Specialist in Oral Surgery
Dr Stavros Eleftheriou brings his expertise to Scotland
Dr Stavros Eleftheriou brings his expertise to Scotland
The expertise within Scottish dentistry has been raised another notch with the addition of Specialist in Oral Surgery Dr Stavros Eleftheriou to the team at Vermilion – The Smile Experts in Edinburgh.
Stavros has gained extensive international experience since graduating from Thessaloniki in Greece in 1996. He said: “I continued training in oral maxillofacial surgery at locations around the world including Israel, Austria, Germany, and the USA before moving to Cyprus in 2003 to establish my own practice.”
The challenging cases involve more planning, and you have to be creative to get to the best possible outcome.
At the same time, Stavros started working in the UK, treating patients regularly in Harley Street, London. He began carrying out implants in 1996 after finishing university, which became his main focus. “In 2015, as a family, we decided to permanently move to the UK after Cyprus was badly affected by the 2013 financial meltdown.”
On arrival in the UK, Stavros focused on implant-related work and was offered a job working in Hampshire, Winchester and London. As a result, his family moved to Winchester and still live there. “I commute to Edinburgh every other week. As a specialist I travel around the country, and offer my support with dental implant treatments.”
Stavros joins Vermilion – The Smile Experts
“I was first introduced to Dr David Offord, Vermilion’s Practice Principal and Specialist in Oral Surgery, a year ago at a conference where I was teaching. The company was keen to take on someone with extensive experience in implants and oral surgery. So, I joined the team.”
Stavros has been impressed with the Vermilion setup. “Everything here is very well organised and the team around the dentist works like a Swiss watch. There are lots of specialists and you can use their expertise to create the best treatment plan. Coupled with Vermilion’s continuous investment in good materials and keeping up to date with the latest ways of working and new technology, we can be sure to attain the best possible outcome for our patients.”
Opinion leader
Stavros serves as a key opinion leader for several implant and biomaterial companies, as well as firms that produce surgical instruments. He has worked for many years on bone regeneration and bone grafts and, by his own admission, has tried most materials and techniques.
“I’ve developed certain techniques I like to use, which help me deliver very good results. I share that experience with my colleagues and am invited to conferences to do so. I also discuss how we can use our knowledge of biology in implant dentistry to achieve the best results and consider each patient’s unique features, medical history and so on.”
Stavros teaches advanced techniques on how to place implants, for example, zygomatic implants or full arch implant dentistry. “It’s important to discuss the biology and implications of our techniques, and how we should think about treatment planning,” he commented. “There are so many parameters you need to take into consideration to deliver a good, long-lasting results, which can sometimes be a little difficult for those new to the discipline.
“It’s not just a case of going deep into the patient’s medical history and seeing if there’s something that will affect the outcome. It’s important to discuss oral hygiene with the patient and how they can do their part to make sure treatment is fully effective. You also have to take into consideration the amount of soft and hard tissue you have, and how you can preserve or improve that. Even in those cases where you think there’s almost enough you might have to conduct some procedures to future proof your case.”
Refining the techniques
Stavros believes there is always a need for new thinking. He said: “Nowadays the full arch, immediate loading approach has become popular. If a patient presents with most of the teeth destroyed, and if we have the right situation and the right kind of bone, we can place implants and put a bridge on the same day.
“This is a well-established treatment and we have been refining the techniques constantly. However, one problem that’s become increasingly pronounced is that some of these cases don’t do well and result in a loss of the implants and the bone. We need more dentists and surgeons who can offer different treatments in cases of extreme atrophy. When there is very little bone you have to consider various options, from implants attached to the zygomatic bones, or around the nose, to major bone grafting.
“This is an area that throws up some challenging cases and those are the ones I like to take on. They involve more planning, and you have to be creative to get to the best possible outcome. That comes with experience and the readiness to develop new techniques.”
No doubt Stavros’ wealth of knowledge and eagerness to break new ground will be given full rein at Vermilion.
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