14 April 2023

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Colorado dentist creates Proximerge 2, advancing implantology

Mary Guiden

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Dr. Jim Grant conceptualized creating a better dental implant in 2007. Based in Colorado Springs, the dentist said he was inspired to design the “first significant advance in dental implants” in years after a patient had issues with food getting caught in her teeth following an implant procedure.

“We have an obligation to do no harm to patients,” he said during an interview with Dentistry33 at the Rocky Mountain Dental Convention held earlier this year. 

Grant said that he felt horrible when the patient had issues following the procedure. 

“As dentists, we want to treat and help patients,” he said. Grant said the challenges with implants, for the most part, haven’t changed in years. 

Proximerge 2 was cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 2022, and Grant was the first patient to receive the implant manufactured by Quadric BioMed, the company he helped found to launch the new implant.

What makes the new implant different? 

Grant and his team — including Dr. Brad Renehan, oral and maxillofacial surgeon, and CEO Aaron Bass —abandoned the standard round implant profile, elongating the implant so that it better aligns with adjacent teeth. The new implant design reduces or eliminates gaps where food typically collects, and it also maintains a narrow side-to-side profile to preserve bone. 

As Grant explained it, every dental implant is constructed in the shape of a screw. 

“We didn’t change the material or surface treatment,” he explained. “The only thing we changed is the shape.”

In addition to complaints from patients about food getting caught in their teeth following an implant procedure, Grant said that chronic inflammation is a real problem. 

“We feel that this new implant will help millions of people,” he said. “This is the fastest growing area in dentistry, with 80% of the procedures done in the molar area. Around 50% of implant patients complain about food getting caught and one-third complain that they can’t clean the area properly.” 

Grant stands firmly behind the new implant design. He was the first patient to receive a Proximerge 2 at the end of January 2023. 

In an email update sent to Dentistry33 following the procedure, Grant said that in early February following the extraction of tooth #3 by Renehan, the first Proximerge 2 implant was placed. 

“It was a very successful surgery,” said Grant. He was amazed at how little discomfort he had at the time and said that he only needed to use over-the-counter pain medicine.

More recently, at the end of March, Grant posted an update and photos on a Facebook group he’s created. 

“Follow up on tooth #3, with two months of healing going great,” he wrote. “The abutment and crown are to be restored soon to treat the cause of restoration that looks like toadstools to eliminate the effect of bacteria-chronic tissue inflammation."

It takes three months for the bone to osseointegrate following surgery. 

Bass said that the team will be tracking bone adhesion and growth, to demonstrate that the bone can work its way into the grooves of the implant. 

“Can we show in a radiograph x-ray that the bone has healed around it?” he said. “That will be our initial proof.” 

So far, Renehan has performed eight implant surgeries in the clinical trial, and another 20 procedures are lined up in the weeks to come. 

Investors have shown a keen interest in the new implant design, and dental hygienists are equally thrilled, said Grant. 

At one presentation, the dentist said he received a standing ovation from hygienists. 

Our new implant “will improve the lives of our patients by allowing dental labs to make crowns that look like natural teeth, which allows the registered dental hygienist to thoroughly clean the implant just like a natural tooth,” he explained. 

Patients are also at the center in solving their oral health and medical health issues, Grant said. Once they understand that implants need not trap food, the demand for Proximerge 2 will soar. 

“We really are on the cusp of a new era in dental implants driven by our disruptive technology,” he said. 

Quadric BioMed plans to provide access to Proximerge 2 for practicing dentists and oral surgeons in the upcoming months as the company preps for a national rollout. 

“We are excited to bring this innovation to patients nationwide, and in the process help to improve the health of millions,” said Grant.

Learn more at: https://www.quadricbiomed.com/

Join the Facebook group at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/molardentalimplantgroup