Preface

Our love and passion for dentistry as well as a desire to share what we have learned over the years as clinicians, teachers, and researchers helped us in collaboration with colleagues from different countries to write this international text based on current concepts in dental implantology. The procedures presented herein are technically demanding and not intended for the novice; these procedures require a great deal of skill, training, and experience to perform.

This book is divided into four sections with seventeen chapters that discuss modern scientific and clinical methods used in today's dental implantology. Topics include osseointegration and basic science in dental implantology, current trends and biomaterials of clinical relevance, advanced clinical techniques, peri-implantitis, and prosthodontic trends in dental implantology. This book provides a better understanding of the scientific approach to basic concepts in dental implantology and presents the results of many clinical studies.

I am thankful to all my national and international colleagues for their excellent contributions. I would also like to extend my gratitude to my co-editor Dr. Marko Vuletić for assisting me in compiling and reviewing the chapters and managing all other details of the publication process.

I sincerely hope this book will be of use to all clinicians who practice this fascinating discipline, and that all readers will enjoy seeing the results of our professional journey in this challenging field and enjoy reading this book as much as we enjoyed composing it.

#### **Dragana Gabrić, DDM, Ph.D.**

Professor, Department of Oral Surgery, School of Dental Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

Clinical Department of Oral Surgery, Clinical Hospital Center Zagreb, University Dental Clinic, Zagreb, Croatia
