On February 12, 2012, I attended this symposium at Loma Linda University School of Dentistry. The focus of the course was that achieving anterior implant esthetics is a challenging and demanding process. To create implant restorations with harmonious gingival contours that emulate nature is a science and an art and that understanding the biologic and physiologic limitations of the soft and hard tissues facilitates predictability in simple to complex cases.
Dr Stephen Chu DMD,MSD from the New York University College of Dentistry discussed immediate implant placement and the provisional restoration, what we should do to enhance esthetic outcomes.
Dr Homayoun Zadeh, DDS,PhD from the USC Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry presented “VISTA”: a novel surgical approach for minimally invasive augmentation of bone and soft tissues in the esthetic zone.
Dr Joseph Kan DDS, MS from the Loma Linda School of Dentistry discussed the challenges of handling inter implant gingival papilla management in the esthetic zone.
Dr Pascal Magne DMD, PhD, also from USC, presented the criteria for esthetic integration of dental restorations.
The lectures were followed up in the afternoon by two live surgeries demonstrating the concepts presented through video feeds to the lecture hall. With the moderator relaying interactive discussion was available to the audience for questions and clarification during the procedures.
It was a very valuable day with some novel new approaches presented.