DT Canada No. 5+6, 2013

Winter Clinic packs full-scale dental convention into single-day event / Meetings-Congrès / Industry-l'industrie / Implant Tribune Canada Edition

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DENTAL TRIBUNE
The World’s Dental Newspaper · Canada Edition

October/November 2013 — Vol. 7 No. 5/6

www.dental-tribune.com

TAD Talks: Speak out

Doing well by doing good

The Winter Clinic gives you
an opportunity to share
your knowledge,
experience — even your
opinions (up to a point) —
in a creative, casual setting.

Henry Schein Canada, as
part of its Calendar of
Caring program, shines the
spotlight on what some of
its customers are doing to
‘give back.’

” page A2

” pages A10–A11

Winter Clinic packs
full-scale dental
convention into
single-day event

Implant Tribune
Updated guidelines
Guidelines finally catch up
to legal-standard-of-care
expectations for general
dentists placing implants.
” page B1

Toronto Academy
of Dentistry
Winter Clinic,
Friday, Nov. 8

Online registration closes Nov. 6

Publications Mail Agreement No. 42225022

Online registration closes at midnight, Wednesday,
Nov. 6. Onsite registration is open from 7 a.m. to
4 p.m. on the day of the event.
Sessions run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. (with
start and end times varying for individual sessions
throughout the day).
Exhibits are open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Lunch is from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
There is a cocktail reception from 4:30 to 6 p.m.

New: Complimentary lunch
This year, the Winter Clinic meeting organizers
have added a complimentary lunch for all registered attendees. Lunch tickets will be attached to
badges (one per registration). The lunches may be
picked up between 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. from
one of the stations located throughout the exhibit
floor.
For more details or to register, call the Toronto
Academy of Dentistry at (416) 967-5649, or go to
www.tordent.com.
(Source: Toronto Academy of Dentistry)

A2–4

• Greater New York Dental Meeting
expands the categories its
educational programs cover
• Yankee Dental Congress expects
about 28,000 for its 2014 annual
gathering in Boston
• The 2014 Pacific Dental Conference
will have 135-plus speakers, 144
open sessions and more than 300
exhibitors
• Journées dentaires internationales
du Québec, which will be from May
23–27, will have more than 100

It’s North America’s largest one-day gathering of dentists
The Toronto Academy of Dentistry Winter Clinic, the largest one-day dental convention in North America, attracts dental professionals from every sector of the profession
with its minimal time-commitment opportunity to learn from some of the world’s top
speakers and explore some of the industry’s most innovative products and services.
The 76th Annual Toronto Academy of Dentistry Winter Clinic is Friday, Nov. 8. The
single-day event features 24 separate programs in contemporary dentistry, offering
something for the entire dental team.
This year’s clinical program covers a broad spectrum of topics and includes: an examination of the way digital technology is transforming the workflow in the dental office; demonstrations of cutting-edge tools and equipment; specialized techniques for
prosthetic tooth repositioning; the use of lasers in periodontal therapy; a discussion of
current views on the use of X-rays as a diagnostic tool; advice on the latest legal requirements for health and safety in the dental office;
and how to meet the demands of the modern dental practice through healthy habits and humour.
Clinical presentations and exhibits will take place
at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre (South
Building), 222 Bremner Blvd., in Toronto. Registration is on level 600. Sessions will be held on level
700. The exhibits and food service are on level 800.

MEETINGS

sessions in English and French

INDUSTRY

A5–11

• Dr. Scott Benjamin presents a
detailed explanation of why lasers
are not all the same
• To earn $1 million in 10 years, the
first step for a dental professional is
Toronto’s ‘Flatiron Building,’ technically the
Goderham Building, is just one of the many
historic landmarks in the hometown of the
Toronto Academy of Dentistry Winter Clinic.
The unique, one-day event features 24
separate programs in contemporary
dentistry, offering something for the entire
dental team. Photo/Provided by Tourism Toronto

” See page A2

to ensure your body holds up
• Malaysian rubber gloves boast top
barrier capabilities
• Doing well by doing good: Henry
Schein Canada shines spotlight on
dentists who are giving back
• Implants course in Bogotá builds
strong reputation with small
classes, intense hands-on training
Ad

[2] =>

MEETINGS

Photo/www.sxc.hu

TAD Talks: Speak out

Got about 18 minutes of stuff built
up that you need to get off your chest?
If you answer yes, TAD Talks at the
Toronto Academy of Dentistry Winter
Clinic might be your perfect venue.
The program at the 2013 event gives
you an opportunity to share your
thoughts, knowledge, experience —
even your opinions (up to a point) — in
a creative, casual setting.

Not restricted to dental focus
Your talk does not only have to be about
dentistry. It can be about anything (almost). Whatever is on your mind. If you
think someone will be interested, the
meeting organizers invite you to sign up.
Your talk can be about global issues,
the arts (music, performance, comedy),

Dental Tribune Canada Edition | October/November 2013

sports, media, technology — anything
that’s important to you.

All Winter Clinic participants are welcome to share whatever is on their
minds. Dentists, hygienists, assistants,
administrators, technologists and dental industry representatives are welcome. Everybody who delivers a presentation gets to take home a certificate
of recognition.

phone number and email address.
You will be advised of the time slot assigned.
For additional information on this
program, you can contact the Toronto
Academy of Dentistry at (416) 9675649; FAX: (416) 967-5081 or email:
dorthy@tordent.com.
The TAD Talks will be conducted on
Exhibit Floor D between 11 a.m. and
2 p.m. on the day of the meeting, Friday, Nov. 8.

18 minutes or less

Your topic and general outline must
be reviewed by the Toronto Academy
of Dentistry prior to the presentation,
submitted no later than midnight,
Nov. 1, with your name, address, tele-

There’s no minimum amount of time
required for your talk, but you cannot
exceed 18 minutes.

Step up to the challenge

(Source: Toronto Academy of Dentistry)

DENTAL TRIBUNE
The World’s Dental Newspaper · Canada Edition

Publisher & Chairman
Torsten Oemus t.oemus@dental-tribune.com
President/Chief Operating Officer
Eric Seid e.seid@dental-tribune.com
Group Editor
Kristine Colker k.colker@dental-tribune.com
Editor in Chief
Dr. Sebastian Saba feedback@dental-tribune.com
Managing Editor
Robert Selleck r.selleck@dental-tribune.com
Managing Editor
Fred Michmershuizen
f.michmershuizen@dental-tribune.com
Managing Editor
Sierra Rendon s.rendon@dental-tribune.com
Product/Account Manager
Will Kenyon w.kenyon@dental-tribune.com
Marketing DIRECTOR
Anna Wlodarczyk
a.wlodarczyk@dental-tribune.com
Accounting Assistant
Nirmala Singh n.singh@dental-tribune.com
Education Director
Christiane Ferret c.ferret@dtstudyclub.com

Tribune America, LLC
Phone (212) 244-7181
Fax (212) 244-7185

Published by Tribune America
© 2013 Tribune America LLC
All rights reserved.

Tribune America cannot assume responsibility for the
validity of product claims or for typographical errors.
The publisher also does not assume responsibility for
product names or statements made by advertisers.
Opinions expressed by authors are their own and may
not reflect those of Tribune America.

