Digital Workflow and Guided Surgery
Day 1: Soft Tissue Grafting Techniques for Teeth and Implants: A Recipe for Success
Proper gingival form, architecture, and biology is critical when restoring teeth and dental implants. Periodontal surgery plays an important role in treating gingival recession, dental implants, and restorative therapy. This presentation reviews the various techniques involved and covers a variety of grafting materials available to clinicians.
Course Description:
This course focuses on gingival deficiencies around teeth and implants. It will begin with various ways to treat gingival recession around teeth to augmenting the soft tissue. Various techniques from free gingival grafts, connective tissue grafts, and allografts will be explored to treat several scenarios of recession from toothbrush abrasion to abfractions to replacing class V composites. The dental implant portion of the course focuses on prevention and treatment of recession around implants as well as ways to address poor tissue thickness and quality. Here, tuberosity grafts and pedicle grafts will be explored. Finally, soft tissue management will be reviewed as it relates to bone grafting procedures, dental implant surgery, and restorative designs. While this course consists of a series of lectures, each technique will be supported by videos and case discussions to facilitate learning.
Objectives:
1) Review common periodontal plastic surgery procedures
2) Just say “no” to the palate: Techniques for root coverage around teeth
3) Root coverage and the perio-restorative connection…TEAM Strategies
4) Soft tissue and dental implant esthetics
5) Reconstructing the edentulous ridge: Hard and soft tissue strategies
6) Restorative concepts for implant esthetics
SUMMARY - David Wong
When planning dental implants, primary consideration is often given to hard tissue, alveolar ridge dimension, vital structures, spacing, and the quality of the bone. However, a successful restoration depends on both white and pink aesthetics. White esthetics primarily encompasses the dental restoration, while pink esthetics refers to the soft tissue (ie, gingiva) and its color, contour, consistency, thickness, and phenotype. Several factors influence the appearance of implant-supported restorations, including (1) gingival levels, (2) response of the tissues to surgical and restorative procedures, (3) implant position, and (4) abutment and prosthesis design. When these factors are not optimal, soft tissue grafting is often employed to help achieve the desired result. Decision-making in soft tissue grafting can be complex, and there are often several approaches available depending on the clinician’s education, experience, and practice philosophy. This lecture will cover decision making steps to understand the relationship between hard and soft tissue and discuss soft tissue approaches to implant dentistry that may lead to better clinical outcomes.
OBJECTIVES
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Understand the complexities of soft tissue grafting around implants
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Know the importance of gingival phenotype
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Appreciate the significance of keratinized tissue
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Learn surgical techniques to enhance soft tissue around implants
Days 2 and 3: Guided Surgery
Guided surgery has been a game changer for dental implant placement and has gained massive popularity in recent years due to advancements in digital technology and materials science, adoption of reasonable software fees, and the development of simplified workflows for in-office 3D printers with open-architecture hardware. Guided surgery design does not take much more effort, skill, training, or time than manual surgery, and the results are staggering in terms of predictable and repeated accuracy. Once a CBCT scan is captured, the clinician can plan the case by measuring the bone height and width to determine the most appropriate implant for each site, observe the selected sites for any anatomical interferences (eg, inferior alveolar nerve, lingual artery, maxillary sinuses, greater palatine nerve) or ridge deficiency, and design a surgical guide for precision placement. This lecture discusses the different types of surgical guides (pilot drill guide, partially guided protocol, and fully guided protocol); the uses, advantages, and disadvantages of each; as well as how to successfully implement guided surgery into practice using specific workflows. The future of guided surgery is also addressed. The main goals of all dental implant treatments are to restore normal anatomical contours, function, esthetics, phonetics, and comfort and to enable better oral health. The pre-prosthetic workups for guided surgeries determine the best treatment plan for each individual patient to achieve this goal.
Comprehensive Guided Surgery is the session to help you get started doing guided surgery on your own entirely in-house. Develop a systematic diagnostic and treatment planning approach that begins with the result in mind that you can use for every case, every time. This session will prepare you to treatment plan implants, design surgical guides in the Blue Sky Bio software, and 3D print surgical guides. After the session, attendees will be able to plan and fabricate routine implant cases in under 10 minutes for less than $20 per case. Day 2 will cover full arch surgical guides- both bone and soft tissue supported. Learn to digitally design an ideal, patient specific dentition and translate that into beautiful wax-ups and immediate load prosthetics. This information is equally applicable to any implant system and any surgical kit you desire to use. Participants must bring own laptops.
