Lasting Impressions | Summer 2017

COLLEGE OF DENTAL MEDICINE © 27 training without interrupting their practice. NSU students in prosthodontics postgraduate work also will be taking the course. “I bring in lecturers who are the outstanding authorities and specialists in implant dentistry from around the country,” Piermatti said. “They discuss their expertise on all aspects of implantology—medical assessment of the patient, surgical head and neck anatomy, bone histology and physiology, implant surgery, implant restoration, and advanced techniques, such as bone grafting and advanced prosthodontic concepts.” Among the course objectives is to provide live surgical and prosthetic demonstrations on patients and prepare participants for the AAID Associate Fellow/Fellow mem- bership examinations. The 300-hour, interdisciplinary approach utilizes case-based learning methodology and includes live surgery demonstrations, interactive seminars, and hands-on sessions. Also included are fresh-frozen cadaver surgery, such as implant placement, soft tissue, and bone grafting, as well as relevant reviews of literature emphasizing evidence-based clinical practice. Thomas J. Balshi, D.D.S., Ph.D., a Diplomate of the Ameri- can Board of Prosthodontics, the founder of Prosthodontics Intermedica in Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, and the director of the Institute for Facial Esthetics, will codirect the course. Balshi developed dental implant treatment protocols, including Teeth in a Day for accelerated rehabili- tation, and No BoneZ Solution to eliminate the need for extensive bone grafting. The MaxiCourse of which Piermatti serves as director aligns with the CDM’s mission to develop “innovative educational programs focused on professional development, quality of care, and patient safety,” said Linnette Dobbs- Fuller, R.D.H., B.S., director of program development for the college’s Office for Continuing Dental Education. “It is an honor to have the CDM selected as one of the sites to administer this program,” Dobbs-Fuller added. “Internationally acclaimed experts in their field will mentor our attendees, who will be able to network with expert clinicians. It is a win-win for the College of Dental Medi- cine, our attendees, and their patients.” Piermatti commutes between Florida and New Jersey, teaching another MaxiCourse at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, where he has served on the faculty for many years. He also works 1 week a month seeing patients at Dental Arts of South Jersey—a 30-chair private group practice he started 37 years ago before selling it prior to moving to Florida. Piermatti built the multispecialty practice from scratch to eventually include three prosthodontists, two general den- tists, one oral surgeon, one periodontist, and several dental hygienists. He also sublet six chairs to a pediatric dentist. Piermatti—a self-proclaimed “New Jersey guy” born, raised, and educated in the state—was urged by his family to live and teach in South Florida. Daughters Laura, 35, and Valerie, 34, and son, John, 31, live in South Florida. Pier- matti moved to Parkland last year. In addition to teaching the NSU MaxiCourse, Piermatti will see private patients at Dental Arts of Boynton Beach— a practice started by Laura’s husband, Domenick Cerullo, D.M.D., who named the practice after Piermatti’s own dental office in Paterson, New Jersey. Continued on next page