There and back again…a Colson’s tale.

March and April brought some “dental” traveling our way.  And yes, we are huge Tolkien fans.

Early in March, we traveled to Carlsbad, CA with local oral surgeon Jeff Simmons, DMD, MD. Together, we attended a hands-on course sponsored by Zimmer Dental Implants. The course covered the technique used by the oral surgeon and the restorative dentist to replace an arch of missing teeth. The surgeon delivers 4 dental implants in one arch followed by a fixed, screwed retained denture– all in one appointment for the patient. The technique has been used for quite some time but Zimmer has perfected and simplified it. The training brought together the two sides of the procedures, the surgical and restorative aspect. This allows the clinicians to coordinate a seamless and efficient treatment for the patient.

There are several appointments with the restorative dentist and oral surgeon prior to the surgery. The patient wears a fixed, screw retained temporary denture for a healing period of 2-5 months. Once healing is complete, the temporary screw retained denture is removed and a final fixed, screwed retained denture is attached to the implants.

It is a fantastic treatment for patients that currently wear dentures or  have multiple missing/failing teeth and are looking for a definitive treatment to restore chewing function and esthetics.

For more information, check out the Zimmer website:  http://www.zimmerdental.com/revitalize/

Later in March, we traveled to Scottsdale, AZ for a course in Restorative Design at the SPEAR Education Center http://www.speareducation.com.  Spear is dentistry’s leading provider of continuing education for clinical expertise and practice growth.  Dr. Frank Spear is a world-renowned dentist who established this innovative dental educational center with some of the most respected minds in dentistry.  They are continuously researching, teaching, practicing, training and improving all things dental.  The training integrates comprehensive classroom education and interactive, hands-on learning to give dentists a complete understanding of clinical concepts, and skills that bring their dentistry to the next level.  

I finished my third course and have 3 more to go to complete my continuum of higher level learning.

Finally, we travelled to Dallas, TX to research some new technology for our practice.  We are interested in incorporating CAD/CAM for crowns.  This equates to same day crowns and eliminates the need for a temporary crown.  http://e4d.com/planscan-complete-system/

Thanks for your interest!  Until next time…

Dr. Jill Colson