Prof. Andre Chen, Speaker at Edentulism2023
Episode summary
Prof. Andre Chen, a Lisbon-based specialist in implant dentistry and former University of Lisbon faculty member, discusses the treatment of edentulous patients and the role of digital technology on the ZAGA Centers Podcast, previewing his lecture at Edentulism2023. Chen argues that no single solution fits every edentulous patient: clinicians need a full portfolio, from bone grafting and sinus elevation to tilted, short, and zygomatic implants, chosen by prosthetically driven planning around each patient's anatomy and priorities such as immediacy. Drawing on more than six years of testing digital workflows, he cautions that new tools can create new problems and should be adopted only where they genuinely improve results and reproducibility across operators of different skill levels. He identifies a high-quality in-office CBCT and the intraoral scanner as the two most valuable digital investments.
Key takeaways
- No single treatment fits every edentulous patient; clinicians need a full portfolio of options matched to each patient's anatomy and needs.
- Implant dentistry is a prosthetically driven treatment: the planned prosthesis should determine the surgical approach.
- Treatment options for the edentulous maxilla range from bone grafting and sinus elevation to tilted, short, and zygomatic implants.
- Zygomatic implants can offer immediacy for patients who need a fast, single-visit solution, such as those traveling from abroad.
- Adopting digital tools indiscriminately can create new problems; tools should be kept only when they measurably improve clinical outcomes.
- Stackable surgical guides do not work in every case and should not be used purely for show.
- A good in-office CBCT and an intraoral scanner are the two highest-value digital tools in Chen's workflow.
- Well-applied digital technology lets operators of different skill levels reach the same clinical goal.
What you'll learn
- Why edentulous care needs a full range of options (grafting, sinus elevation, tilted, short, and zygomatic implants) matched to each patient
- Prosthetically driven planning: let the planned prosthesis dictate the surgical approach
- How to integrate digital tools into daily practice without creating new problems
- When stackable surgical guides work and when they do not
- Why a good in-office CBCT and an intraoral scanner are the two highest-value digital investments
About the guest
Prof. Andre Chen
Prof. Andre Chen is a Lisbon-based specialist in implant dentistry with more than 20 years in the field. He graduated from the University of Lisbon in 2004, then trained for about two and a half years at New York University under Dennis Tarnow, Sang-Choon Cho and Stephen Wallace, before completing a three-year oral surgery postgraduate program in Lisbon that earned him his specialist title. He obtained his PhD at the University of Lisbon and taught there for roughly 20 years before stepping back from academia to focus on his private practice in central Lisbon, which employs about 35 people.
Credentials: DDS, PhD; Specialist in Implant Dentistry and Oral Surgery; private practice, Lisbon, Portugal; former faculty, University of Lisbon
