It’s something every restorative dentist inevitably sees in their practice: the patient who has lost — or is losing — their remaining teeth.  

So, it makes sense for every dentist to develop their techniques, treatment planning skills, and knowledge of prosthetic design to help them provide the best care for patients who need this special kind of restorative dentistry. 

Dr. Darin Dichter and Dr. Ricardo Mitrani designed this seminar to help doctors provide this special kind of restorative dentistry
Spear Resident Faculty members Dr. Darin Dichter, left, ​and Dr. Ricardo Mitrani designed the Treating the Terminal Dentition and Fully Edentulous Patient seminar to help doctors confidently treat cases involving fully edentulous patients.

Spear Resident Faculty members Drs. Darin Dichter and Ricardo Mitrani strategically designed Spear’s two-day seminar Treating the Terminal Dentition and Fully Edentulous Patient to equip doctors with the insights and tools they need to confidently treat cases involving fully edentulous patients and the terminal dentition. 

“There comes a point at which the benefit of removing teeth outweighs the risks of keeping them,” Dr. Mitrani says. “That’s what this seminar explains. The goal of this curriculum is to explain parameters with which to evaluate the terminal dentition as well as clear up confusion that exists on how to best treat the condition.”

Interdisciplinary treatment planning, made easier

Dr. Mitrani urges doctors to consider attending the seminar — scheduled for June 20–21 in Charlotte, North Carolina — with their interdisciplinary team. 

“This seminar puts the perspective of the surgeon, the technician, and the restorative dentist on the same level,” he says. “It unifies the criteria for treatment planning and dissipates the lines that exist between interdisciplinary team members to make conversations between them more clear-cut.” 

The curriculum is not intended to offer one simple, single solution to the dynamic and unique condition that is the terminal dentition. Patients can present in any number of ways, and Drs. Mitrani and Dichter highlight different options for managing different patient needs. 

By using these tools, doctors gain a deep understanding of what is best for each type of patient.
By using tools such as decision trees, doctors gain a deep understanding of what is best for each patient.

Using tools like decision trees, doctors learn various aspects of therapy and treatment and gain a deeper understanding of what is best for each type of patient. 

Attendees of this seminar can expect to walk away with a deeper understanding of: 

  • How to determine tooth and tissue position.

  • How to properly support or maintain teeth.

  • Which prosthetic options might best meet the patient’s expectations and financial capacity.

  • How to use a combination of both digital and analog techniques.

  • Proper interdisciplinary treatment planning, communication, and sequencing.

The curriculum offers many tips on managing these cases in a way that ensures every procedure seamlessly connects to the next, resulting in a successful, highly satisfactory prosthesis — yet another reason this seminar is so critical for the interdisciplinary team.

Learn to recognize and treat difficult cases

Beyond offering detailed steps for executing this type of treatment, this seminar is designed to highlight the importance of taking on these types of patients. Dr. Mitrani is passionate about showing dentists how to properly recognize these cases from the get-go and accept more of them. 

But what if you’re not regularly seeing patients who present this way to begin with? 

“It’s not that you’re not seeing them,” Dr. Mitrani says. “It’s that you’re not recognizing them. And even if you don’t anticipate doing much of this treatment, it’s still so important to know how to refer these cases out.” 

Improving your knowledge of how to properly recognize and treat the terminal dentition is critical to not only your patients, but your practice as a whole. 

“These patients are the best practice-builders,” says Dr. Mitrani. “They are going to constantly refer their friends to you. Because of the significant impact this type of treatment has on not just their oral health, but on their overall well-being and self-esteem, they truly embrace the concept of transformative dental treatment and they want to talk about it."