Editorial Board
Dr. Joel Berg
Dr. L. Stephen Buchanan
Dr. Arnaldo Castellucci
Dr. Gorden Christensen
Dr. Rella Christensen
Dr. William Dickerson
Hugh Doherty
Dr. James Doundoulakis
Dr. David Garber
Dr. Fay Goldstep
Dr. Howard Glazer
Dr. Harold Heymann
Dr. Karl Leinfelder
Dr. Roger Levin
Dr. Carl E. Misch
Dr. Dan Nathanson
Dr. Chester Redhead
Dr. Irwin Smigel
Dr. Jon Suzuki
Dr. Dennis Tartakow
Dr. Dan Ward

Tell us what you think!
Do you have general comments or
criticism you would like to share? Is
there a particular topic you would like
to see articles about in Dental Tribune?
Let us know by e-mailing feedback@
dental-tribune.com. We look forward to
hearing from you! If you would like to
make any change to your subscription
(name, address or to opt out) please
send us an e-mail at database@dentaltribune.com and be sure to include
which publication you are referring
to. Also, please note that subscription
changes can take up to six weeks to
process.

.
.

[3] =>

Dental Tribune Canada Edition | October/November 2013

MEETINGS

Greater New York Dental Meeting expands education offerings
By Jayme McNiff Spicciatie
Greater New York Dental Meeting

The Greater New York Dental Meeting
(GNYDM), Nov. 29–Dec. 4, expands to more
than 1,500 exhibit booths housing more
than 600 companies. The ongoing partnership between the GNYDM and the U.S.
Department of Commerce International
Buyer Program provides an opportunity
to meet worldwide senior level volume
buyers as well as receive export counseling
from government specialists to increase
sales.
• ColLABoration brings dentists and technicians together by providing a designated
laboratory exhibit area on the GNYDM exhibit floor, specialized education, demonstrations, digital dentistry and technology

to engage technicians and dentists side-byside in an integrated, hands-on experience.
• Three tech pavilions are being added to
the exhibit floor, focusing on CAD/CAM,
cone-beam and lasers.
• New dentists’ program focuses on startup strategies and pathways to practice
ownership for the new dentist.
• Women’s program focuses on challenges facing the female practitioner, including personal stories and professional advice on women’s lifestyles in dentistry.
• Dental assistant pavilion will be open on
the exhibit floor each day of the meeting.
• “Real World: Dentistry for the Restorative Practice” will be presented by Dr. Robert Lowe at the Friday, Nov. 29, opening
session, at the New York Marriott Marquis
Hotel in the Westside Ballroom fifth floor.
• Botox, Dysport and dermal filler semin-

ars, demonstrations and workshops: These
hands-on workshops introduce procedures on actual patients.
• Sleep medicine: With three days of the
latest research and awareness, you’ll be
able to learn how to treat patients successfully.
• Learning and lunch panel discussions
are being offered Sunday and Tuesday. Attendees receive free C.E. and a free lunch at
the close of the program. Space is limited.
To expand hospitality to attendees from
across the world, the GNYDM is offering
free multilanguage courses in French, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.
The live dentistry arena, a 430-seat hightech patient demonstration area, offers
revolutionary concepts in treating patients
with new materials and applications. The

demonstrations take place on the exhibit
show floor every morning and afternoon
Sunday through Wednesday. There is no
cost to attendees.
With three major international airports,
Newark Liberty (EWR), Kennedy (JFK) and
La Guardia (LGA) — and with discounted
hotel rates for those attending the meeting, it should be easy for attendees to enjoy
all that New York City has to offer at the beginning of the holiday season.
The GNYDM has room blocks at 39 hotels in Manhattan, with free round-trip
bus service to the convention center. Visit
the hotels and transportation page online
at www.gnydm.com for room rates. And, as
always, registration for the GNYDM is free.
(Source: Greater New York
Dental Meeting)
Ad

Yankee Dental
Congress plans
to draw 28,000
By Yankee Dental Congress Staff

Overall health starts with oral health,
and it all links up at the 2014 Yankee
Dental Congress, when approximately
28,000 dental professionals will gather
at the Boston Convention and Exhibition
Center from Jan. 29 through Feb. 2.
The YDC provides opportunities to discover best practices, products and other
resources to improve your dental practice, increase your knowledge and better serve your patients — regardless of
your role on the dental team. With more
than 300 hands-on courses, lectures and
workshops covering a wide variety of
topics, the agenda has something on it
for everyone.
The 2014 YDC will feature a number of
new programs, including:

Botox and dermal fillers
Learn the anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, diagnosis, treatment planning
and delivery of Botox and dermal fillers,
brought to you by the American Academy of Facial Esthetics. These fast-paced,
entertaining and educational courses
are perfect for dentists and dental teams
who are interested in joining the fastest
growing area of dentistry.

Master practice marketing skills
This one-day symposium will help you
expand your practice with the power of
marketing. Master the essentials of marketing your dental practice using both
conventional strategies and more modern Web-based tactics to expand practice
visibility and excellence.
The exhibit hall floor will feature products and technologies from more than
450 exhibitors, along with C.E. programs
brought back by popular demand, including: the “Dental Office Pavilion,”
“High-Tech Playground,” “Healthy Living
Pavilion” and “Live Dentistry.”
Visit www.yankeedental.com to get
more details on all of the courses and
events that Yankee has to offer and to
register for the event.

[4] =>

MEETINGS

Dental Tribune Canada Edition | October/November 2013

2014 PDC: 144 sessions, 300 exhibitors
Pacific Dental Conference also features live dentistry stage in exhibit hall
The 2014 Pacific Dental Conference, from
March 6–8 (Thursday, Friday and Saturday)
in Vancouver, British Columbia, features
a varied selection of open C.E. sessions,
hands-on courses and a live dentistry stage.
One registration fee gives access to all 144
open sessions, which means no pre-selection of courses is necessary.
The variety of topics covered by more
than 135 speakers means the entire dental
team can access the latest information on
dental technology, techniques and materials.
Speakers in the 2014 lineup include John
Kois, John Cranham, Sergio Kuttler, Greg
Psaltis, Ross Nash, Derek Mahony, Rob Roda,

Louis Malcmacher, Bart Johnson, Jesse Miller, Rhonda Savage and Nancy Andrews.
With the University of British Columbia
Faculty of Dentistry celebrating its 50th
anniversary, the PDC will present the “UBC
Speakers Series,” featuring UBC alumni addressing a variety of topics.
The Live Dentistry Stage is back on the
exhibit hall floor, with demonstrations on
Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, the “So
You Think You Can Speak?” program features 50-minute presentations by speakers
who responded to a call for presentations
and were accepted by the meeting’s scientific committee. A number of timely dentistry topics will be covered.

