More than 2,500 practitioners have successfully completed this curriculum in Germany so far and say themselves that they have derived considerable benefit from them.

The success of the Curriculum is derived from the professional quality of its teaching program, which is subject to continual improvement, combined with the opportunity for participants to gain practical experience in training centres at universities and private practices.

With innovation as its guiding principle, the DGI strives to constantly improve its course offerings via continuous close cooperation between community practitioners and academics to ensure our continuing high standards. The Curriculum offered here provides full credit for those studying for the Master of Science in Oral Implantology that the DGI developed together with the Steinbeis University Berlin.

Offering patients excellent implant-supported restorations has already become part of standard dental practice. Consequently, a growing number of dental professionals have made endosseous implants one of the treatments their practices offer. At the same time, instruction in implant dentistry at universities has not kept pace. For this reason the knowledge and training dentists require to remain at the forefront of their field must be provided by continuing education and conferences. The DGI has been offering oral implantology as a postgraduate course since 1998, and completion of this course has now become a requirement for being awarded the status of “board certified member of the DGI”.

Close cooperation between professors and practitioners ensures that the Curriculum adheres to the highest scientific standards while teaching skills that can be applied in practice.

We emphasize the importance of combining theory and practice. Each seminar block is led by different experts, affording the participants considerable insight into the many different approaches and strategies that oral implantology involves. In this way, our participants are not limited to the opinions of a single expert. At the same time, participants can learn on the spot how implantology in its many variations can be

Naturally the Curriculum Oral Implantology is independent of any particular manufacturer. Participants learn about the most advanced systems offered by many different manufacturers, but these companies have no influence on the content of the Curriculum.

The course runs for approximately one year. It consists of three five-day lecture units made up of several modules that build on one another. In a total of more than 130 hours of instruction, participants are provided with an overview of the entire area of endosseous implants. Study groups typically have no more than 30 participants. Every module offers a mixture of theory, practice, observation of live surgery and practical exercises. One unit including three modules runs for five days. At the end of every module students are invited to check their progress.

In order to obtain the certificate all units must be completed. A final oral examination with the instructors takes place in a collegial atmosphere at the end of the course. In addition, the participants must provide evidence that they have performed a minimum of five surgical-prosthetic treatments on their own.

Participants who attended all workshops are admitted to the exam. Case reports with documents of five individually performed surgeries and prosthetically restored patients have to be presented on the day of the exam.

These includes: Radiographs (Pre and post Surgical, Post Prosthetic Restoration), Study Modules (Initial and final cast with superstructure) and filecards. These case reports are presented and discussed during the examination. After passing the exam the certificates are handed over the same day during an evening event.