Expert Clinician Course

1. Initial clinical and radiological evaluation of a patient presenting with alveolar ridge defects and in need of hard and/or soft tissue augmentation and implant placement according to the principle of PGR (Prosthetically Guided Regeneration)

2. Classification of hard and soft tissue defects and presentation of rational treatment protocols

3. Surgical alternatives for hard tissue augmentation according to class of initial conditions

4. Presentation of clinical cases with different initial situations, starting from moderate and ending up with very relevant defects, with presentation of different soft and hard tissue regeneration procedures, including:

• GBR with resorbable or non resorbable membranes
• autogenous bone blocks, and customised titanium meshes and soft tissue augmention
• tips and tricks to minimise complexity and morbidity of hard and soft tissue harvesting, periosteal releasing incisions to obtain a zero-tension suture will be be described in detail)

5. Advantages and disadvantages of different surgical techniques

6. How to optimise timing of soft tissue reconstruction (if needed) including keratinized mucosa augmentation and connective tissue thickness augmentation and timing of implant placement according to type of initial defect.

Each hands-on exercise will be presented by the teacher with a demo, supported by high-definition video, and repeated immediately after by the participants.

The Posterior Mandible

1. Incision lines and elevation of flaps in the posterior mandible

2. Bone harvesting procedures from the mandibular ramus with identification and anatomical dissection of the lingual nerve and inferior alveolar neurovascular bundle

3. Periosteal Releasing incisions on the buccal and lingual sides of the posterior mandible to obtain tension-free and water-tight sutures after the augmentation procedures

The Anterior Mandible

1, Identification and Anatomical dissection   of the mental neurovascular bundle

2. Periosteal releasing incisions on the buccal and lingual sides of the anterior mandible

3. Technical details for bone augmentation with particualted autogenous bone, biomaterials and membranes (modelling and fixation with titanium tags) in the anterior or posterior mandible

The Maxilla

1. Identification and anatomical dissection of the maxillary sinus

2. Periosteal releasing incisions on the buccal side of the maxilla

3. Technical details for bone augmentation with particualted autogenous bone, biomaterials and membranes (modeling and fixation with titanium tags)

4. Technical details on soft tissue harvesting from the palat

5. Identification and anatomical dissection of the palatine artery

Soft tissue regeneration procedures with connective tissue grafts or epithelial grafts in association with vestibuloplasty.