The exhibit hall should be busy with
more than 300 companies projected to
fill approximately 600 booths. Exhibition
hours are 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday
and 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

Booking early recommended
Special hotel rates are available to PDC attendees, with early booking recommended
to ensure availability. Reservations can be
made directly with conference hotels via
links on www.pdconf.com. Registration
opens Oct. 15 with early bird rates for all
members of the dental team.
(Source: Pacific Dental Conference)

Dr. Mark Kwon, at PDC 2013, performs ‘Implant
with Sinus Surgery’ under the giant screen in
the Live Dentistry Arena. Photo/Dental Tribune

Journées dentaires
internationales du
Québec, May 23–27
Following what meeting organizers describe as a highly successful convention
this past spring, planning is now in full
force for the 44th edition of the Journées
dentaires internationales du Québec,
which will take place from May 23–27 at the
Palais des congrès de Montréal.
At the 2014 meeting, JDIQ will host the
Association of Prosthodontists of Canada.
Among the benefits expected from this
joint venture, which also involves the Association of Prosthodontists of Quebec,
will be a larger number of top speakers in
implant and restorative dentistry — and a
presence at the meeting of a larger number
of prosthodontists from across Canada.
The annual meeting of the Ordre des
dentistes du Québec continues to be one
of the highest-attended dental meetings in
North America.
In 2014, meeting organizers expect to
host more than 12,000 delegates from
around the world.
The meeting will feature a scientific
program with more than 100 lectures
and workshops presented in English and
French. The JDIQ meeting is described by
organizers as being Canada’s most highly
attended bilingual convention.
More than 225 exhibitors will occupy
approximately 500 booths in the exhibit
hall, making it one of the largest in Canada.
The exhibition will be open Monday and
Tuesday, May 26 and 27, and it will feature
a continental breakfast on both days for the
early risers as well as a wine and cheese reception to close out both afternoons.
Featured 2014 speakers already in the
lineup include Drs. Dale Miles, Robert Langlais, Steven Olmos, Stephen Niemczyk,
Manor Hass, Jonathan Bregman, Michael
Di Tolla, Gerry Kugel, Karl Koerner, Joe
Blaes, Jason Smithson, Brian Novy, Ken Hargreaves, Thomas Dudney, Robert Gutneck,
Tieraona Low-Dog and James Mah, to name
just a few.
For more information about the meeting, you can call (800) 361-4887, you can
visit www.odq.qc.ca or send an email to
congres@odq.qc.ca.
(Source: JDIQ)

[5] =>

[6] =>

INDUSTRY

Dental Tribune Canada Edition | October/November 2013

To ensure you can
keep working, use
pain-free seating
Protect your income with Posiflex Free Motion Elbow supports
The list is disturbing: fatigue; injury
problems; serious neck, upper-back and
shoulder pain; and posture so poor that
it affects general physical performance.
All are alarmingly common symptoms
experienced by practitioners across the
dental profession. The result: Forced early retirement caused by neck, shoulder
and back problems is a frequent occurrence for dental professionals.
Studies demonstrate that the two major factors that help dental professionals
keep a good posture and reduce muscle
tension are the position of the patient
chair and the use of an upper-body support mechanism, such as elbow supports.
The main cause of physical problems
(muscle tension, musculoskeletal disorders and disk herniation) is the constant
contraction of muscles, which in turn
can cause an impairment of blood flow
of up to 90 percent.
This situation leads to lactic acid buildup (lactate) in muscles to the extent
that people begin to suffer from hypercontraction. That means that even when

an individual is not working, his or her
muscles are never truly at rest.
According to the product developers
at Posiflex Design, understanding the
proper positioning of the patient chair
and using upper-body supports such as
Posiflex Free Motion Elbow Supports can
significantly diminish contraction of the
muscles and restore proper blood flow.
Furthermore, according to the company, independent research results have
confirmed that Free Motion Elbow supports help people maintain a straight
posture, which enables users to benefit
from properly designed lumbar support.
Less stress on the upper body (shoulders, neck and back), proper blood flow
and a straight posture position create
correct support of the spinal structure
and the lumbar area. According to the
company, these adjustments will also
ensure that body functions are working
properly. For the majority of dental-stool
users, keeping a straight position and
reducing muscle tension while focused
on precision tasks in dentistry is nearly
impossible without lumbar support and

Quebec dentist Claude Martel, DMD, is one of many dental professionals benefiting from the
use of Free Motion Elbow Supports by Posiflex Design. Photo/Provided by Posiflex Design

upper-body support.
If your neck, shoulder and back pain
and/or fatigue are so bad that you find
it necessary to spend money and time
on temporary treatments, the people
at Posiflex Design encourage you to try
their Free Motion Elbow Supports.
All of your years of training, skill acquisition and capital investment could
end up being worth little if you can't
hold up to the physical demands of a
dental practice and retire healthy.

If you love what you are doing and
want to continue in your profession safely and comfortably, Posiflex invites you
to visit www.posiflexdesign.com to learn
more. With a product that is clinically
proven to reduce muscle tension and
prevent musculoskeletal disorders, the
company is confident it can help ensure
you’ll be able to continue enjoyng your
livelihood for many years to come.
(Source: Posiflex Design)

‘Barrier protection’ is critical
in dental professionals’ gloves
Gloves should enhance safety of both patients and users
While caring for their patients, dental
and health care professionals are constantly exposed to bodily fluids that
may carry viruses and other infectious
agents.
It is therefore critical that the gloves
these professionals use provide the best
possible barrier protection.
Many types of gloves are available today, but it is important to know that not
all gloves have the same barrier capability, depending on the type of material
used. For example, natural rubber latex
gloves have long been acknowledged for
their very effective barrier properties,
while non-latex gloves, such as vinyl
(polyvinyl chloride), have inferior barrier capability as shown by numerous
studies.
Other synthetic gloves, such as nitrile and polyisoprene, perform much
better than vinyl but are more costly,

especially polyisoprene gloves. Using
gloves with inferior barrier capability
could expose both the patient and user
to harmful infections.

Quality, safety top priorities
Malaysia is the world’s largest medical gloves exporter (latex and nitrile).
Both quality and users’ safety are of top
priority to the nation’s glove industry.
To this end, a quality certification program (the Standard Malaysian Gloves,
or the SMG) has currently been formulated for latex examination gloves.
All SMG-certified gloves must comply
with stringent technical specifications
to ensure the gloves are high in barrier
effectiveness, low in protein and low
in allergy risks, in addition to having
excellent comfort, fit and durability —
qualities that manufacturers of many
synthetic gloves are trying to replicate.

Natural, sustainable resource
Latex gloves are green products, derived from a natural and sustainable
resource, and are environmentally
friendly. (You can learn more online at
www.smg-gloves.com and at www.latexglove.info).
The use of low-protein, powder-free
gloves has been demonstrated by many
independent hospital studies to vastly
reduce the incidence of latex sensitization and allergic reactions in workplaces.
More important, latex allergic individuals donning non-latex gloves can
now work alongside their co-workers
wearing the improved low-protein
gloves without any heightened allergy
concern.
However, for latex-allergic individuals, it is still important they use appropriate non-latex gloves, such as quality

nitrile and polyisoprene gloves, that
provide them with effective barrier
protection.

