CATEGORY AUSTRALASIAN DENTIST57 COMPANY PROFILE this would be the spark that ignited a transformational detour in his career. Yet, it wasn’t until the year 2007 when Nobel Biocare invited him to a ve-day residency program in the city of Lisbon, Portugal, that Dr Benge’s perspective underwent a profound shift. “It opened my eyes to the possibilities of full-arch rehabilitation,” says Dr Benge. “ is marked a signi cant departure from our previous approaches involving bone grafting and multiple implants. I was truly amazed by the potential.” However, this pioneering era wasn’t without its challenges. Echoing Dr Malo’s experience, Dr Benge faced his fair share of criticism and skepticism from peers. “Upon returning to Australia in 2007, I decided to take a cautious approach,” Dr Benge recounts. “I collaborated with Dr Kevin Spencer and completed 20 supervised cases to ensure that the concept was appropriately taught and mastered. e shift in my practice completely altered the way I approached dentistry. I recall that my initial marketing e orts for ‘All-on-4®’ focused on informing people about the bene ts rather than trying to convince them to get the procedure.” Taking the low-pro le approach resulted in a fourfold expansion of Dr Benge’s practice during that time. e clinician realised that he had only scratched the surface of what All-on-4® had to o er. is epiphany led to multiple trips to Portugal and one-on-one training with Dr Malo, where he tackled complex cases and explored the limitations of ‘All-on-4®’ and zygoma implants. Dr Benge has, to date, completed thousands of cases which places the clinician in a privileged position of teaching the advanced technique to many dentists across the country. As a matter of fact, at the time of this interview, Dr Benge was conducting a second cadaver course on the technique in Sydney. “ e 25th anniversary of ‘All-on-4®’ is truly remarkable. In its early days, it challenged the dental community, and many were skeptical. While some still hold reservations, the profession has largely embraced it,” Dr Benge says, with a deserved sense of validation. What’s next? In 2019, Dr Benge’s practice group, Next Smile Australia (Melbourne and Sydney), made a signi cant move to their new, purpose-built location in Hawthorn, Melbourne. eir All-on-4® Super Centre is thoughtfully designed to strike a balance between a warm, inviting atmosphere and clinical e ciency. e clinic is equipped with onsite CBCT scanners to expedite precise diagnosis and is custom-built to accommodate a wide range of dental procedures, including All-on-4® full-arch treatment, as well as single and multiple dental implant surgeries. e practice group has also been certi ed as Nobel Biocare Centre of Excellence by the world-famous Malo Dental. “As the All-on-4® treatment concept becomes more mainstream, there is a downside – everyone is marketing and providing All-on-4® often without a full understanding of its complexities. “ is is why it’s essential that Nobel Biocare has established Centres of Excellence. To earn this designation, one must invest time, complete cases, and undergo essential education.” Dr Benge’s e ciency in performing All-on-4® cases, taking only 45 minutes to an hour, sets the benchmark, as compared to the four to ve hours that others may require for the same procedure. A key element of their formula for consistency, Dr Benge notes, is adhering to Nobel Biocare’s protocol. “Centres of Excellence ensure the use of the correct implant, the Nobel Speedy External Hex, speci cally designed for Allon-4®. is choice of implant signi cantly contributes to achieving the necessary primary stability, a vital aspect of the procedure’s success.” On the horizon Looking ahead to the future, Dr Benge believes the dental implant community faces fresh challenges, along which the All-on-4® treatment concept continues to evolve and adapt. “Patients are aging, their bones are becoming softer, and there are more medical conditions to contend with,” he predicts. “We’re working on new implants, including zygoma and Speedy implants, designed to o er stability even in very soft bone. While we had hoped to launch these innovations for the 25th anniversary, we’re slightly behind schedule. “Nonetheless, we’re excited about what the future holds, including advancements in digital dentistry.” u
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