Interview with Dr Michaël LUMBROSO, on dental prostheses

Interview with Dr Michaël LUMBROSO, dental surgeon in Versailles, on the Yvelines Première channel, on 6 February 2015. In this interview, the different prosthetic possibilities are discussed, as well as dental implants and new technologies (3D modelling, Cone Beam, minimally invasive surgery, etc...).

Click on the image below to watch the programme.

Extracts:


Florence DÉCHELOTTE: To begin with, there are several types of dental prostheses. Can you present them to us?

Dr Michaël LUMBROSO: Before getting to the heart of the matter, I would like to say one thing, if you will allow me. Which seems fundamental to me: it is that somewhere, if we need a dental prosthesis, it is a bit of a failure.

Let me explain, let's go back to the cause. If you need a prosthesis, it's because the tooth is very damaged or has been extracted.
How did we get to this stage? There are not 36 possibilities...
There are two major diseases in the mouth: carious disease and periodontal disease, both of which are infectious and transmissible... which means that they could have been avoided!


Florence DÉCHELOTTE: On the subject of dental prostheses, why are they so expensive?

Dr Michaël LUMBROSO: First of all, I'm going to shock you: the price of dental prostheses in France is not the real problem! That's what we're being led to believe!

The REAL problem is why the French need dental prostheses so much!
The REAL problem is not having an inlay, the REAL problem is having 3 or 4 missing teeth to replace!
The REAL problem is that if we look at the percentage of the population that has all its teeth, France is in 17th position out of the 27 European countries!
Only 1 in 3 French people have all their teeth!
That is the REAL problem.
Do you know how many teeth are missing in our country?
60 million! that is to say an average of one tooth per patient.
Why have we reached this point? because there is no prevention, and in my profession, curative measures alone do not solve the problems. This is a pity, because in our profession, we have the means to treat our patients BEFORE they get sick!

Then, prosthesis is expensive, for a very simple reason: we have the cheapest care in Europe! Take a root canal on a molar for example in France the cost is defined by the social security, it is 81,94 €, you know how much it costs in Hungary for example? ..... 300 € !!!
It will seem crazy to you, but when your dental surgeon has to devitalize a tooth, it costs HIM money! Our treatment rates have been blocked at roughly the same price since the 1960s!
So there is a compensation phenomenon for prostheses.
And as the reference social security rate for prostheses has also remained blocked at the 1960s, well, the social security reimburses less and less proportionally.

And then there is a third point: take for example the installation of an implant, let's say about 1000 €, you know what costs the most out of these 1000 €?
All kinds of taxes and various levies! that represents about 1/3 of the global cost!

There is also the fact that our profession requires increasingly complex and expensive techniques, not to mention sterilisation, safety or radiation protection standards, etc... Our technical platforms are increasingly sophisticated, increasingly demanding, and they use resources that I would never have imagined just 15 years ago...
From 3D modelling using the Cone Beam, to the operating microscope, via lasers, optical impressions and CAD/CAM, our practice has nothing to do with that of the 20th century...


Dr Michaël LUMBROSO
Periodontologist - Implantologist in Versailles,
February 6, 2015