Extensive array of brands, features
and prices
Selecting the right gloves should be
an educated consideration to enhance
safety of both patients and users. For
decades, gloves made in Malaysia have
been synonymous with quality and excellence, and they are widely available
in an extensive array of brands, features and prices.
They can be sourced either factory
direct (www.mrepc.com/trade and click
“medical devices”) or from established
dental product distributors in the
United States.
(Source: Malaysian Rubber Export
Promotion Council)

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[8] =>

INDUSTRY

Dental Tribune Canada Edition | October/November 2013

Understanding lasers:
They are not all alike
By Scott D. Benjamin, DDS

The promotion, popularity and successful outcomes of laser treatment in many
areas of health care, particularly ophthalmology, have made patients and clinicians
alike more interested and inquisitive about
the use of lasers in dentistry. However, the
selection of the appropriate device and
proper implementation is not as simple as
it seems.
Two of the most frequently asked questions that I receive are, “Aren’t all lasers
basically the same?” and “When are we
going to have one laser that will be great
at everything?” The answers to these questions are relatively simple: No, lasers are
not all the same and we will never have one
laser wavelength that will be the best at
everything unless the laws and principles
of physics change. Despite what we as clinicians hear from salespeople, the laws of
physics do not change from one company
or product to the next, and the principles of
physics will always remain the same. Tissue
interactions are dependent on the scientific
properties of each device. It is our responsibility as health care providers to learn
and understand the scientific principles of
every procedure we perform and the basic
laser physics of each devices’ use to perform these tasks.
It is the absorption of light energy into
the target tissue that enables a laser to
perform specific tasks and procedures. All
lasers perform only two basic functions
when they interact with biologic tissue:
They vaporize the target and its related biofilm; or they stimulate a tissue response,

such as tissue fluorescence, or a healing response. Material is vaporized and removed
when its temperature is instantaneously
raised to its vaporization point and its
components become a gas— and the cell
expands and explodes. This vaporization
is accomplished when the laser energy is
absorbed into the target using either an
ablation, incisional or excisional technique,
or, more commonly, with a combination of
these techniques.
The wavelength of the light energy emitted by a laser is one of its most important
properties and determines how efficiently
it is absorbed into the tissue and materials to produce the desired response. The
composition of the laser’s active medium
is what determines the wavelength of the
electromagnetic energy that it produces
when the medium is stimulated. The components of the materials that absorbs the
light energy are called chromophores.
One of the primary considerations in the
selection of a laser is matching the wavelength of the laser with the chromophores
contained in the target tissue. The soft
tissue of the oral cavity is approximately
70 percent water, which makes water a primary chromophore for absorption in these
structures.
Despite the fact that water is naturally
present in the crystals in enamel, dentine,
cementum and bone it is significantly less
than the water content of the body’s soft
tissue. This requires a wavelength of light
energy that is very highly absorbed in
water, which has peak absorption of light
energy at approximately 3,000 nm. These
facts make Er:YAG lasers with a wavelength
2,940 nm an ideally matched device for the

PIPS endo case. Photo/Provided
by www.pipsdocs.com

TAD
BOOTH
NO. 714

laser vaporization of the hard
tissues and when using Photon
Induced Photoacoustic Streaming (PIPS®) for endodontic procedures. When comparing lasers and the light
energy that they emit there is a significant
difference in their absorption in water.
The higher the power that a laser has and
how it is controlled is also an extremely
important aspect in its efficiency and efficacy. The peak power of a laser is the maximum amount of energy that is emitted
during a single pulse. While average power
is the amount of energy that is emitted in
one second, and is determined by the peak
power and the amount of thermal relaxation time that occurs during that second.
Clinicians are often confused about the
different roles and value of peak versus
average power.
Today, quality lasers give practitioners
the ability to manage this high peak power
with digital pulsing, which enhances clinicians’ ability to control the laser light
interaction with its target to accomplish
their desired goals. With a comprehensive
understanding of how these devices function, clinicians are easily able accomplish
their treatment goals with improved outcomes and patient satisfaction.
The science of how a laser performs is
only one of the considerations that practitioners should focus on when selecting

LightWalker system
from National
Dental Inc. (NDI)
lets you to
choose between
two laser sources.
Learn more at www.
nationaldental.com.
Photo/Provided by NDI

a device. Other considerations include the
ergonomics and quality of the device and its
accessories, as well as
the cost and accessibility of the consumables
such as tips, fibers and
handpieces. The value
of the device, reliability, the reputation of
the manufacturer and your timely access
to support and service are of the utmost
importance.
After understanding the science and
investigating all of the above-mentioned
considerations for selecting and evaluating
lasers, the single most important aspect
should be device-specific training. Each device is different, with unique programing
and features that need to be understood for
safe and effective utilization. The physics
are easily applied once understood and the
laser just becomes a better way to perform
procedures making dentistry easier, better
and faster for the patient and the practice.

About the author
Dr. Scott Benjamin is in private practice in rural upstate New York and is an associate professor and director of advanced technologies and informatics at Roseman University of Health Sciences, College of Dental
Medicine. He is the chairman of the ADA Standards Committee Working Group on Dental Lasers and is an
officer on the board of directors of the Academy of Laser Dentistry.

[9] =>

[10] =>

INDUSTRY

A10

Dental Tribune Canada Edition | October/November 2013

Doing well by doing good
By Robert Selleck, Managing Editor

The people at Henry Schein Canada are
driven by the philosophy of “doing well by
doing good.” And it’s in that spirit that the
company recently introduced its Calendar
of Caring to spotlight the many charitable
programs it supports. The initiative also
gives Henry Schein customers the opportunity to contribute a portion of their purchases to help the charitable causes that
Henry Schein supports.
This extra support expands the help the

company provides and, in appreciation, participating customers receive a plaque that
can be displayed in the office.
In recent efforts across Canada, Henry
Schein gave 325 backpacks filled with school
supplies and clothing to underprivileged
children and provided winter holiday gifts
to families in need. It supplied more than
$240,000 of health care products to underserved people around the world, planted
more than 1,200 trees as part of its Go Green
program and backed charitable causes fighting breast cancer and oral cancer.
At Henry Schein, according to the com-

Sponsored by

pany, “giving back” happens 365 days a year,
and the Calendar of Caring initiative opens
the door to expanding the help the company is able to provide.
Displayed here are just a few examples
of charitable and community service work
by Henry Schein customers across Canada,

with many of them receiving assistance
from Henry Schein through the donation of
dental supplies to support the noble work.
For more information or to get involved
with Henry Schein in these areas, please
contact Peter Jugoon, vice president, marketing, at peter.jugoon@henryschein.ca.

