
Using models, participants will practice filling extraction sockets with bone graft material, placing membranes, and performing soft tissue grafting using the VISTA technique.
The Sinus Optimization Strategy (SOS) proposes a streamlined, graftless approach to sinus elevation designed to reduce complications, shorten healing time, and enhance predictability in implant dentistry. This concept focuses on maximizing the natural osteogenic potential of the Schneiderian membrane and surrounding sinus walls, allowing clinicians to achieve vertical bone gain without the routine use of grafting materials. By emphasizing atraumatic membrane handling, precise pre-operative diagnostics, and controlled intra-sinus space creation, SOS reframes the sinus lift as a biologically driven process rather than a graft-dependent procedure. Clinical observations suggest that minimizing foreign materials may reduce postoperative inflammation, membrane perforation risk, and graft-related morbidity, while still supporting stable implant integration. The SOS framework provides clinicians with a simplified, biologically conservative pathway for managing posterior maxillary atrophy, one that prioritizes patient comfort, procedural efficiency, and long-term implant success.
In 1989, the Japan Dental Association launched the 8020 Campaign, aiming to help people retain at least 20 natural teeth at the age of 80. The achievement rate has steadily increased from approximately 7% at the beginning of the campaign to 51.6% in 2022, reflecting remarkable improvements in oral health among older adults.
During the same period, life expectancy in Japan has increased by approximately six years, reaching 81 years for men and 87 years for women. Better preservation of natural dentition has likely contributed to improved nutrition and greater longevity. However, healthy life expectancy has shown little improvement over the past two decades, leaving an average period of disability of approximately 9 years for men and 12 years for women. Because many dental clinics are not equipped to provide hospital-based care, clinicians should prepare patients for the stage when they are no longer able to attend regular dental appointments.
The primary goal of prosthetic treatment for older adults is to establish an oral condition that remains stable and requires minimal intervention, even after patients lose the ability to visit the clinic. Long-term treatment planning should therefore focus not only on functional and esthetic outcomes but also on maintaining oral health throughout the patient’s later years.
This presentation will discuss prosthetic and implant treatment strategies for the super-aging society through long-term clinical cases, with emphasis on treatment planning that supports durable, low-maintenance oral function throughout the patient’s lifetime.
2026 ICOI International Congress of Oral Implantologists Japan Chapter Academic Conference