Pickle Prosthodontics

Expert Speaking

Dr. Pickle is available to provide presentations on the following topics to your next group meeting. They can be customized to your specific needs. He can also provide these courses in his state-of-the-art conference center that has both hands-on and patient care capabilities. Please contact us for more details.

Dental Implant Prosthetic and Restorative Basics for General Practice
All-Day Program

This course is a complete overview of the history, development and use of dental implants in dentistry. Many systems will be reviewed with an emphasis on use of basic common parts and procedures. It will cover all major types of basic implant designs (external hex, internal hex, tri-channel, Morse taper, etc), most common component parts and their use in treatment. Implant clinical dentistry will show the basics of treatment planning, site location, surgical guide stents, provisional restorations, making impressions, abutment selection and placement, final prosthetic restorations. Esthetic zone requirements will be covered. Clinical cases will include overdentures, fixed hybrids, single tooth restorations and multiple fixed units. The emphasis will be on a full review of the capabilities and use of implants in clinical general practice.

Dental Implants – Overdentures and Fixed Hybrid Prosthetics
Half-Day Program

This course covers the use of implants for direct attachments, splinted attachments and fixed hybrid dentures. A variety of designs and the planning rationale will be reviewed in detail with corresponding clinical case presentations. A range of different types of implants, attachments and configurations will be presented. Hybrid substructure design and fabrication will be shown for better laboratory understanding and communication. Esthetic zone requirements will be covered. An emphasis is placed on simplification of design whenever possible, and planning for future long-term care and maintenance.

Dental Implants –Fixed Prosthetics
Half-Day or Full-Day Program
This course will present the full spectrum of implant retained fixed prosthetics from single units to full arch restorative cases. An in depth discussion of treatment planning and interdisciplinary communication for complex comprehensive cases will be presented. We will cover diagnostic work-ups, diagnostic wax-ups and set-ups, planning for site development, surgical communication and requirements, final impressions, provisional restoration options, implant connection and design selections, abutment options, splinting or not, final fixed prosthetic designs and occlusion concepts. Esthetic zone requirements will be covered. Long-term care and maintenance in private practice will be emphasized.

Full Mouth Fixed Reconstruction
Full-Day Program

This course will present the full fixed prosthetic reconstruction for full arch restorative cases. An in depth discussion of treatment planning and interdisciplinary communication for complex comprehensive cases will be presented, as well as an etiology review and how to handle medical referrals. We will cover diagnostic data gathering, diagnostic wax-ups and set-ups, planning for site development in implant or pontic areas, surgical communication and requirements, final impressions, provisional restoration options, splinting teeth – implants - or not, final fixed prosthetic designs and occlusion concepts. Esthetic zone requirements will be covered. Evaluation and treatment of occlusal plane and vertical dimension discrepancies will be addressed. Long-term care and maintenance in private practice will be emphasized.

Complete Dentures - Conventional
Half-Day or Full-Day Program

This course will present the completely edentulous patient from initial presentation and evaluation to prosthetic conventional reconstruction. The current system of diagnosis and classification of edentulism will be presented. The range of basic materials and procedures will be explained, followed by a rationale for selection of case type applications. New materials and technique options will be emphasized for ease of application into a general practice. Communication with dental laboratories and use of assistants will be reviewed. Determining and communicating esthetic criteria, vertical dimension, occlusal plane, mould and shade, anterior and posterior occlusal concepts, insertion and follow-up will be covered. Special cases such as immediate dentures, 2-appointment dentures and medical compromises will be reviewed.

Advanced Comprehensive Diagnostic Work-Up for Complex Cases
Half-Day or Full-Day Program

This presentation will cover the full spectrum of diagnostic data gathering to make the clinician comfortable with identifying complex treatment situations. Areas covered in detail include new patient interviews, clinical charting and records, anatomical diagnostic impressions and casts, interocclusal records and mounting casts with face/earbow transfers and mandibular movement recordings. We will also cover various radiographic techniques including: digital and plain films, CAT Scans, Tomograms, MRI’s and digital body scans. The use of diagnostic photographs will be shown using both SLR and digital cameras. We will review the routine and extended series shots and how to “frame” each.

Occlusion and Function in Everyday Practice
Half-Day or Full-Day Program

The understanding of occlusion and function is necessary for every discipline of dentistry, but especially for restorative clinical practice. This course provides a thorough overview of all major approaches to occlusion in philosophy and practice. A scientific, evidence based approach is taken to provide an understanding to guide the practitioner in most occlusal situations. We will cover the related literature on occlusion, muscle function and anatomical/TMJ involvement and loading. The use of various techniques and materials will include: fabricating and mounting casts, centric relation records, vertical dimension of occlusion determinants, occlusal plane relationships, mandibular movement recordings and treating bruxism and TMJ problem patients.

Esthetics: A Functional Approach for Predictable Results
Half-Day or Full-Day Program

The esthetic end result is very dependent on the initial diagnostic evaluation and treatment plan developed early in the process. A “form follows function” approach will help assure success, so we will show a method of starting with the “Big Picture” and working down to the tooth level to achieve predictable success and not miss anything important. The application of occlusal concepts to treating esthetic dental complications is critical. A treatment plan developed from the skeletal, facial, oral, gingival and dental levels will reveal all aspects of care that need to be addressed. The use of facial and dental proportions will be covered, along with color, contour and position of teeth. The use of materials and techniques to achieve different desired effects will be emphasized.

Managing Cancer Patients for General Practices
Half-Day or Full-Day Program

There is much confusion and timidity in managing cancer patients in a general practice. This course will emphasize the primary oral problems that cancer patients have, and how to predictably manage them in a timely fashion. All cancer patients, not only head and neck cancers, should have a pretreatment dental screening and immediate therapy as indicated. All forms of cancer treatment, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy and surgery, have their own unique oral/dental consequences and methods of management. Details of treatment and referral options for the general practitioner will be reviewed. The goal is to work with the medical team as a knowledgeable peer and to help streamline the cancer therapy and prevent oral complications from effecting care adversely.

Sleep Disorders and Dentistry
Half-Day Program

This course will cover all aspects of sleep disorders and appropriate therapy as it relates to dentistry. We will begin with a complete review of normal sleep architecture and physiology, then proceed to cover the range of sleep disorders. Then the lecture will focus on the anatomy and physiology of sleep disordered breathing from simple snoring to severe obstructive sleep apnea. The wide range of medical and surgical therapies will be reviewed, followed by a detailed coverage of oral appliance therapy. The diagnosis and team management between medical and dental practitioners will be explained and emphasized for easy implementation into a general dental practice.