Larry Hoffman, DDS
Larry Hoffman, DDS, has been able to experience what
many international dental-brigade volunteers only dream
of: An area served by a team he was on was so inspired by
the visit, it created its own dental clinic — staffed by some
of the host country’s newest dental school graduates and
modeled after the brigade’s concept — and now the region
no longer needs the brigade to return.
Interestingly, though, that’s not at the top of Hoffman’s
list of highlights following his most recent trip with the
Friends of Honduran Children, which is based in Peterborough, Ontario. For Hoffman, who has a general practice in
Callander, Ontario, the real highlight of the 12-day adventure in the mountains of western Honduras was being able
to see his daughter, the brigade leader, successfully manage
the entire effort.
The Friends of Honduran Children uses combined medical/dental brigades, typically comprising 16–18 medical
professionals, built around four or five physicians and two
dentists. Shayna Hoffman, a family physician specializing

in emergency medicine, had been participating in the trips
for years; and when she became brigade leader for a 2013
trip, she invited dad to sign-up for one of the dentist slots.
“The experience was absolutely wonderful,” Hoffman
said. “The Honduran people are gentle, beautiful, gracious
and grateful. It was an honor to to help and serve them.”
During the trip, the team served in six different communities, traveling on rough, high-mountain roads in fourwheel-drive vehicles, often above the clouds. The team
would arrive at a site to set up a mobile clinic, and typically
100 people would already be lined up. The organization’s
focus is on children, but everybody in need is seen, so Hoffman saw a number of patients in their 80s and 90s.
Tarps protected dentists and patients from sun and rain
(and let in far more ambient light for dental work than interior space would have provided). Reclining lawn chairs
served as dental chairs. Garbage bags served as spit sinks.
Hoffman summed up the entire experience as: “Rewarding. Uplifting. Fulfilling.”

Larry Hoffman, DDS, using a reclining lawn chair in lieu of a dental
chair, treats a young patient at a mobile clinic in western Honduras
during a Friends of Honduran Children medical/dental brigade.
Photo/Provided by Dr. Larry Hoffman

Frank Neves, DDS, and Bright Dental

Christina Matrangolo, DDS, and Frank Neves, DDS, with volunteer support
from their entire staff, open their practice for an annual ‘free’ day to treat
underserved residents in St. Albert, Alberta. Photo/Provided by Dr. Frank Neves

A couple of years ago, a school in St. Albert, Alberta,
called Bright Dental with an unusual request: A student
desperately needed dental work, but the family couldn’t
afford it. The school was trying to find help. Bright Dental
owner Frank Neves, DDS, immediately agreed to treat the
child. But the impact of that phone call didn’t end there.
The experience prompted not just Neves, but his associate
Christina Matrangolo, DDS, and the entire office staff to
realize that their community of 60,000 likely had many
others who were in need of care but unable to afford it.
The practice picked a Sunday in August to open its doors
to the underserved for a day of free dental work. Nobody
on staff would be paid, and donations were sought from
some of the office’s equipment suppliers. Several com-

munity service organizations were notified of the event.
Employees were advised that participation was strictly
voluntary, but when Sunday morning rolled around, the
practice’s entire 15-person staff was on hand, ready to put
in a full day’s work.
By day’s end, 30 patients had been seen, mainly for
overdue check-ups, cleanings and fillings. Only urgent
and immediate care could be provided, but nobody was
turned away. In total, Office Manager Brandi Sliwa said
the practice provided more than $22,000 in services.
This past August, the practice held its second free day —
and the first person seeking help was in line at 4 a.m.
A Sunday in August 2014 is already marked on the office’s scheduling calendar.

William Rodriguez, DDS, and Joyce Rodriguez
It’s not unusual for dentists on service missions to encounter
transportation challenges. That’s often the point: Deliver needed
dental care to difficult-to-reach locations.
Mississauga dentist William Rodriguez, DDS, encountered
such conditions on his “Smiles from the Heart” mission earlier
this year in the Philippines.
Rodriguez and his wife, Joyce, working with a local contact,
organized the trip. Also participating were five Filipino dentists,
putting the total team at eight members. The destination: Batan
and Sabtang islands in the nation’s northernmost island group.
Getting to Batan (not to be confused with the infamous Bataan
Peninsula) was easy enough, even with a seven-hour flight delay
out of Manila. The team set up in Basco, the island’s main town,
and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. treated 49 patients, many from surrounding communities. Rodriguez mainly performed extractions, but was able to do some restorative work, too.

Then came the challenge: Sabtang Island lies where the Pacific Ocean meets the South China Sea. Turbulent seas are status
quo, and in the afternoon, the waves rage. The team wanted to
put in another full day, but their boatman said wave conditions
required returning shortly after noon at the latest.
The team treated 43 patients in four hours, mostly restorative
work on young students, with whom they wanted to do everything possible to avoid extractions. Noon arrived quickly.
“It was a mad rush to finish and get to the boat on time — and
certainly a scary ride to get back to the mainland,” Rodriguez
said. “But the smiles from these patients and the gratitude from
the local dentists and town officials indicated that the mission
was very much appreciated.”
William and Joyce are now planning a return trip to the other
sides of the islands, which are not accessed by public-health
dentists because of — of course — transportation challenges.

William Rodriguez, DDS, pictured, and his, wife, Joyce,
organize annual missions to provide dental services to remote
areas of the Philippines. Photo/Provided by Dr. William Rodriguez

[11] =>

Dental Tribune Canada Edition | October/November 2013

INDUSTRY

A11

Sonu Sharma, DDS

Sonu Sharma, DDS, right, with a young patient at a 2012 Change for
Children dental brigade in Uganda. At left is volunteer Denis Smith of
Innisfail, Alberta. Photo/Provided by Dr. Sonu Sharma

Sonu Sharma, DDS, thought so highly of the dental brigade trip he took to Uganda last year, he now serves on the
sponsoring organization’s board of directors. Sharma, a
partner in two dental practices in Leduc, Alberta, went
deep into Uganda’s Kabale region, where 2 million people
are normally served by just two dentists.
“There is tremendous need in the areas we serve,” Sharma
said. “We are limited in what we can do, so mostly it’s removing infected teeth and relieving people of pain they’ve
been living with. We see a lot of caries, and there is a desperate need for oral hygiene education. That’s becoming an
increasingly important component of these brigades as we
realize education is the best way to have the greatest positive impact.”
Sharma took a couple of trips with other groups years
earlier. But it was his Change for Children experience that
inspired his now annual commitment — and compelled
him to join the Edmonton-based organization’s board.

This year he went on a Change for Children brigade to
the Bosawas Biosphere Reserve in Nicaragua, another vast,
isolated region, where 55,000 indigenous people have no
permanent health-care services. During the 11-day trip, 19
volunteers, mostly from Alberta, set up temporary clinics
in five different communities, traveling by boat on the Rio
Coco — working all day and sleeping in hammocks at night.
The hygienists, assistants, four dentists and support crew
together served about 500 patients.
Change for Children supports a broad range of sustainable community development projects in Latin America,
Africa and the Caribbean. Its dental brigades, many held in
partnership with Kindness in Action, represent one component of that support.
“The work is incredibly gratifying,” Sharma said. “There is
almost no better feeling than helping somebody just for the
sake of doing so.”
Already on Sharma’s calendar in 2014: Bolivia.

