Course Description

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You are about to begin a most exciting educational journey. Chances are it will challenge you. It will enlighten some (perhaps) elusive concepts. It will definitely help you develop surgical skills, will increase your capacity to diagnose and treat complicated surgical cases, and will broaden the scope of implant dentistry. If you are a general dentistry practitioner, this investment will take you beyond the learning curve achieved by the average Dentist. Most of all, you will be able to expand the service you offer to your patients and incorporate life changing oral procedures.

I have written some common questions and their answers, so you may become familiar with the training program:

1. How does the Puerto Rico MaxiCourse® work?

a)   A small group gathers every month for 4 or 5 days to fully participate in ten (10) sessions in nine (9) months.

b)   The sessions emphasize live surgeries, so most of the lectures serve to discuss the scientific background of the techniques you’ll be learning during the live surgeries. Also, an outline of suggested readings from Carl E. Misch Contemporary Implant Dentistry 3rd Edition, will be provided.

c)   Dr. Tatum and Dr. Pedroza will develop lab exercises and mentorship sessions, depending on the need of the group, to strengthen surgical skills.

d)   We have organized the surgical tasks in different teams, and all the Doctors will switch responsibilities to offer equal opportunity to all.

e)   There is a strong emphasis on IV Sedation and the Doctors will be trained and evaluated accordingly during every session.

f)      You will have the opportunity to bring your own cases discussions, to bring your own patients and do surgery on them while personally mentored by the instructors.

g)   It is important that you contact the Administrative Director, Dr. José Pedroza, so he may schedule your case discussions and the patients you are bringing to the program.

2. What are the benefits of registering in the Puerto Rico MaxiCourse®?

a)     Registering in the Puerto Rico MaxiCourse® will provide you the coverage you need to perform surgical procedures in your patients or to assist Dr. Tatum or Dr. Pedroza while they do the surgeries and teach.

b)    At the end of the training program you’ll receive a Certificate of 350 or more CEU according to the AGD Program Approval for Continuing Education (PACE).

c)     At the end of the training program you will have received over 60 hours of didactic IV Sedation instruction plus clinical practiced in over 20 patients, thus allowing you to apply for the IV Sedation license if your State Dental Board follows the ADA requirements.

d)     You will benefit from an ongoing (and true) mentorship relationship with the main instructors, even after your training has concluded.

e)     You will be allowed to come back to Puerto Rico and bring patients for surgical procedures, upon availability. You may also come back to continue enriching your learning journey. For most of the sessions, you will only pay a reasonable fee for expenses. Because of availability reasons, it is vital that you contact the Administrative Director beforehand.

3. Do I need to be experienced in implant dentistry?

No, not at all. We have had participating Doctors with no experience at all, and we have had participating Doctors that have been placing implants for over 20 years. Some of our students have gone through a myriad of professional courses and training courses. Their names and phones are available for you to contact them and inquire about their experience.

4. Is it a requirement that I bring my own patients to the program?

It is not a requirement, however we encourage you to bring your own patients. This will be your opportunity to practice and face the challenges of doing surgery in a live scenario, with Dr. Tatum and Dr. Pedroza watching over your shoulder and have the benefit to see follow up your patients and learn from it.

5. What happens if I don’t bring my own patients to the program?

a) You will do a lot of practice still. For instance:

* watching surgeries (close to 30 during the ten (10) sessions in nine (9) months!)

* assisting

* becoming responsible for the pre and post-op patient management

* participating in the Sedation protocol of the patient

* participating in the treatment discussion and in the surgery discussion

* The Program will provide patients to perform some surgeries.

Remember, you’ll become a trainee, not just a listener.

6. What is the protocol if I want to bring patients to the program?

You will contact me to schedule the case discussion during the next session. After your case has been discussed and approved by Dr. Pedroza, you will contact the Program Coordinator who will distribute to you a registration form for your patient. You have the responsibility of presenting the case to your patient and discuss with him or her the details of the surgical procedure, including the financial arrangement, as well as following up after the surgery is performed. Your patient will contact the Administrative Assistant, to make an appointment. The appointment will be made with a $500 deposit. The Administrative Assistant will follow up your patient, including emailing the instructions for oral surgery. We will provide you with a document with all the details.

7. Do I need to do any kind of homework?

a) If you choose to, you may want to prepare some of your challenging cases for discussion. The cases will be discussed in the group, and there is no limit for you to bring cases discussions. Dr. Pedroza will provide a protocol for the case presentations, which include pictures, x-rays, study models, CT scans, and any other necessary documents.

b) There are some prerequisite readings for the IV Sedation course offered by Dr. Becker and Dr. Shufflebarger as well as for the Anatomy course.

c) We encourage participating Doctors to have as a textbook: Dr. Carl Misch’s “Contemporary Implant Dentistry” book. An outline of the specific chapters to read or review will be provided for your benefit.

8. Do I have to pay the whole program tuition before the program starts?

a) No. You need to secure your space with a non-refundable deposit of $2,000.

b) There is the option of either paying the tuition in full during the first session and receive a 7% discount of the total tuition (no credit cards, please), or paying (with a credit card, check or money order) in five equal installments according to the info that appears in the policies.

9. How do I dress?

Very casual, scrubs and comfortable shoes. However, bring a jacket for the air-conditioned rooms.

10. When and at what time will I be leaving home?

a)   Check the schedule for every month. We begin at 8am, so you will need to be in PR at least the night before the session begins.

b)    For every session, we will end the day that appears in the schedule, so you will be able to fly home late in the evening the same day or the next day. For extraordinary situations out of our control, there may be slight changes in the schedule. We will try to let you know ASAP.

11. Do I need to bring any equipment or materials?

Just bring your scrubs and comfortable shoes. You may also bring a laptop and loupes with light for your own use. Surgical materials, surgical gowns, dental materials, an intraoral scanner, anatomic equipment, medications, are all provided.

12. How can I register?

If you wish to reserve a space for the program, please fill the Registration Form, Professional Profile, and Policies, and email them to prmaxicourse@gmail.com. In addition, you may contact our office at 787-781-1831.

Puerto Rico MaxiCourse®

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