Scott Dyer: Treatment planning and procedures for the edentulous patient

In this lecture Dr Dyer discusses criteria for the restoration of edentulous jaws with a focus on the questions how many implants and which patient receives which treatment and why, and reviews the key basic prosthodontic principles, retention, stability, support, as well as aspects of esthetics, phonetics and patient comfort and quality of life. To develop a suitable and adequate treatment plan, it is important to go a concise and systematic way to communicate to the patient clear recommendations, what would be helpful to them, and to find out what patient one is dealing with. If a patient comes with unrealistic expectations and is not satisfied with the therapies we provide, it is sometimes better for the clinician to pass the treatment. Experience shows that many of these patients may selfcorrect and come back with more reasonable requests, and the clinician can stay in control and provide directions to the available therapy options. Dr Dyer presents in detail possible prosthodontic treatment solutions and their advantages and disadvantages, mucosa based and implant based ranging from 1 implant to 8 implants fixed options, and provides a decision guide for treatment of the edentulous maxilla and mandible. In the maxilla mucosa based dentures are considered standard of care, in the mandible 2 implant supported overdentures