Have you been confused as to which occlusal philosophy to follow or which program is right for you? What if you could find a program the discussed all the benefits of each major philosophy (CR- centric relation and NM-neuromuscular) and brought them together in a rationale easy to understand program? What would that program be entitled? ULTIMATE OCCLUSION!

The goal is to offer the aesthetic dentist and ceramic technician enhanced skills for decision making and treatment execution when confronted with a simple restoration, Smile Design, patient with TMD, or a complex rehabilitation. Decision making and treatment steps are unfortunately left out of dental school curriculum when it comes to occlusion education. Many practitioners know the general rules of occlusion but in clinical practice often ignored them or still do not understand applications in every day practice. This is unfortunate because no single area of dentistry is more closely related to the long-term success of restorations than occlusion.

Our GOAL is when you learn and apply our steps your dentistry will become more predictable, your treatment plans will become more thorough and easily established, you will see less failure, and you will be able to diagnose and treat more of the dentistry you love to do!

The Ultimate Occlusion is a 2-day hands-on course designed to be as practical as possible for application into your practice the next day. Ultimate Occlusion is a scientifically based program designed to enable a practitioner to make diagnostic red flag observations, understand when and what orthotics to use to treat TMD and control parafunction, treatment plan and understand when, why, and what the appropriate occlusal changes are required, and then (possibly most important) be able to communicate these findings and the treatment options to the patient in an understandable way. The program is segmented into specific steps to follow during the process of evaluating the patient, formulating an occlusal treatment plan, and then the specific procedural approach to the restoration ultimately creating the occlusal scheme desired.

There is no patient treatment, but emphasis is on workshop sessions that replicate the clinical experience.

Step1: Diagnostic Appointment

• Understand the Masticatory System
• What determines "occlusion"
• Red Flag evaluation of occlusion and recognition of Occlusal Disease/ Occlusal instability.
• How to explain Occlusal Disease to a patient.
• Understanding and diagnosing TMJ- why do some clicks hurt and some don’t?
• The clinical implications of muscle findings
• Signs of wear and severe wear – Bruxers or Clenchers and Avoiders or Destroyers?
• Requirements for occlusal stability
• Performing your examination

Step2: What are the first steps in my treatment?

• Erasing old memories – and creating harmony in mandibular closure through deprogramming.
• Methods /Types of deprogrammers discussion and applied (Active or Passive deprogramming)
• When to use Neuromuscular principles.
• Accurate facebow and mandible tracing transfers.
• When and why facebow transfers are required.
• What defines Vertical Dimension of Occlusion and when to consider altering it (VDO); determining, setting and evaluating a new VDO.

Step3: When and how to make a final bite and what position?

• Determination and recording of final tooth and jaw positions based on several occlusal guidance philosophies.
• Evaluation of mountings and confirming final positions for restoration.
• Performance of accurate mandibular manipulation, understand normal / abnormal movements and muscular / occlusal relationships in healthy and diseased conditions.
• Verification techniques for mountings and importance of condylar position.

Step4: Getting the final pieces together!

• Electronic and MAP Procedures for occlusal diagnosis and treatment planning.
• Understanding the science behind tooth contacts and muscle harmony.
• When is it necessary to alter an occlusion?
• When and When Not to equilibrate.
• Speed Equilibration Procedure and Rules.
• When and what orthotics (splints) should be used in the pain patient.
• Joint Vibration Analysis – is the joint healthy? Does the occlusion match the joint and vice versa?
• Guidelines for Parafunction and protective appliances.

Step5: The plan is in place now how do I do it?

• Treatment Plans Execution.
• Clinical Steps: Occlusion for Smile Designs and Full Mouth Rehabilitations.