Digital Workflow and Guided Surgery
Comprehensive Guided Surgery is the session to help you get started doing guided surgery on your own entirely in-house. Develop a systematic diagnostic and treatment planning approach that begins with the end result in mind that you can use for every case, every time. This session will prepare you to plan treatment implants, design surgical guides in the Blue Sky Bio software, and 3D print surgical guides. After the session, attendees will be able to plan and fabricate routine implant cases in under 10 minutes for less than $20 per case. Day 2 will cover full arch surgical guides- both bone and soft tissue supported. Learn to digitally design an ideal, patient specific dentition and translate that into beautiful wax-ups and immediate load prosthetics. This information is equally applicable to any implant system and any surgical kit you desire to use. Participants must bring their own laptops.
Learning Objectives:
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Learn to quickly design your own guided surgery cases from single tooth up to full arches for any brand of implants
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Learn the treatment planning requirements for predictable surgical and prosthetic success
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Learn how to export and 3d print your own surgical guides or how to outsource them to affordable services
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Hands-on exercises that teach you the drill sequence of placing implants using guided kits
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How to design provisional and final prosthetics.
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Discuss the value of 2D simulations and facial scans in the treatment planning process
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Understand the various full arch prosthetic options from fixed crown and bridge (FP1) to fixed hybrids and removable overdentures and how the approach will differ for each.
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Explore guided kits and surgical approaches that will help you perform efficient and minimally traumatic surgeries
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Learn when bone reduction is indicated and the various options for bone reduction guides.
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Learn staged approaches using serial extractions.
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Learn how to make complex full arch guides using both a swappable and a stackable approach
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Gain an understanding of immediate load protocols and ways to reduce risks and complications.
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Hands-on exercises designing multiple types of full arch guides including soft tissue-supported, bone-supported, and stackable guides.
Date
July 11 - 13, 2025
Chicago, IL
David Wong
When treatment planning dental implants, primary consideration is often given to hard tissue, alveolar ridge dimension, vital structures, spacing, and the quality of the bone. However, a successful restoration depends on both white and pink esthetics. White esthetics primarily encompasses the dental restoration, while pink esthetics refers to the soft tissue (ie, gingiva) and its color, contour, consistency, thickness, and phenotype. Several factors influence the appearance of implant-supported restorations, including (1) gingival levels, (2) response of the tissues to surgical and restorative procedures, (3) implant position, and (4) abutment and prosthesis design. When these factors are not optimal, soft tissue grafting is often employed to help achieve the desired result. Decision-making in soft tissue grafting can be complex, and there are often several approaches available depending on the clinician’s education, experience, and practice philosophy. This lecture will cover decision making steps to understand the relationship between hard and soft tissue and discussion soft tissue approaches to implant dentistry that may lead to better clinical outcomes.
Danny Dominque
Dr. Daniel Domingue was born and raised in Lafayette, LA. He graduated from St. Thomas More in 1999 and went on to receive his Bachelor of Science degree from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge and his DDS degree from the LSU School of Dentistry in New Orleans. While spending three years in advanced training at Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in New York City, he served as Chief Resident of the Dental and Oral Surgery Department. His training included one year in Advanced General Dentistry and two years in Dental Implantology. After practicing for three years in Lake Charles, Dr. Domingue accepted an offer from his uncle, Dr. Smith, to become a partner in his practice. This proved to be a great opportunity for him and his family to move back home as well as to join his uncle's practice and carry on a tradition established more than 30 years ago.
During these years, he was awarded the Certificate of Achievement from the American Academy of Implant Dentistry for outstanding leadership in Implant Dentistry, a Fellowship from the International Congress of Oral Implantologists, and an Associate Fellowship of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. Dr. Domingue was also awarded Diplomate from the American Board of Oral Implantology, the highest award possible for a general dentist practicing implantology. He was also recognized as the youngest recipient of this award in the entire world. Dr. Domingue was later given a Mastership and Diplomate award from the International Congress of Oral Implantology for his outstanding work in Implant Dentistry. Dr. Domingue is a member of the American Dental Association as well as the Acadiana District Dental Association. He is also an active member of the American Academy of General Dentistry.
Corey Glenn
Dr. Glenn graduated from University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Dentistry. Following graduation, he completed the Lutheran Medical Center’s advanced program in general dentistry at the UT Memphis branch. He is a graduate of the Georgia MaxiCourse in Implant Dentistry, the American Orthodontic Society’s Comprehensive Ortho Program, and is credentialed as an Associate Fellow in the American Academy of Implant Dentistry. He has served as the CE director for the TN AGD and as president and CE director of the Middle TN Dental Study Club. Dr. Glenn is also one of the founders of Blue Sky Bio Academy, the online learning center. For several years, Dr. Glenn ran a private practice in Winchester, TN where he performed all disciplines of dentistry with a particular focus on utilizing technology and innovative techniques to provide treatment in an efficient and cost-effective manner. Dr. Glenn is the VP of Technology for Blue Sky Bio, the leading innovator in implant technology, where he focuses on product and software development as well as clinical customer support. He speaks extensively about CAD/CAM, cone beam technology, guided dental implants, dental photography, digital smile design, complete dentures, and complex full-mouth rehabilitation.