CDM and Université de Genève Faculty Present "Current Concepts for Fixed Implant Restorations Utilizing Digital Technologies" Seminar
Beginning in October of 2019, Columbia University College of Dental Medicine (CDM) has partnered with ZimVie, a global manufacturer of innovative orthopedic solutions, to foster an in-depth understanding of dental implant restorative technology. The goal of the ZimVie Fellowship program is to expand the skills and leadership of early-career faculty in dental implantology and reconstructive therapies.
The first cohort of fellows — Laila Akhlaghi, DDS; Ioana Chesnoiu Matei, DDS; Michael McKenzie, DDS; Jaffer Shariff, BDS; and Charles Wei, DDS, all of whom are instructors in dental medicine at CUIMC, and Shannon Sullivan, DDS, an assistant professor of dental medicine at CUIMC — had the opportunity to deepen their understanding and expand their skills through weekly trainings and mentorship, most notably with Dr. Dennis Tarnow, CDM’s director of implant education, and Dr. James Fine, CDM’s senior associate dean for postdoctoral academic and student affairs.
Although the CDM-ZimVie collaboration was temporarily hobbled by the pandemic — “We had to switch to zooms and lost a lot of the clinical engagement,” says Akhlaghi — a second cohort of fellows has had the opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of and experience with implantology. The second class of ZimVie fellows includes Seung Jun Song, DMD; Judy Chen, DDS. MS; Christine O’Hea DMD; and Dante Devoti, DMD, all assistant professors of dental at CUIMC, and Ezzard Rolle, DDS and Laila Akhlaghi, DDS, both instructors in dental medicine CUIMC.
The new cohort has had the opportunity to study with faculty from the Université de Genève, meeting virtually every week and traveling to Geneva quarterly for what were “intense, clinical, hands-on sessions,” says Akhlaghi. Fellows were able to participate in research and clinical studies on fixed reconstructions, testing new implant and tooth-based restorative concepts, optical impressions and digital technology in dentistry and new dental materials. “I am able to share the most up-to-date, evidence-based dentistry with CDM’s residents,” Akhlaghi says.
“The University of Geneva has the only master’s program in digital dentistry, which represents a sea change in the way we practice. Instead of making physical impressions for orthodontic treatments or surgeries, now we can just scan.” Akhlaghi says that this technology will quickly replace conventional dentistry and will enhance patient care.
The fellowship program culminated on June 22 in a day-long symposium, “Current Concepts for Fixed Implant Restorations Utilizing Digital Technologies,” held at the Roy and Diana Vagelos Education Center on the CUIMC campus. Faculty and researchers from the Université de Genève who have been working with the ZimVie fellows, presented research, both virtually and in person, to CDM’s faculty and postdoctoral students.
Among the presentations made by the visiting faculty was “Diagnostics and Treatment Planning Today and Tomorrow - The Advantages and Limitations of Current Technologies,” delivered by Dr. Irena Sailer, chair, division of fixed prosthodontics and occlusion.
“Dr. Stohler’s concept for the ZimVie fellowship was to use the instructional talents of Dr. Tarnow and Dr. Sailer as force multipliers,” says Fine. “By engaging early-career faculty, we are not just helping them to enhance their didactic and clinical skills, we are making them better educators and better patient care providers. We appreciate ZimVie’s visionary approach to developing implant dentistry by supporting the education of future practitioners.”