Dr. Panos Papaspyridakos, Speaker at Edentulism2023

Episode summary

Dr. Panos Papaspyridakos, a Boston prosthodontist and professor of postgraduate prosthodontics at Tufts University, discusses innovations in digital full-arch implant rehabilitation ahead of his Edentulism2023 keynote. He maintains that analog and digital workflows rest on identical surgical and prosthetic fundamentals and yield comparable accuracy, with digital serving as a faster, more comfortable vehicle that reduces visits and improves patient satisfaction. He stresses individualized treatment planning: younger patients warrant conservative, bone-preserving approaches with more implants and grafting, while advanced resorption may indicate FP3 all-on-four or zygomatic solutions. He presents a reverse scan body technique, validated in in-vitro and clinical studies, that he says achieves accurate prosthetic fit while cutting full-arch treatment time roughly 40 percent — reducing five visits to as few as three, and in some cases enabling a single-visit final prosthesis with milling technology.

Key takeaways

Analog and digital full-arch workflows deliver comparable accuracy because both depend on the same surgical and prosthetic fundamentals — 'garbage in, garbage out' applies to each.
The reverse scan body technique developed by Dr. Papaspyridakos can reduce full-arch treatment time by about 40 percent, cutting a typical five-visit protocol to as few as three visits.
Studies cited indicate that using milling technology in the digital workflow can produce essentially 100 percent accurate prosthetic fit.
FP1 prostheses replace only the missing teeth, whereas FP3 prostheses restore both teeth and pink to compensate for lost hard and soft tissue.
Younger edentulous patients should be treated with conservative, bone-preserving approaches rather than irreversible ridge reduction, because no implant lasts 50 years and future re-treatment must remain possible.
Patients with advanced resorption are candidates for FP3 all-on-four or zygomatic implant concepts, while patients missing only teeth are better served by FP1 approaches with more implants and grafting.
Digital scanning limitations such as inter-implant distance, sensor fogging, saliva and a mobile floor of the mouth can compromise intraoral scans, which newer tools like the reverse scan body technique aim to overcome.

What you'll learn

Why edentulous cases must be custom-planned by age, resorption and remaining dentition rather than a one-size protocol
FP1 (teeth only) versus FP3 (teeth plus pink) prostheses and when each is indicated
Choosing more conservative, bone-preserving approaches for younger patients over irreversible all-on-four/zygoma solutions
How the reverse scan body technique can cut full-arch treatment time roughly 40%, reducing five visits to three
That digital and analog workflows deliver comparable accuracy — the fundamentals decide the outcome ('garbage in, garbage out')

About the guest