Dentists play a leading role in 39.3% of the time in implant treatment planning and prosthetic design, and dental technicians are consulted concerning cases and part usage 34.7% of the time, suggesting the approach to implants is driven by prosthetic considerations (by dentists) to some degree. However, because dental technicians indicated that they take the initiative 15% of the time, it is impossible to ignore issues involving the care, skill, and judgment of dentists offering implant treatment. This is distinct from the question of whether communication or information transmission between dentists and dental technicians is adequate, but rather relates to implant treatment knowledge, especially decisions about which prostheses and other treatment tools to use. The repercussions of this problem extend to the rate of incidence of prosthetic complications occurring after the start of functional use, their prevention, and the measures that are undertaken to address them (Q2).

Education of dental technicians varies by country, and there are a variety of means by which personnel master fabrication knowledge and skills. For example, a survey of dental technicians in the UK conducted by Bower et al. [35] reveals that while subjects read commercial magazines published for dental technicians, they rarely subscribed to academic journals in the field of prosthodontics, and two thirds of the survey’s respondents had never attended a training course on fabrication practices. By contrast, certified dental technicians of JSOI are required to belong to an academic society and to participate in society meetings and certification courses to maintain their credentials. Subscription to JSOI’s journal is an example of the advantages of membership for continuing education.

Implant fixed prostheses (Table 2)

Implant fixed prostheses employ either cement or screw retention. While there are a variety of reports comparing the two methods in terms of such metrics as their respective prognoses, success rates, and advantages and disadvantages [7,36-38], no reports have been published concerning their relative frequency of use. Our questionnaire indicated a distribution of 61.4% cement-retained versus 38.6% screw-retained prostheses (Q3), suggesting that cement retention is used more frequently in Japan. Unfortunately, the fabrication-oriented focus of this survey prevented clarification of the types of cement used for cement retention and the breakdown between provisional and definitive cement.