Dr. Masami Ando, ZAGA Center Tokyo
Episode summary
Dr. Masami Ando, founder and lead surgeon of the ORC Implant Clinic in Tokyo and the first ZAGA-certified dentist in Japan, discusses zygomatic implant rehabilitation in the Japanese market. He argues that Asian and Japanese patients frequently have weaker maxillary bone, and that by his statistics roughly 34% of Japanese candidates require zygomatic rehabilitation before All-on-4 treatment, well above Paulo Malo's original ~15% estimate, making All-on-4 in Japan largely dependent on zygomatic techniques. Ando describes a patient-centered workflow at his four clinics: first-visit counseling, presentation of similar cases, treatment after patient agreement, an average of five to six visits, and same-day fixed provisional teeth for nearly all patients. He reports the market growing about 10% annually and credits his twice-yearly four-day course, which trained most of Japan's zygomatic surgeons.
Key takeaways
- Dr. Masami Ando founded the ORC Implant Clinic in Tokyo, the first certified ZAGA Center in Japan, and was the first ZAGA-certified dentist in the country.
- By Ando's statistics, about 34% of Japanese patients require zygomatic rehabilitation before All-on-4, compared with Paulo Malo's original estimate of roughly 15%.
- Ando began using zygomatic implants around 2005 and manages four clinics in central Japan, each with a dedicated zygomatic team.
- Nearly 100% of his zygomatic implant patients receive fixed provisional teeth on the same day as surgery, without needing removal.
- Treatment at ORC Clinic averages five to six visits and begins with counseling and a presentation of similar prior cases before obtaining patient agreement.
- Ando ran a twice-yearly four-day zygomatic implant course for about 12 years; of roughly 20 dentists then performing zygomatic implants in Japan, 15 were his students.
- Ando estimated the Japanese zygomatic rehabilitation market was growing about 10% per year, held back partly by a cultural tendency to retain failing teeth.
What you'll learn
- Why Asian and Japanese patients often present with weaker maxillary bone that requires zygomatic implants
- How ~34% of Japanese candidates need zygomatic rehabilitation before All-on-4, versus Malo's ~15% estimate
- The counseling-and-similar-case treatment flow used at ORC Clinic, averaging five to six visits
- Same-day fixed provisional teeth for nearly all zygomatic patients
- Building zygomatic implant capacity in Japan through a twice-yearly four-day training course
About the guest
Dr. Masami Ando
Dr. Masami Ando was the lead zygomatic surgeon and founder of the ORC Implant Clinic in Tokyo, which became the first certified ZAGA Center in Japan (and the first in Asia). He began using zygomatic implants around 2005 when very few practitioners in Japan did, and grew his practice to four clinics in central Japan, each with a dedicated zygomatic team. A committed educator, he ran a twice-yearly four-day zygomatic implant course for about 12 years and trained the majority of Japan's zygomatic surgeons.
Credentials: Lead surgeon and founder, ORC Implant Clinic / ZAGA Center Tokyo; first ZAGA-certified dentist in Japan
