Dental Implant Team Combined Programme - Thursday Morning

All members of the dental team play an important role in educating patients about available treatment options. For over two decades, as implant dentistry has evolved to be the norm in the treatment planning process and not the exception, clinicians have evolved from having patients sign a consent form for implant treatment, to having patients sign an “informed refusal”, stating that they were presented with implant treatment as the best option for their edentulism, but did not choose this option for whatever reason, whether it was bias, cost, etc. Today, in our very litigious society, patients should be given at least one implant option for treatment of their edentulism—whether they are missing one tooth or are edentulous or partially edentulous. Every patient deserves the right to hear his/her options for treatment of their tooth loss. Patients are motivated to change their smiles for various reasons: sometimes social pressures, family pressures, or personal reasons.

Dental professionals should be knowledgeable of the modality of treatment and treatment sequencing for implant therapy so they can educate their patients about this treatment option. One cannot make a judgment call as to whether or not patients may be able to afford implant treatment by assessing their appearance or socio-economic status, and use this as a deciding factor of whether or not to speak to patients about implant treatment as an option. This programme will guide participants through the implant treatment process including identifying the role of each member of the staff.

Programme Topics:

• The role of the dental TEAM in Implant Therapy
• Increasing case acceptance through patient education financing programs
• Strategies for confidently communicating the benefits of implant therapy to patients

Programme Objectives:
At the completion of the programme participants should be able to:

• Have a working knowledge of their role in implant therapy
• Have confidence in communicating the benefits of implant therapy to patients as compared to conventional dentistry
• Identify potential candidates for implant therapy

Programme Outline:

1. Patient Education and Awareness
2. The Potential for Implant Dentistry-Statistics of Edentulism
   1. Benefits of Implant Dentistry
      1. Single Tooth Replacement
      2. Partially Edentulous Patients
      3. Completely Edentulous Patients
   2. Dialogue with Patients
   3. Role of the Staff in the Implant Treatment Process
   4. Available Tools for Educating Patients
3. Treatment Sequencing-An Overview
   1. Treatment Planning Phase
   2. Surgical Phase
   3. Restorative Phase
   4. Maintenance Phase