Socket Shield & Inverta: Hands-On Partial Extraction Therapy

Partial Extraction Therapy has fundamentally changed how clinicians approach tooth removal and implant placement in the esthetic zone. The Socket Shield technique preserves the buccal bundle bone by retaining a root fragment, maintaining the natural architecture of hard and soft tissue that conventional extraction routinely compromises.

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This hands-on workshop, led by one of the original developers and most published authorities on the Socket Shield technique, focuses on integrating the Southern Implants Inverta fixture within the Socket Shield protocol. The Inverta's coronally widening geometry suits the spatial and biological demands of PET, allowing controlled management of the implant-to-shield gap and favourable emergence in the esthetic zone. This session explains precisely why, and how to use it to maximum clinical advantage.

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Working on models under direct expert guidance, participants will execute the full procedural sequence: tooth sectioning, shield preparation, Inverta placement in correct three-dimensional relationship to the shield, and gap management. The workshop is designed to build the tactile foundation and surgical precision needed to begin integrating this technique into practice with appropriate case selection.

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LEARNING OBJECTIVES

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

1. Describe the biological rationale for the Socket Shield technique and explain why the Inverta is specifically indicated within this protocol.

2. Execute the Socket Shield preparation sequence (correct sectioning depth, shield thickness, and surface management) on a typodont model.

3. Place the Inverta in correct three-dimensional relationship to the shield, with appropriate gap management and material selection.

4. Apply patient selection criteria and recognize the contraindications, intraoperative decision points, and early complication signs (shield exposure, mobility, infection) that determine procedural success.

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