Description
On December 7, 2018 at the Loews Regency Hotel in San Francisco, The Academy of Supra-gingival Healthy Dentistry held its first Annual Meeting to a full room of over 70 dentist and dental professionals, all very excited to learn the latest on how, Supra-gingival Healthy Dentistry can provide truly healthier biocompatible dentistry for their patients.
Throughout the day, lectures were given by some of world’s most renowned dental professionals, such as Dr. Jose-Luis Ruiz (Founder), Dr. Ray Bertolotti the guru of “adhesive dentistry, PHD, Dr. Steven Lynch whom lectures internationally on several dental subjects, Dr. Rene Kurtz previously a professor at USC School of Dentistry, Dr. Tom McDonald specialized in restorative and esthetic dentistry, and Dr. Patricia Ryan previously a professor at USC School of Dentistry. Lectures with researched-based content were given, and several live demonstrations using The Los Angeles Institute’s cutting edge audio visual technology. All of which highlighted the benefits of Supra-gingival Healthy Dentistry. A modality, or style, of dentistry which uses the latest researched knowledge on materials and innovative techniques, to very intentionally preserve tooth structure and keep restorations above the gum line. A more biocompatible option, which preserves and protects not just oral health, but overall health.
Dr. Jose Luis Ruiz kicked off the first annual meeting talking about the importance of Supra-gingival dentistry and the several reasons why this technique should be practiced throughout the dental community. Dr. Ruiz highlighted that, Supra-gingival dentistry is a healthier form of dentistry compared to other dentistry techniques, which in the long run is the most beneficial, to patients and their overall health. He later talked about the importance of enamel preservation and how this can be done using margin elevation and preventing sub-gingival margins.
Following Dr. Ruiz’s informative lecture, Dr. Kurtz spoke on the topic of using Supragingival dentistry to minimize root canal therapy. Following her remarks, she gave a clear live demonstration showing the preservation of a severely damaged tooth, using the Supra-gingival techniques to show the ease in being able to prevent a patient from needing root canal therapy. Dr. Kurtz, a member of the Academy of Healthy Dentistry, was a professor at the University Of Southern California School Of Dentistry. Currently, Dr. Kurtz is a faculty member of the Los Angeles Institute of Clinical Dentistry, who participates in lectures, seminars, and continues to publish articles on occlusion and healthy dentistry. Dr. Renee Kurtz has committed a large portion of her professional career working with charities like Operation Smile, Haitian Health Foundation, and Life Haven Women’s Shelter. She is continually reaching out to the community to spread the knowledge of dental health and prevention of oral disease.
Dr. Ray Bertolotti, the guru of “adhesive dentistry”, spoke at the Annual Meeting regarding the benefits of adhesive bridges as a minimally- invasive replacement of anterior teeth. A live demonstration followed his lecture showing the technique of adhesive bridge work. As stated in his lecture, it is said that adhesive bridges have evolved to become a very reliable treatment option as opposed to single implants and other conventional methods. Excellent clinical success in 10 year trials confirms their expected longevity.
Dr. Bertolotti’s lecture was followed by Dr. Steven Lynch. Dr. Lynch, lectures internationally on a variety of dental subjects including restorative, esthetic and orthodontic dentistry. His lecture touched on the topic of implementing Supra-gingival dentistry in the current practices of those who want to implement the Supragingival techniques, and how he, himself started to integrate Supra-gingival dentistry in his own practice. In reviewing his journey of transforming his typical dental practice into a Supragingival practice, he teaches the steps necessary to introduce occlusal and bonding procedures. His presentation did a fabulous job showing dentists and staff alike how to gain the confidence to be able to treat large esthetic cases with Supragingival techniques without the fear of failure.
The latter half of the afternoon was followed by presentation from, Dr. Tom McDonald. Dr. McDonald specializes in restorative and esthetic dentistry, while also lecturing all over the country and being part of several national and local dental organizations. Dr. McDonald discussed his contemporary approach to complex cases and the development of his present supra-gingival philosophy based on 35 years of clinical experience. A clinical demonstration showed the techniques to accurately transfer diagnostic and esthetic information from the laboratory to the mouth.
Ending the lectures was, Dr. Patricia Ryan, a previous course director for restorative and operative preclinical courses. Now, Dr. Ryan is a part time volunteer at USC and maintains her own private practice in Fullerton, CA. Dr. Ryan concluded the Annual Meeting, by disproving two major myths. Dr. Ryan debunked the following myths about how insurances do not cover partial coverage restorations, and the difficulty of making temporaries, along with another hands on demonstration.
We are excited and overwhelmed with the amount of support and positive feedback we have received, that we are more than overjoyed to get working on the Second Annual Meeting for the Academy of Supra-Gingival Healthy Dentistry. Our First Annual Meeting of Supra-Gingival Healthy Dentistry was greeted with grand success, from the amazing people attending the meeting to the amazing speakers and research they presented, and the amazing feedback from several news media outlets. At our first annual Meeting we learned the importance of minimally invasive dentistry, and the long term benefits. Excitement over our First annual meeting, reached several Media outlets, and even featured us in 175 different networks. Follow us on our social media for more announcements regarding our Second Annual Meeting and updates! We can’t wait to show you what we have in stored for you all! Stayed tuned for more!!
