Dr. Costa Nicolopoulos & Dr. Petros Yuvanoglu - Moderators
Episode summary
In this ZAGA Centers Podcast episode, oral and maxillofacial surgeon Dr. Costa Nicolopoulos and specialist prosthodontist Dr. Petros Yuvanoglu, surgical partners since 1998 at SameDay Dental Implants in Athens and Dubai, preview the Edentulism 2025 Conference in Barcelona, which they will moderate on day two. They contend that remote skeletal anchorage together with zygomatic and pterygoid implants has reduced the indication for extensive, high-morbidity bone grafting, while minimal adjunct grafting retains a role in immediate-function full-arch cases. They frame quad zygoma as more demanding than hybrid approaches and reserved for experienced surgeons, advocate FP1 restorations that avoid intentional bone reduction, and note zirconia's fracture problems. Forecasting the next decade, they expect dynamic navigation with open flaps, doubt subperiosteal implants will prevail, and warn that redoing failed all-on-X and zygomatic cases is a growing, destructive problem best prevented by expert training.
Key takeaways
- Dr. Costa Nicolopoulos, an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, and Dr. Petros Yuvanoglu, a specialist prosthodontist, have worked together since 1998 and are partners in the SameDay Dental Implants clinics in Athens and Dubai.
- The moderators argue that remote skeletal anchorage, zygomatic implants and pterygoid implants have reduced the need for extensive bone grafting, which they characterize as time-consuming, costly, and associated with high complication and morbidity rates.
- They see a continuing role for minimal adjunct bone grafting in immediate-function full-arch cases, but not for major extensive grafting when immediacy is possible.
- Quad zygoma is more challenging and demanding than hybrid zygoma and requires a higher surgical skill set, making it appropriate for the more experienced zygomatic implant surgeons.
- The clinicians favor FP1 restorations that do not intentionally reduce bone, and prefer polyzirconia around soft tissue without underlying bars, while noting that zirconia without bars has produced too many fractures.
- They predict dynamic navigation with open flaps will become standard within a decade and express skepticism about subperiosteal implants, citing reports of implant exposure and complications with limited follow-up.
- The need to redo failed all-on-X cases, and increasingly failed zygomatic cases, is rising and described as destructive, underscoring that the best chance of success is doing the case correctly the first time through expert training.
What you'll learn
- Why the indication for extensive bone grafting has narrowed given remote anchorage, zygomatic and pterygoid implants
- When minimal adjunct grafting still makes sense in immediate-function full-arch cases
- Hybrid versus quad zygoma and why quad demands a higher surgical skill set
- The case for FP1 restorations that avoid intentionally reducing bone, and the material limits of zirconia
- The future of full-arch: dynamic navigation with open flaps, skepticism toward subperiosteal implants, and the rising need to redo failed all-on-X and zygomatic cases
About the guests
Dr. Costa Nicolopoulos
Dr. Costa Nicolopoulos is a specialist oral and maxillofacial surgeon and zygomatic implant expert who serves as the main surgeon at the ZAGA Centers in Athens and Dubai. He has practiced immediate-loading, same-day teeth protocols since the late 1990s and co-founded SameDay Dental Implants with Dr. Petros Yuvanoglu, with clinics in Athens and Dubai. He is a moderator of day two of the Edentulism 2025 Conference in Barcelona.
Dr. Petros Yuvanoglu
Dr. Petros Yuvanoglu is a specialist prosthodontist, a Tufts University graduate who has held appointments as a visiting professor at Boston University and adjunct faculty in the prosthodontics department at Tufts University. He has partnered with surgeon Dr. Costa Nicolopoulos since 1998, delivering same-day teeth and full-mouth rehabilitations at their SameDay Dental Implants clinics in Athens and Dubai, and moderates day two of the Edentulism 2025 Conference.
ZAGA profile · LinkedIn · dental.tufts.edu
