Removable Or Fixed: Contemporary Treatment Planning & Digital Workflows for Edentulous and Failing Dentitions

Course Directors: Lyndon Cooper, DDS, PhD and Homa H. Zadeh, DDS, PhD

Course Description

Edentulous and failing dentitions remain among the most challenging conditions encountered in contemporary dental practice. While advances in implant dentistry have dramatically expanded treatment possibilities, clinicians are frequently faced with a critical question: when should a patient be treated with a conventional denture, implant overdenture, fixed hybrid prosthesis, or a highly esthetic FP1 restoration? The answer requires far more than technical knowledge. Successful treatment planning demands a comprehensive understanding of biologic principles, occlusion, esthetics, patient expectations, financial considerations, restorative limitations, surgical requirements, and long-term maintenance. This intensive two-day program provides a practical and evidence-based framework for selecting the most appropriate treatment option for every patient, allowing clinicians to approach removable and fixed implant therapy with greater confidence and predictability.

Combining the complementary expertise of Drs. Lyndon Cooper and Homa Zadeh, this program integrates contemporary prosthodontic concepts with advanced surgical and digital workflows. Participants will learn analog and digital approaches to complete dentures, implant overdentures, fixed full-arch rehabilitation, smile design, facial scanning, photogrammetry, intraoral scanning, vertical dimension registration, prosthetically driven implant planning, guided surgery, and dynamic navigation. In addition, the course will address patient communication, case acceptance, financial presentation of treatment options, and transition pathways from conventional dentures to overdentures and fixed implant restorations. Through lectures, clinical cases, treatment-planning exercises, and hands-on workshops, attendees will gain practical protocols that can be immediately implemented to improve patient outcomes, treatment acceptance, and practice growth.

Faculty Perspectives

Lyndon Cooper will focus on prosthodontic diagnosis, occlusion, conventional and digital dentures, implant overdentures, full-arch restoration concepts, and long-term maintenance. Homa Zadeh will focus on prosthetically driven implant planning, digital workflows, facial scanning, photogrammetry, guided surgery, dynamic navigation, surgical-prosthetic integration, and biologically driven implant therapy.

Educational Objectives

• Identify indications, contraindications, advantages, and limitations of removable and fixed implant therapies.
• Develop evidence-based treatment plans for edentulous and failing dentitions.
• Apply esthetic principles for tooth arrangement and face-driven smile design.
• Compare analog and digital complete denture fabrication workflows.
• Utilize facial scanning, intraoral scanning, photogrammetry, and AI-assisted planning tools.
• Register and verify vertical dimension using conventional and digital methods.
• Integrate surgical and prosthetic treatment planning.
• Compare static guided surgery and dynamic navigation workflows.
• Select appropriate implant components for full-arch therapy.
• Improve patient communication, case acceptance, and treatment presentation.
• Present removable and fixed treatment options from both clinical and financial perspectives.
• Recognize biologic and mechanical complications and implement maintenance protocols.

Hands-On Workshop Objectives

• Compare Locator and bar-retained overdenture concepts.
• Perform attachment placement and maintenance procedures.
• Evaluate implant positioning for removable and fixed restorations.
• Utilize facial scans, intraoral scans, and photogrammetry in treatment planning.
• Practice digital treatment-planning workflows.
• Apply decision-making algorithms through clinical cases.
• Select restorative components for full-arch implant therapy.

Program Outline

Diagnosis, Treatment Planning and Removable Implant Therapy

• Assessment of edentulous and failing dentitions
• Patient expectations, treatment acceptance, and financial considerations
• Case acceptance strategies for edentulous patients
• Conventional complete dentures: indications and limitations
• Analog complete denture fabrication workflow
• Digital denture fabrication workflow
• Esthetic tooth arrangement and smile design
• Face-driven smile design concepts
• Occlusion and vertical dimension
• Facial scanning and digital smile analysis
• Implant overdentures: evidence and outcomes
• Locator versus bar-retained overdentures
• Transition pathways: denture → overdenture → fixed restoration
• Maintenance and complication management

Workshop I – Implant Overdenture Concepts and Attachments

• Locator attachments
• Bar-retained overdentures
• Attachment maintenance
• Troubleshooting complications
• Clinical decision-making exercises

Fixed Implant Therapy and Contemporary Digital Workflows

• Fixed hybrid prostheses
• FP1, FP2 and FP3 treatment concepts
• Prosthetic space analysis and restorative design
• Intraoral scanning
• Photogrammetry for full-arch restorations
• Registration of vertical dimension
• AI applications in full-arch treatment planning
• Integration of surgical and prosthetic plans
• Prosthetically driven implant planning
• Digital workflow for implant surgery
• Static guided surgery versus dynamic navigation
• Implant components for full-arch therapy
• Biologic and mechanical complications
• Long-term maintenance protocols

Workshop II – Digital Full-Arch Planning and Implant Positioning

• Face-driven treatment planning
• Digital implant planning
• Guide design concepts
• Navigation workflows
• Component selection
• Interactive treatment-planning exercises

Who Should Attend?

General dentists, prosthodontists, periodontists, oral surgeons, restorative dentists, and members of the dental team involved in the treatment of edentulous and failing dentitions.

Key Take-Home Messages

• Select the right treatment modality with confidence.
• Integrate digital and conventional workflows effectively.
• Improve patient acceptance of comprehensive treatment.
• Enhance communication among surgeons, restorative dentists, and laboratories.
• Reduce complications and improve long-term outcomes.
• Implement practical protocols immediately in practice.