Vickie Sugarman, DDS
One morning a little more than four years ago, Vickie Sugarman, DDS, woke up thinking she’d like to volunteer for a dentalservices-abroad program. Her only real criterion: It had to serve
an area that had a truly profound need.
Then, unlike many of us, instead of moving on to other thoughts
and going about her day, Sugarman sat down at the computer,
searched the Internet and found Kindness in Action. She liked
what she read. And she liked that the organization was based in
Canada (Edmonton). So Sugarman signed up and later that year
found herself in a remote valley of the Andes Mountains in Peru,
living and working in what at best would be described as primitive conditions.
And she liked it.
Next year she will be participating in her fifth Kindness in Action trip. “It’s a great organization,” Sugarman said. “They are
a grass-roots operation. They’re fairly small. But they do a great
job searching out areas that have great need for this service. They

really know how to identify who has the most need.”
Sugarman, co-owner of a dental practice in Toronto, has made
trips to Peru (twice), Guatemala and Ecuador.
The Kindness in Action trips are typically either seven days
(with four clinic days) or 14 days (with eight clinic days). The longer
trips are needed for the more remote locations. There are typically
four our five dentists, and a team of assistants, hygienists and lay
support, including a translator. Sugarman’s son, fluent in Spanish,
served as translator on one of her trips.
There’s never a guarantee of electrical power being available,
even when the team has a generator. The clinics are typically set
up outdoors, and whatever chairs and tables are on hand are covered in plastic and used as dental chairs and instrument tables.
From the Kindness in Action website: “The guiding principle for
our treatment programs is the relief of pain for the greatest number of people. This is balanced with prevention, dispensing toothbrushes and individual and school hygiene instruction.”

Vickie Sugarman, DDS, with a patient in Ecuador, on one
of four dental services trips she has made with Kindness
in Action. Photo/Provided by Dr. Vickie Sugarman

Ming Yau, DDS, and family

Ming Yau, DDS, top left, with son Matthew, lower left, his physician
wife, Linda, far right, and son Thomas, center right, on a medical/
dental mission to Kenya. Photo/Provided by Dr. Ming Yau

A couple of years ago, Ming Yau, DDS, a general dentist with
a practice in Etobicoke, Ontario, approached his wife, Linda,
with the idea of a luxury safari vacation to Kenya, filled with
side trips to beautiful beaches. Linda, a physician, had a different idea: “How about a mission trip?”
Yau wasn’t really receptive, but reluctantly agreed. So Ming,
Linda and sons Matthew, 17, and Thomas, 15, began planning
for 11 days with the orphaned, abandoned, abused, desperate and neglected children who find refuge with Mully Children’s Family Homes, a nonprofit with facilities across Kenya.
“It was a life-changing trip,” Yau said. “The experience really brought our family together and gave us a much deeper
appreciation for our lives. We go on these missions to help
others, yet, in the end, I feel that we benefit the most.”
In Kenya, Ming performed basic dentistry, including fill-

ings and extractions, at one of the organization’s main orphanages — also serving children in the surrounding community. Linda provided basic medical services. Matthew and
Thomas helped everywhere they could.
The August 2012 experience made such an impression, the
family immediately planned an August 2013 trip, this time
to impoverished areas in Asunción, Paraguay. That 10-day
trip was with Toronto-based Health Mission Outreach. In
Asunción, Matthew and Thomas were struck by the number
of children without shoes; so upon their return home they
organized a shoe drive that continues today — with more
than 700 pairs of shoes already shipped to the areas where
the family served. “It’s so rewarding and so fulfilling,” Yau
said. “We will continue to do a volunteer trip every year.”
Next up: India in August 2014.

Ramzi Haddad , DDS
Two years ago, a hygienist in one of the two practices that
Ramzi Haddad, DDS, owns in Toronto announced she was
volunteering for a dental-services mission to Guatemala.
She encouraged others in the office to join her on the trip
with Health Outreach, which is based in Mississauga.
Haddad hadn’t previously given such trips much
thought, but he signed on, and ultimately the office contributed six members to a team of dental professionals
that set up a temporary clinic in an old hotel-type building
in a remote area of the country.
After Haddad returned from the weeklong trip, he
signed up for a second one. And now, another year later,
he’s preparing for his third trip, this time as project leader
in the organization’s first boat-based mission. “It’s going to
be pretty rough conditions,” Haddad said, describing the
riverboat as “pretty basic.” But after his team broke the or-

ganization’s record last year for number of patients treated
in a week (380), Haddad is ready for the next challenge.
The organization typically assembles teams of 10 dental
professionals, built around four dentists and rounded out
with hygienists, assistants and support volunteers. Everyone is expected to have at least some familiarity with
Spanish, but translators also are available. On his second
trip, Haddad was surprised at how quickly his less-than
rudimentary Spanish skills bumped up a notch and steadily improved during the week.
From the looks of it, Haddad will continue indefinitely
with his annual Spanish immersion. “I just think it’s time
to start giving back,” he said. “I’m at a stage where I can do
it financially — and with my time and my family. The work
is very satisfying. You’re doing dentistry at its purest. … It
brings out the best in dentistry.”

Ramzi Haddad , DDS, left, with a patient in Montericco, Guatemala,
during a Health Outreach dental mission. Dental assistant, Bahar Safari,
right, also made the 2013 trip. Photo/Provided by Dr. Ramzi Haddad

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[13] =>

IMPLANT TRIBUNE
The World’s Dental Implant Newspaper · Canada Edition

October/november 2013 — Vol. 1, No. 4

www.dental-tribune.com

Does your implant training
meet the new guidelines?
Protocols finally catch up to legal-standard-of-care
expectations for general dentists placing implants
By Ken Hebel, BSc, DDS, MS,
Certified Prosthodontist, and Reena
Gajjar, DDS, Certified Prosthodontist

U

ntil recently, implant dentistry
was considered to be a therapy
that was primarily provided
by dental specialists, and as
such, training regulations were not an
issue because most specialties incorporate implant therapy into their residency
programs.
With implant dentistry becoming more
mainstream and being incorporated into
general practices, educators and licensing
bodies are starting to set training guidelines and parameters for practice.

Background
Several years ago, the Institute for Dental
Implant Awareness (IDIA) released a document, “Recommended C.E. Training Protocols to Meet the Legal Standard of Care for
Implant Placement.” Although not legally
enforceable, this document provided
some guidelines for continuing education
programs to meet the legal standard of
care for implant therapy.
These guidelines were based on existing
guidelines in the United Kingdom and
reviewed by many dentists, both general
dentists and specialists. The release of
such a document indicates the awareness
by the profession for guidelines to be established, both for the protection of patients and the profession.
Many undergraduate dental schools
do not offer a full curriculum in implant
dentistry. As such, many dentists are required to obtain their implant education
through post-graduate continuing education programs. With the proliferation of
implant courses, it is critical to be aware
of the training that is considered adequate
by the profession in order to embark on
implant therapy in your practice. It has
been established that short duration programs (one to three days in length) cannot
fulfill the minimum standard that the
profession considers appropriate for training in implant dentistry.

Standard of care
Did you know that although a licensed
dentist can perform any dental procedure,
if a general dentist chooses to perform
treatments that are not routinely performed by general dentists, the law holds
all practitioners to the same standard of
care that would be provided by specialists
providing similar treatments?
As such, it is imperative that dentists
who are not formally trained in implant
therapy pursue educational programs
that meet and exceed the minimum
guidelines by not only the profession, but
by their licensing body.
In May, the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario (Canada), the licensing
body for dentists in Ontario, released finalized guidelines prescribing the minimum
standards of educational requirements for
any dentist performing implant therapy.
Although this document applies only to
dentists in Ontario, it is suggestive of the
direction of the profession in establishing
standards and indicative of what current
practitioners of implant therapy consider
the minimum educational requirements.
In addition, although these requirements are not legal requirements, when a
licensing body takes these steps to provide
recommendations regarding training, it
can be assumed that should an issue arise
for a dentist providing implant therapy,
the college and other involved parties
will defer to these recommendations regarding the type and scope of training
that dentist received.

