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Straumann Corporate Forum

Room 145

10:00 - 10:55 am
The Business of Immediacy
Edgar El Chaar, DDS, MS, MBA, MS

Dentistry is at a tipping point. As corporate consolidation accelerates and technology reshapoes how care is delivered, a critical question confronts the profession: is there still a future for the independent dentist - and for the doctor-patient relationship that built our practices?

These forces are not theoretical. They are changing how patients choose providers, how clinicians practice, and how trust is earned. Empowered by AI and online information, today's patients arrive informed, opionated, and seeking more than a brand name. They want expertise, authenticity, and a clinician who understands them as individuals?not as production units.

Ironically, this environment exposes the greatest vulnerabilities of large dental organizations: standardizing care across dozens or hundreds of offices, integrating clinicians at different stages of their careers, and maintaining trust in an increasingly transactional system. Scale may drive efficiency but it often struggles to deliver personalization.

Drawing from the principles outlined in my book Reclaiming Dentistry, this lecture challenges independent practitioners to rethink their value in an era of immediacy. It explores how embracing technology, expanding services, and doubling down on human connection can transform independence from a liability into a competitive advantage. The future of dentistry will not be decided by size alone?but by those willing to adapt, lead, and reclaim the profession.

Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this lecture, participants will be able to:

Analyze how consolidation, AI-driven consumer behavior, and technological acceleration are redefining the role and relevance of the independent dental practitioner.
Differentiate independent practice by leveraging personalization, clinical autonomy, and trust as competitive advantages in a commoditized dental marketplace.
Implement practical strategies to integrate emerging technologies and expanded services while preserving the doctor-patient relationship and core professional values.

11:00 am - noon
STARconcept - Digital Workflow for Full Arch Implant Dentistry 2.0
Wael Att, DDS, DMD, PhD
David Norre, DDS, PhD

The progressive shift towards implementing digitally driven technology in reconstructive dentistry is obvious. Compared to conventional methods, the ultimate goal of digital technologies is to improve the quality and capabilities in examination, diagnosis, and treatment of the dental patient. It is still questionable, however, whether such digital tools facilitate improved accuracy in data acquisition and assessment, superior efficacy in treatment planning, and more controlled and faster manufacturing process. This presentation will provide an overview about disruptive technologies in implant rehabilitation and discuss different possibilities and advantages when using innovative digital workflows. Focus will be given to new workflows facilitating synergy between surgical, functional and esthetic components in full-arch cases.

5:00 - 6:30 pm
Alternative Protocols for Immediate Load Provisionals: Analog vs Stackable vs Photogrammetry
Edmond Bedrossian, DDS, FACD, FACOMS, FAO, FITI

Implant teams have embraced the treatment of existing fully edentulous as well as the patients with ternimal dentition using the immediate load concept. Planning for the surgical phase of immediate full arch treatment may be accomplished using analogue concepts or the Digital-Work-Flow/Guided surgery. Fabrication of the immediate load provisional may also be completed using analogue, digital work flows as well as a hybrid of both, the DIGILOG technique exists.

Whether to use conventional denture for direct conversion to an immediate load provisional or to have a prefabricated provisional milled by laboratories is a point which needs to be clarified for most.

This presentation will review the steps for the fabrication of provisionals using the analogue conversion technique, Photogrammetry as well as the provisionals provided when using stackable guided surgery. The advantages as well as the limitations of each technique will be discussed for the implant team to determine the best protocols to use in their individual practices.

5:45 - 6:30 pm
Hybrid Design Implants: Are They the Future in Implant Dentistry?
Daniel Buser, DDS, DMD

The term Hybrid Design (HD) was first used by Dennis Tarnow in 1993. The term stands for an implant with a micro-rough implant surface in the endosseous portion to promote faster and better osseointegration of the implant during healing and during function, and a smooth, machined surface in the neck/collar region for the transcrestal area with contact to the peri-implant sulcus. The most prominent HD implant is the iconic Tissue Level (TL) Implant by Straumann, which was first inserted in patients in 1986 at the University of Bern (Buser et al. 1988).

Clinical long-term studies with TL implants have clearly documented the least risk for the development of peri-implant mucositis and peri-implantitis (Derks et al. 2016a; Derks et al. 2016b) when compared with implants with a micro-rough surface, all the way up to the implant neck. The long-term documentation at the University of Bern confirmed the low risk of roughly 3% for developing peri-implantitis with TX implants in a large 10-year study with 500+ TL implants (Buser et al. 2012). A most recent study by Windael et al. (2021) with 1478 non-HD implants and a 10-year observation period confirmed this again. Implants with an early bone loss (EBL) ≥0.5 mm during the first year of function showed a 5x times higher odds ratio for future peri-implantitis development. EBL of >0.5 mm means an exposure of the micro-rough surface to the peri-implant sulcus.

This lecture will present all relevant aspects of HD implants and what surgical factors are essential to achieve successful outcomes with good long-term stability. In addition, the latest development of the Straumann implant will be presented, the TLX and TLC implant both with a Hybrid Design. It represents the 4th Generation of Straumann implants.

Learning Objectives

Understand the concept of Hybrid Design Implants - Understand why HD implants have a reduced risk for the development of peri-implantitis over time.
Learn about the surgical key factors for successful outcomes with HD implants with good long-term stability.
Learn about the TLX and TLC implants, their indications, and clinical application.