Dental Tribune U.S. Edition No. 5, 2018

A6 EVENTS Dental Tribune U.S. Edition | May 2018 Horizontal augmentation and steep vertical drops ByERfbertESelleck,E E ManagingEEditfr CDA BOOTH NO. 227 What if you mixed an implant study club with a ski club but made it so inclu- sive that everybody was welcome to join anytime — even those who have never placed an implant or put on a pair of skis? You would end up with something like Meisinger’s Annual High Altitude Com- prehensive Implant Symposium, which put that formula together more than eight years ago and has made it success- ful every year since. The event has a core group that has never missed a meeting — which along with an attendance cap helps give the event a study-club vibe. But there’s another contingent of multi- year veterans who come as often as they can, enabling a new batch of attendees to drop in on the fun every year, creating a broad mix of new and veteran partici- pants. “It has an international feel to it. There are people here from all over the world,” said Richard Robinette, DMD, who is in private practice in Spring Hill, Tenn. “You really see how people are thinking outside of the box. You see case studies of a lot of amazing surgery. I’m a general dentist, so I see surgeries recounted here that I can only imagine.” Robinette, though, gleans plenty he can use — enough so that he has attend- ed six of the meetings. “You don’t have to be a great skier, either,” he said. This year’s meeting was held in Vail, Colo., host site for the past five years. The event has always been scheduled on the four days leading up to Super Bowl Sun- day, enabling U.S. attendees who want to get back home for the game plenty of time to do so. Many, however, tack on some extra ski days with their families. “It’s a great family meeting, especially if you want to do a ski trip,” said Scott An- derson, DDS, FIOCI, of Gunnison, Colo., who was back for his third year in a row. “It’s a real blessing for me because it’s a world-class meeting that’s so close to home. We ski two hours every day, which is perfect.” Anderson is part of a group of about a half-dozen friends who attend off and on. This year he said he was especially impressed with the sessions covering peri-implantitis issues. “I’ll be able to take a lot of this information back and implement it on Monday,” he said. An- derson said he appreciated the small size of the meeting. “It’s a study-club format. You get to talk to some of the top clini- cians in the world, but it’s fun. It’s re- At Meisinger’s Annual High Altitude Comprehensive Implant Symposium, participants in the hands-on workshop ‘Regenerative treatment of peri-implantitis defects’ receive guidance from instructor Mario Roccuzzo, DDS (pointing in photo at far right). Photos/Robert Selleck, DTA Above, in photo on left, instructor Robert Gellin, DMD, FACD, helps a participant in the hands-on workshop ‘A simplified technique for block grafting.’ In the middle and right photos, another participant is at work in the same session, receiving guidance from a workshop assistant. laxed. I’ll probably keep coming every year,” he said. Another Coloradan, Scott Lindsay, DMD, MAGD, who is in practice in the metro-Denver town of Centennial said, “The instructors are just so willing to sit down and talk with you. I reviewed a case with one of them today. They’re not in a rush to run away from the podium. They’ll sit down and talk with you, hang out with you.” Meisinger keeps attendance capped at 125 and keeps the hands-on courses, which are optional, at 25-30 attendees to enable quality interaction between in- structors and attendees. The presenters are there for the entire meeting, seam- lessly switching roles between student and teacher, attending not just the lec- tures of fellow presenters but even some of the hands-on sessions. When speakers commented on the meeting, they typically did so from a stu- dent perspective. “This is a great meet- ing. The quality of the speakers has been awesome,” said Farhad Boltchi, DMD, a periodontist in practice in Arlington, Texas, prior to presenting “Digital im- plant dentistry – the next frontier.” Before his lecture, “The ultimate digi- tal flow — restoratively driven implant planning and restoration fabrication: Ef- ficient, predictable and repeatable,” Greg Campbell, DDS, a restorative and general dentist in Long Beach, Calif., said: “The surgeries have been amazing. The hands- on courses have been phenomenal.” The digital workflow and technology sessions resonated with Grant Peterson, DDS, of Parker, Colo., who listed those as meeting highlights along with the lec- tures and workshops on peri-implantitis, bone augmentation and 3-D printing. Pe- terson was a first-time attendee. “I got a brochure in the mail and figured I should check it out. I knew of the world-class reputations of many of the speakers, but even with that I’ve been surprised by the caliber of the lectures. They’ve been phe- nomenal. And the exhibitors, too. I think I’ll come back.” The meeting returns to Vail for 2019. (For its 10th anniversary in 2020, the event is looking at locations in the Swiss or Austrian Alps.) Learning objectives this year focused on: regenerative surgical treatment of peri-implantitis defects, digital implant dentistry, horizontal augmentation and soft-tissue management around im- plants. You can learn more about the sym- posium under the “Events” drop-down menu at www.meisingerusa.com.

Dental Tribune U.S. Edition No. 5, 2018

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