Cross-training
One interesting aspect of these guidelines
is that regardless of what phase of implant
therapy you choose to provide to your patients, you should be trained in all phases.
Dentists providing only the surgical phase
need to be trained in implant prosthetics,
and those providing prosthetics need to
be trained in surgical considerations. This
cross training is indicative of the complex,
integrated nature of implant therapy, and
the suggestion that one is not competent
in one aspect of implant therapy without
understanding all aspects.

Even with continued education, a general dentist should practice only in accordance with his
or her training and experience. Fred Michmershuizen/Dental Tribune File Photo

Another interesting aspect is the requirement for continued education and
training. Implant dentistry is such a new
and exciting area within dentistry that
techniques and products are still changing
and advancing. The need for frequent continuing education is more critical in this
field than in other areas of dentistry.

So what does this all mean for you?
If you are considering incorporating implant dentistry into your practice, or if you
already provide one or both phases of implant dentistry, we recommend that you
follow these steps:
1) Review the RCDSO guidelines and
review the IDIA recommended training protocols (“Recommended Training
Guidelines for Basic Implant Placement”).
Both of these articles can also be found on
our website, www.handsontraining.com,
under the “CE Requirements” tab and “Re-

sources” tab, respectively.
2) Research your licensing body and determine if it has set any minimum standards or guidelines.
3) Make sure the training you are considering, or have already taken, fulfills
those minimum standards (or refer to the
existing guidelines if your licensing body
has not yet set any guidelines).
4) Make sure the training institution
that you choose provides not only a comprehensive training program, but provides tools and resources that enable you
to review, refresh and continue to learn.
It is critical to emphasize that even with
continued education, a general dentist
should practice only in accordance with
his or her training and experience. As
such, patients who present with complex
” See TRAINING, page B2

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INDUSTRY

B2
“ TRAINING, Page B1
treatment situations — or a level of difficulty beyond the practitioner’s training
and skill set — should be referred to a specialist.
In any profession, guidelines are set to
not only protect the providers within that
profession, but to protect the interests of
the public.
Without proper guidelines, the standard
of care is diminished, and in many situations a low standard of care not only affects treatment outcomes, but also establishes a damaging reputation for that
particular therapy.
Guidelines within implant dentistry are
long overdue, and the establishment of
educational recommendations will serve
to raise the standard of implant therapy
provided and improve treatment outcomes to protect both the public and the
profession.
Ad

Implant Tribune Canada Edition | October/November 2013

About the authors
Ken Hebel, BSc, DDS, MS, Certified Prosthodontist, earned his undergraduate degree at the University

IMPLANT TRIBUNE

of Western Ontario in 1979 and then completed a surgical internship program. He completed the prosthodontic graduate program at the Eastman Dental Center in 1983, along with his master’s degree in anatomy.
He is a diplomat of the American Board of Oral Implantolgoy/Implant Dentistry, a diplomat of the International Congress of Oral Implantology and a fellow of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. He is an
assistant clinical professor in the Faculty of Dentistry at the University of Western Ontario and consultant to
Nobel Biocare. He is one of the founders of the Hands On Training Institute, started in 1991, where he provides hands-on mini-residency training programs. He maintains a private practice in London, Ontario, where
he provides advanced surgical and prosthetic phases of implant dentistry. Hebel can be reached via the training institute at www.handsontraining.com, or by email at info@handsontraining.com, or at (888) 806-4442.
Reena Gajjar, DDS, Certified Prosthodontist, a specialist in prosthodontics with an extensive background in computer graphics and imaging, is a co-founder of The Hands On Training Institute. She earned her
dental degree at the University of Western Ontario in 1988. After practicing as a general dentist for six years,
she returned to the Eastman Dental Center to complete her specialty certificate in prosthodontics in 1996.
Her practice in prosthodontics focused on reconstructive and implant dentistry. She is a member of several
prosthodontic and implant organizations and has taught at the University of Western Ontario Faculty of
Dentistry. She also has lectured nationally and internationally on technology in dentistry. She is the director
of the Hands On Training Institute and chief creative officer of My Dental Hub, focusing on marketing, business concepts and developing tools for clients and the dental industry. Dr. Gajjar can be reached through the
training institute at www.handsontraining.com or info@handsontraining.com or at (888) 806-4442.

Publisher & Chairman
Torsten Oemus t.oemus@dental-tribune.com
President/Chief Operating Officer
Eric Seid e.seid@dental-tribune.com
Editor in Chief
Dr. Sebastian Saba feedback@dental-tribune.com
Group Editor
Kristine Colker k.colker@dental-tribune.com
Managing Editor Implant Tribune Canada
Robert Selleck, r.selleck@dental-tribune.com
Managing Editor Implant Tribune U.S.
Sierra Rendon s.rendon@dental-tribune.com
Managing Editor
Fred Michmershuizen
f.michmershuizen@dental-tribune.com
Product/Account Manager
Will Kenyon w.kenyon@dental-tribune.com
Product/Account Manager
Humberto Estrada h.estrada@dental-tribune.com
Accounting Assistant
Nirmala Singh n.singh@dental-tribune.com
Marketing director
Anna Wlodarczyk-Kataoka
a.wlodarczyk@dental-tribune.com
Education DIRECTOR
Christiane Ferret c.ferret@dtstudyclub.com

Tribune America strives to maintain the utmost accuracy in its news and clinical reports. If you find a
factual error or content that requires clarification,
please contact Managing Editor Robert Selleck at
r.selleck@dental-tribune.com.
Tribune America cannot assume responsibility for
the validity of product claims or for typographical
errors. The publisher also does not assume responsibility for product names or statements made by
advertisers. Opinions expressed by authors are their
own and may not reflect those of Tribune America.

Editorial Board
Dr. Pankaj Singh
Dr. Bernard Touati
Dr. Jack T. Krauser
Dr. Andre Saadoun
Dr. Gary Henkel
Dr. Doug Deporter
Dr. Michael Norton
Dr. Ken Serota
Dr. Axel Zoellner
Dr. Glen Liddelow
Dr. Marius Steigmann

Corrections
Implant Tribune strives to maintain the
utmost accuracy in its news and clinical
reports. If you find a factual error or
content that requires clarification, report
the details to managing editor Robert
Selleck, r.selleck@dental-tribune .com.

Tell us what you think!
Do you have general comments or criticism
you would like to share? Is there a particular
topic you would like to see articles about in
Implant Tribune? Let us know by emailing
feedback@dentaltribune. com. If you would
like to make any change to your subscription
(name, address or to opt out) please send us
an e-mail at database@dental-tribune.com
and be sure to include which publication you
are referring to.

