Penn Dental Medicine Hosts Foundation for Oral Rehabilitation Consensus Conference

 Select participants

conducted systematic literature reviews on different aspects of implant-based

rehabilitation prior to the meeting for discussion by the group assembled.

Those literature review topics and presentations included: 

• removable versus fixed implant-supported

  dentures by Dr. Charles Goodacre,

  (Distinguished Professor and former Dean, Loma Linda University School of

  Dentistry, USA) and Co-Chair of the conference);  

• clinical

  outcomes of full arch implant-supported zirconia prostheses by Dr. Avinash Bidra

  (Clinical Associate Professor and Director of Postgraduate Prosthodontics,

  University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine, USA); 

• influence of abutment material on

  biologic/clinical outcomes by Dr. Radi Masri (Associate Professor, University of Maryland

  School of Dentistry, USA); 

• immediate-load zygoma implants by Dr.

  Frank Tuminelli (Director of

  Postgraduate Prosthodontics, New York Hospital Queens, USA);  

• full-contour monolithic implant

  restorations by

  Dr. Petra Gierthmuehlen (Professor and Chair, Department of

  Prosthodontics, University of Duesseldorf School of Dental Medicine,

  Germany);  

• digital versus conventional implant impressions by Dr.Vygandas Rutkunas

  (Associate Professor at Institute of

  Odontology and Head of the Department of Dental and Prosthetic

  Clinic at Vilnius University, Lithuania); and 

• fit of prosthetic components and clinical

  outcomes by Dr. Joannis Katsoulis (Professor,

  Department of Prosthodontics at University of Bern School of Dental Medicine,

  Switzerland). 

• material

  selection and clinical outcomes by Dr. Wael Att (Professor and

  Director of Postgraduate Prosthodontics, University of Freiburg School of

  Dental Medicine, Germany); 

• clinical performance of CAD/CAM monolithic ceramic

  implant-supported restorations bonded to titanium inserts by Dr. Markus

  Blatz, (Professor and Chair of Preventive & Restorative

  Sciences at Penn Dental Medicine, USA) and Co-Chair of the conference. 

Other

participants included advisor Dr. Daniel

van Steenberghe, (Professor Emeritus, University of Leuven, Belgium); Dr. Friedrich Neukam, FOR Chairman (Professor and Chair, Department of Oral and

Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery at Erlangen-Nuremberg University Dental School,

Germany); and Ursula Stocker and Dr.

Natalia Martinez of the FOR Center team.  

“We are honored and proud

of the opportunity to host and chair this exceptional conference with global

leaders and authorities in the field of prosthodontics, who have compiled an

extraordinary wealth of significant and relevant information,” says Dr. Blatz.

“High-quality systematic reviews and consensus conferences have become

increasingly important in recent years as the back bone of evidence-based

dentistry. Being selected to host this conference also reflects on the

excellent international standing of Penn Dental Medicine and the Department of

Preventive and Restorative Sciences in the field, which we are particularly

proud of.” 

The outcomes/proceedings of the conference will be published as a special

issue of the highly ranked European Journal of Oral Implantology (publication

is anticipated in April 2017); the outcomes will also be shared via www.FOR.org. 

This was FOR’s

third consensus conference. Established in 2013, FOR is an independent,

international initiative that unites professionals from various disciplines to improve oral

health care and support humanitarian leadership. Since its inception, FOR’s mission has

been to help treat more patients in a humanitarian manner, reflecting

innovation and the highest standards of scientifically based treatment. Its web

site, www.FOR.org, remains the key portal through which the

Foundation achieves its objectives to not only disseminate knowledge on

advanced treatment modalities for patients, but also allows for peer-to-peer learning and knowledge exchange.