisional prosthesis, that is, they always have a replacement of teeth even if their definitive prosthesis has to be sent to the laboratory for a few days.
On the other hand, the fact of subjecting the implants to a mechanical load from the moment of their placement makes the gums and the bone acquire their final shape faster. The results of this protocol at the level of bone maintenance around the implants are good. In fact, we have proposed different bone evaluation intervals than those that exist in the current guidelines published in 2017, since they would be more realistic for immediate loading treatment.
In terms of time and effort, what has this doctorate involved?
A doctoral thesis always involves time and effort. There are different moments in the investigation; some require more time than others. I would point out that, being a personal project, time takes second place while you work with a goal in mind.
What was your motivation for wanting to carry out this research work?
I could say that I have had different motivations that led me to do this work. In the first place, due to my academic vocation, I like to investigate per se. In this sense, I have had all the support from the University of Barcelona and my thesis directors. At the same time, the work is part of the line of research that began the Dr. Cercadillo on the results of immediate loading treatment in full arches. All this began at the beginning of 2014 and since then we have been immersed in turning our clinical experience into scientific studies to publicize our results internationally.
How did you find defending your thesis in court?
Due to the restrictions of the pandemic, my thesis defense had to be done online. The truth is that I have always liked to speak in public and I thought that perhaps it would be a cold meeting, since it was not face-to-face. However, it turned out to be very fun and enriching. Question time lasted 1 hour and it flew by for me! I felt very grateful for the high involvement of the members of the panel and also for the support of my thesis directors, colleagues, students, family and friends.
What does your thesis bring to your work at AHOA?
First, I must say that it is an honor for me to have been able to carry out this research at the clinic. This has been thanks to Dr. Cercadillo since he has always allowed me to work autonomously and has trusted my criteria, without setting limits. From my point of view, this doctoral thesis endorses the protocols that we use on a daily basis with our patients and also endorses the professionals behind it as people committed to our continuous training throughout life. One of my mottos in the practice and at the university is that “this is what we must do today because it is what we know; but we have to keep working to explore what we will have to do starting tomorrow.”