Advanced Occlusion (July 25 - 27, 2024)
hosted bySpear EducationAdvanced Occlusion is organized by Spear Education and will be held from Jul 25 - 27, 2024 at Spear Education, Scottsdale, Arizona, United States of America.
Workshop Overview:
3-Day Lecture/Hands-On:
Occlusion can be a simple matter of making the teeth hit each other. You discovered in the Occlusion Workshop that some patients can be managed by a well-designed occlusion, and that relationship can support the stability of the system predictably into the future when the structural integrity of the joints is stable. But a great many issues involving the occlusion are not this simply resolved. When an issue of stability arises in the joints, our intervention occlusally can be incredibly counterproductive and could lead us on a pathway that is not enjoyable for the doctor nor helpful to the patient. Careful diagnosis through clinical evaluation and appropriate imaging and testing will ensure that changes made to the occlusion are consistent with stability of the temporo-mandibular joints and not undertaken without understanding the risk factors at the TM joint level. When all of the factors in the front and in the back of the system are understood and managed, making the teeth hit each other appropriately becomes a predictable outcome once again.
The Advanced Occlusion workshop is a combination of lecture, discussion, hands-on exercises, and treatment planning that will return you to your office with an increased level of confidence and understanding in designing and creating occlusion that you and your patients can enjoy for many years.
What you will learn at this workshop:
Understand the normal anatomy of the temporomandibular joint
Observe the red flags alerting us to risk factors in the front of the system
Observe the red flags alerting us to risk factors in the back of the system
Develop a diagnosis and treatment plan based on observations, appropriate imaging, and appropriate testing
Understand what imaging is appropriate, how to order or obtain it, how to interpret the data from the scans, and how it will influence your treatment plan
Utilize mounted analysis with casts (both analog and digitally generated) to visualize the impact of TM joint structural alterations on occlusal relationships
Be able to identify TM joint and tooth stability when it has been obtained
Be able to design occlusal relationships that help support that stability
Be able to test occlusal relationships through appliance therapy by inserting and adjusting a full arch appliance with partners as an exercise
Be able to create those relationships predictably on teeth
Understand when TM joint stability cannot be obtained and how to discuss realistic treatment options with patients
Topics and exercises:
In addition to the discussions, you will be revisiting aspects of examination, inserting and adjusting a full arch appliance in the operatory with two clinical partners, and completing occlusal design planning (trial equilibration) for selected cases.
Additional details will be posted as soon as information is available.
