Dr Lala Wage, a Prosthodontist & Implantologist of Arunachal Pradesh awarded the ICOI Fellowship in Implant Dentistry.

By Apekshita Sonowal

Dr Lala Wage, a Prosthodontist & Implantologist and a certified- Orthodontics of Arunachal Pradesh has been awarded the International Congress of Oral Implantologists (ICOI) Fellowship in Implant Dentistry at the ICOI ASEAN CONGRESS 2022, held in Kochi, Kerala.

The ICOI ASEAN CONGRESS was held in Grand Hyatt Kochi Bolgatty at Kochi, Kerala from September 1-3, 2022. The participants were from the South East Asian Countries almost 17 countries participated. This time it was decided to be conducted in an Asian country and fortunately for the Indians, it was conducted in India.

“It was a good opportunity that the Indians could also participate”, Dr Lala Wage said.

The event was graced by many recognised Implantologist, rigorous implant speakers. A poster presentation by PG students of China, Pakistan, and many more was also presented, then there was other events like table demonstration, exhibition of all implant companies etc.

The International Congress of Oral Implantologists is a New York based organisation and is the biggest dental implant organization in the world.

Speaking about the fellowship to the Space, Dr. Lala Wage said that “You have to recognize yourself for the fellowship. They give the fellowship to the doctors who are doing the best work in the dental implant treatment.”

To get the fellowship, one has to apply for it through a fellowship form where one has to submit a minimum of 20 completed implant cases of their own work, all of which must be at least one year old from implant placement. Also, one has to do implants of at least three implant companies.

Dr Wage says sites an example when talking about the implant companies. He says just like if one has to purchase a vehicle, they go to Maruti Company or Toyota company/dealer, similarly, the implant body which is also called the titanium body is also manufactured by companies which are put on the jaw bone for a strong base to make an artificial tooth.

So the doctor has to go through three implant systems in total. Then the doctor applies through one of ICOI recognized implant training centres to show their cases.

Dr Wage applied it from Jaipur Dental & Implant (Training) Centre. He completed almost 126 patients where he implanted more than 1000 implant bodies. He said for full mouth cases, one has to put a minimum of 16 implants.

Speaking to the Space, Dr. Wage further said that his interview for the fellowship was conducted online and he already received the fellowship back in July. After which he was invited to the annual congress or conference for the felicitation of the award which took place recently.

Dr. Wage performed his first implant in 2009 in his post-graduation days and then later, he moved to Itanagar and started the implants in 2012.

Recalling his mentors, Dr. Wage says, his first mentor was from Aurangabad, Dr. S Mahajan who was working at Adin Dental Implants and another mentor was Professor P.K Pal from Kolkata. These were the two persons who guided him and since then he has been practicing his dental implantation in 2012 in Arunachal Pradesh.

“My idea is to encourage more doctors who are practicing dental implants In Arunachal Pradesh to do more dental & implant treatments as dental implants are secured treatment as it goes on for a long time and helpful for chewing as implantation is quite strongly done.

When we asked about the cost of these implants, Dr Wage said, “The cost depends on Dental Implant Companies.”

 In Arunachal Pradesh, Dr. Lala’s charge for conventional implant treatment is 30000- 35000 per implant tooth and in the case of Basal Implant treatment, it is around 25000-30000.

“I am using Dental Implant Systems Companies- Nobel Biocare Active, ADIN Implants, Cortex Implants, BioLine implants, Genesis Implants,i-Fix Implants, Simpladent Basal Implants in Itanagar. At present Straumann Implant, a USA company costs around 60000 per Implant tooth, he said.

“I want my fellow doctors, and juniors to give dental implants to the needy people in Arunachal Pradesh. The award I received is like an eye opener for the dentist in Arunachal Pradesh and especially for my juniors. They can also come and do the latest dental treatment in Arunachal Pradesh”, the doctor added.

Dr Wage is also a certified Implant trainer for Northeast Indian states in ADIN Implant systems, ADIN is based in Nagpur, Maharashtra. To date, he has given two models of training in NE based on the Adin Implant training. Further, Dr. Lala plans to give more implant training courses to them so they can be more efficient in their implants and can conduct as many implants as possible which will also help them in getting a fellowship.

Dr Lala Wage who hails from Seijusa circle, completed his class 12 back in 1990 from Deomali. Then he went to Regional Dental College in Guwahati for pursuing BDS which he completed between the years 1990 to 1995. Post which he was posted in Dirang and worked there for four years, then he went on to work in Bomdila, then Bomdila to Seijusa, and then Seijusa to Itafort Dispensary and others. Finally, he then decided to do his MDS and under the Arunachal Pradesh quota, he again got selected at the Regional Dental College in Guwahati where he completed his MDS from 2007 to 2010.

Currently Dr Lala is working as a consultant, Prosthodontics at Dental Dept. – TRIHMS Hospital, Naharlagun, as Chief Dental Officer at IDDM Dental Hospital, Vivek Vihar, Itanagar, also a Consultant as Dental Wellness Clinic & Implant Centre, Naharlagun in Arunachal Pradesh. He is also the State Nodal Officer and looking after the National Health Oral Programme under the National Health Mission, Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh.

Almost twelve doctors are working under Dr Lala at present and also dental assistants of around 20 numbers.

From Northeast India, another doctor from Guwahati, Assam, Dr Pratim Talukdar has been awarded the same fellowship.