Highlights from the Biomet 3i 2008 Global Symposium—Science and Technology Reshape Implant Dentistry

Approximately 2,000 clinicians, auxiliary personnel, and laboratory technicians attended the BIOMET 3i Symposium on April 24-26, 2008, held at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago.

The event was truly global: 44% of the attendees were from the United States and Canada, 36% were from Europe, the Middle East, and South Africa, and 20% were from Latin America and Asia Pacific countries. General program sessions were translated into seven languages and 25 dental industry exhibitors supplemented the educational programs.

The Global Symposium kicked off on Thursday, April 24, with seven full-day pre-symposium workshops. The day included Drs. George Mandelaris and Alan Rosenfeld presenting CT Guidance Technology and Drs. Harold Baumgarten and Gary Morris presenting Comprehensive Treatment Planning For The Implant Team—An Interactive And Multidisciplinary Approach. Additionally, Dr. Stephen Wallace presented Augmentation Techniques For Treatment of The Posterior Maxilla; Dr. Gregory Keiser presented Creating And Driving Your Study Club For Enhanced Implant Practice Growth; and Dr. Jon Ruel and Richard Napolitano, CDT, presented Implementing New Technologies In The Successful Dental Laboratory. Arthur Curley, JD, and Cynthia Bollinger presented The Impact of Current Trends In Implant Dentistry On Your Practice Management and Marketing Strategies.

Also on Thursday Drs. Jaume Llena (Spain) and Oriol Llena (Spain) presented Functional vs Aesthetic Implant Considerations in the Busy Private Practice. This workshop focused on the presentation and discussion of guidelines for treatment planning the implant patient in the busy private practice.

The highest attendance for the pre-symposium programs was at CT Guidance Technology. With the growing acceptance and availability of 3-D linear and cone beam tomography, clinicians now have the opportunity to manage diagnostic inormation for predictable implant-supported prosthetic treatment outcomes. This program examined the latest technology to preplan and execute implant surgeries.

Attendance sold out for the pre-symposium program Augmentation Techniques For Treatment of the Posterior Maxilla. This 1-day comprehensive sinus course included an in-depth review of current literature as well as surgical techniques, implant designs, grafting materials and a review of new technologies for implant placement in the grafted sinus.

The pre-symposium course Implementing New Technologies In The Successful Dental Laboratory was presented for laboratory owners and technicians interested in expanding their knowledge of the latest developments and applications for CAD/CAM technology, immediate provisionalization, comprehensive treatment planning, and effective dentist-technician communications.

The General Session took place Friday and Saturday, April 25 and 26. More than 20 world-class clinicians presented the latest technologies and concepts in dental implant therapy focusing on bone preservation and esthetics, immediate loading, site preparation, and an update on cutting-edge, innovative products. Offered concurrent to the General Session was an exclusive program for all auxiliary personnel involved in every phase of implant therapy.

Dr. Richard Lazzara, BIOMET 3i’s co-founder, was on hand to moderate the Friday General Sessions. Speakers and topics included Dr. David Garber, A Multi-disciplinary Approach To Maximizing Anterior Aesthetics; Dr. John Davies, State of Science On Surfaces And Potential Impact On Treatment Protocols; Dr. Jay Malmquist, The Immediate Non-functional Single Tooth Restoration; and Dr. Laureen Langer, Management Of Severely Compromised Sites in The Aesthetic Zone.

Friday’s international speakers included Dr. Ueli Grunder (Switzerland) presenting Multifactorial Considerations For Long-Term Maintenance Of Aesthetics; Dr. Ronnie Goené (The Netherlands) presenting Soft Tissue And Bone Considerations In The Pursuit Of Ideal Aesthetics; Dr. Roberto Cocchetto (Italy) presenting Surgical And Prosthetic Interactions In Aesthetic Implant Treatment; Dr. Tiziano Testori (Italy) presenting Clinical Application Of Immediate Loading—Pearls And Pitfalls; and Dr. Pär-Olov stman (Sweden) presenting A Novel Technique For Immediate Provisional Bridge Fabrication.

Dr. Myron Nevins moderated Saturday’s sessions including Dr. Harold Baumgarten on CT Guided Minimally Invasive Surgery With Immediate Provisionalization; Dr. George Priest on Guided Soft Tissue Healing And Provisionalization—Impact On Aesthetics; and Dr. Stephen Wheeler on Review Of Techniques And Complications For Localized Ridge Augmentation. Additionally, Dr. Dennis Tarnow presented The Biologic Envelope—Implications To Treatment Planning; Dr. James Swift presented The Impact Of Bisphosphonate Therapy On Implant Treatment Planning; Dr. Alan Meltzer presented Clinical Techniques For Successful Implant Placement And Fabrication Of Implant Supported Provisional Restorations In The Aesthetic Zone; and Dr. Lee Walker presented The Emergency Mandibular Molar Extraction—Breaking The Implant Paradigm.

The day’s international clinicians included Dr. Markus Hrzeler (Germany) presenting Soft Tissue Management Considerations and Dr. Andreas Valentin (Germany) presenting Complex Implant Indications—Can Technology Help Us Treat These Patients With Implants?

The Symposium concluded on Saturday afternoon after the presentations on comprehensive treatment planning and tools of the trade.

Figure 1 Close to 2,000 clinicians, auxiliary personnel, and laboratory technicians attended the BIOMET 3i Symposium held April 24-26, 2008, in Chicago.		Figure 2 The BIOMET 3i booth offered multiple interactive areas to learn about new products.