I am writing this as an open letter to anyone who needs a dental implant and wants to use the most biocompatible material available in zirconia. Please be advised that there is only one dentist in the greater New York City area, and perhaps the entire United States for that matter, that has the requisite knowledge, skill, and experience to place this type of implant properly. This dentist is Dr. Veselin Shumantov DDS.
What I have learned is that others can say they have the necessary training and certification to do the procedure, but such empty statements cannot match the real life experience of over ten years with the zirconia material that Dr. Shumantov possesses. By being initially trained in Europe, where zirconia has been used extensively for over the past fifteen years, Dr. Shumantov has a distinct advantage over other dental surgeons in the US who most likely took a weekend seminar to establish a bare minimum proficiency.
I can only share with you, from bitter painful experience, what happened when I wanted a metal-free implant and went looking for a dentist in NYC who could do this procedure.
I was first led to the mecca of dentistry in New York – the Central Park South region of the City – where I found some of the most expensive and highly marketed names in the trade. I was immediately told that they could do this type of implant and not to worry since the surgeon had “the most experience of anybody with zirconia”. Well, after placing implants in teeth 8 and 10, I was informed by a restorative dentist that the implant on #10 was showing too many threads and would most likely fail. Here I was about to learn how false promises soon become very costly.
Being a dental novice, I did not understand the implications of his concern and it was not until I researched further and found Dr. Shumantov that I understood how it had become an active source of infection with compromised restorative value. He proceeded to remove the implant as part of a continuing treatment plan for my front and back teeth, which included implants at teeth 7, 9, 13, and 30.
I was immediately put at ease with his calm and focused surgical presence and have been very pleased with the results of his expertise. Dr. Shumantov's experience with zirconia implants afforded him with ability to properly assess my bone, which I have come to learn is really crucial for their optimal placement.
I hope that those who read this can benefit from my experience and will make an informed choice for their zirconia implantologist - will you want someone who has placed, at best, a handful as an adjunct to their regular dental practice or do you want someone like Dr. Shumantov who has committed a major portion of his life's work to perfecting the zirconia implant procedure? For myself, stating Dr. Shumantov is an easy choice and all I can say is later was better than never...
Log In
