91PORN

The Department of Periodontics launched its first-ever microsurgical training course, which was offered to the residents in the Certificate in Periodontics with Master's Degree program and select faculty members at the School of Dentistry.

The microsurgical training course was originally developed in 2005 at Louisiana State University by , professor and director of the Graduate Program in the Department of Periodontics, alongside Bryan Pearson, DDS, MS, and Randy Comeaux, DDS, both periodontists at in Lafayette, Louisiana.

This course was the first of its kind to provide microsurgical training exclusively for periodontics residents across the country. 

“The microsurgical training is very challenging and helps improve a clinician’s surgical skills even when they do not use a microscope during patient care. I know all our residents are going to be much better surgeons just because they had this excellent opportunity during their residency,” said .

Every periodontics resident successfully completed the two-day training, which aimed to further help to enhance their surgical skills.

“The microsurgical course was an eye-opening experience for us, especially so early on in our careers,” said Kathryn Gabel, DDS, a second-year periodontics resident. “It was an exciting way to challenge ourselves to learn new skills and broaden our horizons. I think oftentimes, we don’t know how much we are capable of until we push the boundaries, and this course did that for us. I know for me, it has forever changed how I will approach surgery, and for that, I am thankful.”

Over the years, it has evolved and now features , a periodontist from Springfield, Illinois, as an instructor, who, along with the training’s founders, have shared their surgical expertise worldwide, including with Istvan Urban, DMD, MD, PhD, adjunct clinical associate professor at the Department of Periodontology and Oral Medicine at the University of Michigan, and founder of  in Budapest, Hungary. Urban is a board member of the Osteology Foundation and has published scientific articles and textbook chapters on bone regeneration and soft tissue reconstructive surgery around dental implants.

The course was made possible by the support of , which provided the microscopes, , which supplied the instruments and , which contributed the necessary materials.