Treatment Approaches

1:30-1:55 pm
The Esthetic Zone: Do We Build the Ridge or Build the Bridge?
Peter K. Moy, DMD
Advance technologies and surgical techniques today permit the surgeon to handle many contour and volume defects of the alveolar ridge. Guided bone regeneration procedures and soft tissue augmentation procedures provide highly predictable results when used appropriately. This presentation will show methods of classifications for both hard and soft tissues with correlating surgical procedures that aid the surgeon in achieving success and predictable results with augmentation procedures.

1:55-2:20 pm
Decision Making Process for the Prosthetic Approach -
Hybrid Versus Pink Porcelain
Axel Kirsch, DMD, DDS
"Hybrid" or "Pink-Porcelain" cases can be considered when severe alveolar loss accompanies the loss of the dentition. The alveolar ridge can have lateral, vertical or vertico-lateral deficits. Restorative-driven planning (backward planning) can be used to assess the extent of the deficit and to plan out the augmentation required to make an optimal correction. If augmentation is not feasible, or if a patient declines these procedures, then one of these restorative-based solutions can be considered. This presentation presents a proposal for a clinical classification of alveolar hard and soft tissue deficits. Based on this classification, selected solutions with hybrid or pink porcelain cases will be discussed according to the "backward planning concept." The clinical and laboratory procedures will be shown. The implant system requirements will be pointed out.

2:20-2:45 pm
Is Zirconium the Ideal Material for Implant Frameworks? (pro)
Stephen J. Chu, DMD, MSD
Materials selection criteria for single and/or multiple implant abutments/restorations remain a consistent treatment planning challenge. As both a prosthodontist and certified lab technician, Dr. Chu will present a unique perspective designed to satisfy patients' and clinicians' needs and expectations. This program is apropos for the dental team inclusive of surgeons, restorative dentists and lab technicians.

3:15-3:40 pm
Is Zirconium the Ideal Material for Implant Frameworks? (against)
Joerg R. Strub, DMD, PhD
CAD/CAM technology, in combination with zirconia ceramic, has increasingly gained popularity in implant dentistry. Latest applications include implant abutments, multiple unit and full-arch frameworks as well as custom-made bars to support fixed and removable prostheses. This presentation will describe the various applications of zirconium for implant frameworks and explore the advantages and disadvantages of zirconium as material for implant frameworks.

3:40-4:05 pm
Timing of Implant Placement - Advantages of Early Placements
Daniel Buser, DDS, DMD
The placement of dental implants in post-extraction sites has steadily increased in the past 15 years. In the 1980's, dental implants were only inserted in healed sites. This approach offered high success rates, but also had significant clinical disadvantages. To eliminate these disadvantages, alternative procedures were developed in the past 20 years, such as immediate implant placement at day of extraction, or early implant placement after 4-8 weeks of soft tissue healing. In this session, we will examine this approach, including case reports and various clinical studies.

4:05-4:30 pm
The Timing of Implant Placement - The Immediate Approach: Indications, Contraindications and Coordinated Therapy
Barry D. Wagenberg, DMD
Length of treatment time and cost are two of the greatest objections to implant dentistry. Initially, we placed implants into well-formed ridges with more than adequate bone for stabilization. A study of 1,925 immediate implants placed at the time of extraction will be discussed. The over success rates by area and effect of modifiers such as gender, smoking, medications and diseases will be presented. Immediate tooth replacement and immediate loading have the same requirements as immediate implant placement. There are however, added steps and coordinated therapy necessary to make them successful. These will be presented by way of documented cases.

4:30-4:55 pm
The Advantages of the Root Submergence Technique (RST) for Pontic Site Enhancement
Maurice A. Salama, DMD
By maintaining the natural tooth root through the root submergence technique (RST), we are better able to preserve a much greater amount of surrounding tissue than the more commonly used socket preservation technique. RST maintains the natural attachment apparatus of the tooth in the pontic site which in turn allows for complete preservation of the alveolar bone frame and creates a more esthetic result in multiple tooth replacement cases. This presentation describes the RST strategy and why it can more predictably provide an esthetic implant result for multiple tooth replacement cases.

4:55-5:20 pm
Managing Esthetics With Two Adjacent Implants
Nigel A. Saynor, BDS
The challenges of placing side-by-side implants are very well documented, the biologic or the pathologic width of adjacent side-by- side conventional implants having a combined and increased adverse effect on the inter-proximal bone height which subsequently affects the soft tissue profile. Various factors which are in the control of the clinician can influence the outcome. Utilizing an implant which can demonstrate a tissue care concept, platform offset, rigid connections, and etching to the top of the implant, can have a positive impact on the outcome of side-by-side implants. This session will examine the limits and set parameters which influence where implants can be placed side-by-side with successful esthetic outcome.