For 30 years, he gathered knowledge from all over the world, and now he solves the most difficult dental problems

A white sterile waiting room, the sound of dental drills and the specific smells of disinfectants, root canal treatment and temporary closure of teeth. And then there’s the inevitable pain. These four factors are the first associations most people have with a visit to the dentist. As soon as we remember or experience them, most of us feel fear, discomfort and anxiety. However, Dr Zdenko Trampuš gave us a tour of a place that is much more than a dentist’s office and, in addition to top-notch service, its mission is to make dentist appointments a pleasant experience.

As soon as you enter the clinic, it becomes clear this is something completely different. Instead of a waiting room, you find yourself in a bar with a cute name – Zuu Bar. Instead of white walls, you are welcomed by pleasant colours and ambience.

“We keep the patient away from anything that creates negative emotions when visiting dental offices, and this is precisely what makes our space and concept special. In addition to eliminating unpleasant sounds, smells and colours, we want to make the stay in the clinic as pleasant as possible for patients”, says doctor Zdenko Trampuš, the owner of the clinic that recently celebrated its thirtieth birthday.

Travelling the world

“My passion is to implement innovative methods in dental practice. I don’t think that makes me a better doctor, but I’m simply interested in innovation and progress. I travelled the world, educated myself and then passed the good vibes and knowledge on to my dental practice. Implantology has advanced tremendously since my beginnings, and it was very interesting to search for information when I first started doing it. Namely, it was not easy to get information in Croatia”, says the dentist, who has travelled all over the world, from Austria to Los Angeles, in search of knowledge and education.

Dr Trampuš says that his profession was extremely exciting even 30 years ago when he was getting started. He recalls his own beginnings.

“I immersed myself in this profession as a young dentist full of enthusiasm; it was as if I entered a Disney story or my grandfather’s attic only to find all the toys I ever dreamed of. That’s how I experienced the profession then, but things haven’t changed much today. I just have a slightly different approach and much more knowledge and maturity”, he says, adding that he has always been interested in medicine.

Even in the seventh grade of elementary school, he knew that he would be engaged in dentistry, and a homework assignment on the topic “my future profession” was crucial. It was as if someone had touched him and said: “You will be a dentist”. Things really went in that direction, to such a degree that Dr Trampuš built a dental clinic with the aim of reducing the patient’s stress as much as possible.

“In addition to dental methods, we use spa treatments, so we have a legally protected trademark that makes us a “dental spa”. In 30 years, I have gone through all segments of this profession, but I was somehow most attracted to surgery, reconstruction of the jaw and the entire masticatory system. I found myself in the branch that is perhaps the most demanding, which is working with edentulous patients and those who are missing jawbone. Some of the methods we use there are All-on-4, Zygoma All-on 4 and the installation of pterygoid and subperiosteal implants”, says the dentist, explaining that this requires a lot of knowledge in practice.

All the more so because he does not only perform surgical procedures but fosters a comprehensive approach to the patient, which includes treatment and rehabilitation. The protocols he designed are very complex.

“First, we prepare the patient for surgery through lymphatic drainage. The treatment lasts for about an hour, and the goal is to open the lymphatic channels and relax the patient. This is followed by an internist interview with our anaesthesiologist, Dr Mršić, and then a venous line, ECG and oxygen saturator are slowly placed on the patient to monitor all the vital functions”, Dr Trampuš says.

Modern solutions

With analgosedation, the patient falls into a light sleep, and then it’s time for local anaesthesia and the start of the procedure, which usually lasts from 45 minutes to several hours.

“After that, we wake up the patient, do an X-ray and cool them for an hour using a special device. This is a hylotherm mask that we put on the face, which is also used in beauty treatments and maxillofacial surgery. I think that the mask is a much better solution than cooling with ice, because that causes lymphatic congestion, i.e. stagnant lymph”, explains the doctor.

He tells us that creating someone’s new smile is one of the best feelings in the world.

“A new smile is a great mutual satisfaction that brings trust and even friendship. I am often contacted by people whose teeth I worked on 20 years ago, and who are still satisfied with the result. That’s the best compliment”, says Dr Trampuš, adding that most of his patients are elderly and come for health reasons, but some also want to apply veneers, improve the colour of their teeth or correct other aesthetic irregularities.

The clinic space is also special in that it has an apartment where patients spend the night after surgery. One or several days after the procedure, they go for post-operative treatments, including magnetic therapy, ozone therapy, cooling, etc. Numerous techniques that make the entire process of treatment or aesthetic work on the teeth easier for patients are a standard part of the work in the clinic, which is in line with the trends of the profession, even at the forefront of innovation. In 2015, dentistry was declared the profession that has made the greatest strides in processes and absorbed the greatest number of scientific and technological innovations.

“This is particularly evident in diagnostics. X-rays no longer scan using films but on digital probes. Their sensitivity increased and the radiation dose decreased by over a hundred times. However, there are also numerous other advances in the profession. For example, the design of prosthetic appliances is now largely done digitally, the techniques of working in the oral cavity itself have advanced, and lasers have changed soft tissue surgery, the sterilisation of dental canals, and the like. He also points out that, for example, 3D printers now allow great precision, better quality materials and biological tolerance”, says Dr Trampuš.

Lack of bone is not a problem

Furthermore, implantology has progressed incredibly and made it possible for all patients to receive a fixed prosthesis.

“I would also like to introduce the method called Zygoma All-on-4. These are dental implants that are not implanted in the jaw, but in the cheekbone, where there is sufficient support. All-on-4 is a system in which four implants carrying a fixed prosthesis are installed in an upper or lower edentulous jaw. In addition, it is good to recognise two other types of implants. Pterygoid implants are an alternative option for using the remaining jawbone as an anchorage for implants instead of bone augmentation procedures, whereas in the case of subperiosteal implants, the implant is not fitted directly into the jawbone, but a titanium frame is placed on the cortical bone, which is fixed with titanium screws”, the doctor explains.

However, although the profession is constantly growing and progressing, the most common problems that occur in patients have been the same for many years.

“Of course, I cannot talk about the most common problem in general, nor do I keep statistics on the diagnoses that patients come to me with. However, periodontitis is still the most common problem among my patients”, says the dentist.

Skills and commitment

We asked him if he has any tips that would help prevent this problem.

“The universal and most important advice is: brush your teeth! And go for regular check-ups”, he advises.

We also discussed the future of the profession, which will certainly continue to develop in an exciting way.

“I think that in the next 20 to 50 years, there will be an increasing need for orthodontic skills, because new generations will be more and more aware of hygiene, and because of this, we will have a decreasing incidence of caries and loss of dental structures. Therefore, surgical skills will have to be complemented with orthodontic skills in order to get better and better results”, the doctor predicts.

In addition to the future of the profession, we also talked about the future of the clinics. Martin, Dr Trampuš’s son, is also studying dentistry.

“I cannot predict the future of the profession with precision, but I can channel the future of the clinic. I recognise Martin’s skills and dedication, and I think that with him, patients will continue to enjoy our services just as much. I say enjoy on purpose because what we do should not be a cause for suffering for patients, but rather the pleasure of creating new smiles”, concludes Dr Trampuš.