REGISTRATION CATEGORY	EARLY 4/14	REGULAR	ONSITE 6/16
DENTIST - FDA/ADA MEMBER	$0	$0	$29
NON-MEMBER DENTIST	$29	$29	$39
TEAM MEMBER	$29	$29	$39
DENTAL STUDENT	$29	$29	$39

Description:

Is endodontics a dying profession? More and more clinicians are placing implants. The cost is decreasing, more people are aware of implants and their implications and implants are more predictable than before; therefore, many clinicians are quick to choose implants over other treatment modalities that may save the natural dentition. Endodontics will never be a dying profession if clinicians concentrate on what they went into this profession to do: SAVE TEETH! Clinicians must be able to provide a wide variety of services to patients to maintain their natural dentition. Clinical advances in endodontics now allow you to perform such procedures as auto transplants, reimplantation, bicuspidization, hemisections and root amputations to save teeth that are routinely sacrificed. These procedures can be done with predictable outcomes, excellent success rates and should no longer be considered “Hero-Dontics.” The natural healing ability the tooth has when compared to implants cannot be ignored and the aim must be to maintain the natural dentition whenever possible and only choose implants when all other options have been considered. In treatment planning, options that save the natural dentition even if it is considered “non-traditional” treatment must be considered. Get back to the thought processes before the day-and-age of implants and realize that when done properly by specialists, implants are an excellent and predictable ALTERNATIVE treatment option. Think outside the box to save more teeth because there is “nothing like the natural tooth.”

Learning objectives:

Participants will be able to:

• better treatment plan patients for endodontic procedures to maintain the natural dentition.

• understand when and how to place reinforced posts.

• discover the natural healing capabilities of the natural dentition when compared to single tooth implants.

• identify when a patient should be referred to a specialist for more complex procedures that maintain the natural dentition.