[15] =>

Implant Tribune Canada Edition | October/November 2013

XXXXX
INDUSTRY

The future is
now at OCO
Biomedical
Next dental implant training course is in Toronto, Nov. 22
According to OCO Biomedical, in the
future, many dental implant systems will
require minimal placement and restorative instrumentation — and need only
one universal implant body to fulfill all
surgical needs.
But the quick follow-up message from
OCO Biomedical is this: The future is here,
so there is no need to wait. According to
the company, these standards for the “future” are already the standard today for
OCO Biomedical dental implant systems,
which the company describes as being
“economical, simple, reliable and versatile
— and able to be used for a variety of implant needs.”
According to the company, the proven
implant body design used in OCO Biomedical’s implant systems enables practitioners to easily progress from mini- to fullsize one-piece or two-stage implants for
virtually any implant indication.
Unlike other dental implants on the
market, OCO Biomedical’s implants are designed for immediate loading — thanks to
dual stabilizationTM, which is a design feature that the company describes as being
unique in the industry because of how it
biomechanically secures the tip and collar
of the implant.
While other implant companies boast of
revolutionary surface treatments, according to OCO Biomedical, its implants immediately “lock” into bone at placement.
The company’s patented Bull Nose
AugerTM tip locks the apex of the implant by
pulling bone up and around the threads —
and the mini Cortic-O ThreadTM locks into
the cortical bone, stabilizing the collar. The
thread pattern and pitch of the implants
are purposely designed to immediately
maximize bone-to-thread contact.

Next training seminar Nov. 22
The next OCO Biomedical dental implant
training seminar is in Toronto, Friday, Nov.
22. According to the company, the course
is the culmination of a long history of
continuously pushing forward in research
and education. After the training session,
each participant will be familiar with and
confident in the principles of placement
and prosthetic restoration with OCO Biomedical dental implants.
To register for the course, you can send
an email to victor@ocobiomedical.com or
to anna@ococanada.com. Participants are
eligible for seven AGD C.E. credits.
Learn more about OCO Biomedical implants at www.ocobiomedical.com or contact the company at (855) 851-8558. OCO
Biomedical implant lines are FDA and
Health Canada Approved.
(Source: OCO Biomedical)

TAD
BOOTH
NO. 729

Some call it evolution, but OCO Biomedical calls its lineup of dental implants ‘Logical Progression.’
OCO Biomedical’s complete line of dental implants covers a wide range of sizes — from 2.2 mm to
6 mm diameters. From left: SDI, 3.0, ISI, TSI, ERI, Engage and Macro. Photo/Provided by OCO Biomedical

[16] =>

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[18] =>

XXXXX
INDUSTRY

Implant Tribune Canada Edition | October/November 2013

Implants training set apart by its small
classes and complex, hands-on surgery
MIS Implants Canada sees strong demand for comprehensive course
Since July 2011, the implants training
centre used by MIS Implants Canada has
taught more than 60 Canadian dentists.
During that training, those dentists
placed a total of more than 730 dental
implants and performed more than 140
open sinus lifts for patients who otherwise would not have had access to such
dental care.
The first day of the International Dental Implant Academy course, held in
Bogotá, Colombia, consists of a review
of basic theories and concepts in dental
implantology (anatomy, bone classification, guided surgery, implant design
and sinus lifts). The review is followed
by hands-on work with mandible models using a surgical kit and implant motor. Participants are encouraged to have
already reviewed a training manual
that is provided to them prior to the
course — or to have already received
theoretical teaching in dental implants.

Hands-on surgeries: implant
placement and sinus lift
The next three to four days comprise
hands-on surgeries, during which each
participant will place 20 implants and
assist a partner in placing another 20.
That means that in total, each participant will be involved in the placement
of 40 implants in the operatory — directly placing 20 and assisting with 20.
Participants will be guided under
the helpful supervision of one of the
institute’s English-speaking faculty instructors, a group comprising some of
the top periodontist and maxilla facial
surgeons in Colombia.
Part of the mission of the training
centre is to provide dental implant care
to underserved patients whose needs
might otherwise never be addressed.
Because of that, the cases that present to
course participants are often complex.
Prospective students should expect
the level of complexity in their cases to
range from medium to high.
Participants can expect to undertake
the following procedures:
• Multiple implant placements in the
mandible or maxilla.
• Closed sinus lift with implant placement.
• Extraction with immediate implant
placement.
• Ridge expansion of the mandible with
implant placement.
• Implant placement with bone grafting.
• Treatment planning using a CT scan
and guided-surgery software.
• Open sinus lift (available in advanced
course).

Surgical days are extensive
Participants can expect the surgical
days to be extensive, running from
8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The instructors work
with participants in a one-on-one setting, showing and demonstrating procedures that can be effectively taught

only through hands-on surgeries.
After participating in the training
program, participants should have the
confidence and knowledge to return to
their practice and immediately be able
to provide implant surgery to their patients.
With regard to the perception that
many North Americans might have
about Colombia, MIS Implants Canada
representatives note that the country
is re-establishing itself as one of the
strongest economies and safest destinations in Central and South America.
Based on comments from past Canadian participants, most attendees
leave with a completely different perception of Colombia than they had prior
to the course. Their revised perspective
is influenced by Bogotá’s vibrant nightlife, hospitable people and boundless
cultural opportunities.

Top left, two
participants
with a patient
during an MIS
Implants Canada
course.
Above, one of
the fully equiped
operatories in
the training
clinic.
Left, photos of
work performed
by course
attendees on
two different
patients during
the intensive
hands-on
training. Course
attendees can
expect to
directly place 20
implants, some
involving highly
complex cases,
and assist in the
placement of
another 20.

Beautiful Bogotá
The associated clinic and hotel facilities
are located in the most affluent areas of
the city. The hotel Cite Bogotá is highly
rated and has won numerous awards
from Tripadvisor. The hotel serves a
continental buffet and offers numerous amenities, including a full-service
spa and a rooftop terrace/patio (with
heated pool) overlooking the city. Also
available is daily membership to a private gym.
The hotel is within walking distance
of some of Bogota’s trendiest and most
tourist-friendly areas: Zona T, Parche 93,
Usaquen and Zona G.
Each training class is accompanied
in Bogotá by Frank Loggia, co-owner of
MIS Implants Canada. Loggia has been
to Colombia numerous times and has
accompanied Canadian dentists to Colombia for these courses many times.
His knowledge of Bogotá and the local
Spanish dialect helps each course participant experience an unforgettable
cultural journey.
Loggia will arrange ground transportation during your stay, accompany
you every morning along with the MIS
Implants Canada private driver — and
even document your cases with photos
and pre- and post-op X-rays for you to

Photos/Provided
by MIS Implants
Canada

keep for your personal records.
Loggia also accompanies the group
every evening for the complimentary
diner held at various restaurants in the
city.
According to MIS Implants Canada,
demand for the courses is high, thanks
to the program’s strong reputation and
its use of small class sizes.
In response, MIS Implants Canada has

added five courses for 2014 to accommodate as many participants as possible. Organizers advise interested participants to register at least two months
prior to a scheduled course date.
For more information, you can call
Nadia Villa at (877) 633-0076 ext: 123 or
email her at nadia@mis-implants.ca.
(Source: MIS Implants Canada)

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[cover] => DT Canada No. 5+6, 2013

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Winter Clinic packs full-scale dental convention into single-day event / Meetings-Congrès / Industry-l'industrie / Implant Tribune Canada Edition

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