A Champions League Performance in Boston

ITI Education Week June 2-6, 2025

As a participant in this year’s ITI Education Week, I felt like I was witnessing the reunion of a Champions League football team coming together after representing their respective countries at the World Cup. And believe me, it was not a warm-up game. It was strategy, precision, vision. This was elite!
Under the head coach Prof. Dr. German Gallucci and the watchful eye of principal Prof. Dr. William Giannobile, the atmosphere was rooted in tradition, yet always seeming to move in a bold new direction.

Tradition here is not rigid, it is history with a compass.

“We need to carefully consider and select the criteria for immediate implant placement and loading protocols. When you make that choice, think through all the possibilities, it’s a deliberate decision for the future. Ask yourself: how long should a tooth-supported oral rehabilitation last? Our patients move through different stages in life, and our treatment has to support them throughout that entire journey.”

Prof. Dr. Gallucci

“We’re looking at future applications of dental regenerative medicine to advance patient care, how we can rebuild, not just restore. And what about AI? Think about its potential in risk assessment, in guiding treatment decisions. Just like the staging and grading system in periodontology: staging tells us the extent of disease, grading helps us assess the risk of progression. AI could support that kind of structured decision-making, helping us personalize care in real time.”

Dean William Giannobile

Pre-match strategy

If you believe a football match starts when the players are on the field and the referee blows the whistle, then you’ve never really watched a game. Behind the scenes is where the vision is forged. In this case, Dr. Wael Att was something of a technical director, translating data into a playbook strategy. His approach showed us that winning starts with digital planning, not by desire alone.

“We’re data-driven, yes, but we’re still not on cloud nine. Do we actually reach our destination? We’re still facing real challenges: fragmented data, unpredictable design outcomes, disconnected workflows. Right now, each step (input, design, output) for each considered subdiscipline sits in its own silo. That needs to change. We have to merge those layers, stage the data, and start thinking in terms of a complete patient avatar. And lastly, as always, tissue is the issue, bone sets the tone… but let’s be clear: the prosthodontist is always the boss.”

Dr. Wael Att

Invaluable material support came from Sam Alawie. He brought the feel of the pitch and nothing escaped his eagle eye. The selection of the colour when choosing the jersey, the grass trimmed to the optimal length, the right pressure in the ball, the tempo of the game. His contributions felt effortless, but they were important towards achieving proper execution.

Introducing the starting XI

Each player of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine team was hand-picked by Prof. Dr. Gallucci, fully aware of their role, and carried out their responsibilities with purpose. This group had been carefully selected, brilliantly led, and united by a shared vision.
Dr. Kevser Pala delivered the opening kickoff for our digital planning process, guiding attendees through the acquisition of essential datasets—CBCT protocols, intraoral and facial scans, and clinical photography—and demonstrating how to merge them in planning software. Her lecture laid the foundation for case design, ensuring that every subsequent step in implant planning could advance with both precision and confidence.

“When initiating a digital workflow for implant rehabilitation, the priority is acquiring and integrating precise datasets: from optimized CBCT protocols to intraoral and facial scans and detailed clinical photography. Ensuring these inputs are properly captured and merged in planning software lays the foundation for confident case planning before any execution.”

Kevser Pala

The Harvard team built their defense on reliability and respect. Veteran clinician Dr. Hans‑Peter Weber shared his decades of experience in a comprehensive lecture on complications, which gave us a lot of insights. Dr. Dominique Rousson then anchored the back line with a live‑surgery demonstration, giving participants a direct view into implant dentistry in action. Meanwhile, Dr. Joao Afonso infused youthful energy into the transition game, keeping the team agile and responsive.

Dr. Juan Peña Cardelles anchored the midfield with expansive vision, leading participants beyond the usual playbook by demonstrating digital workflows and surgical guides for everything from sinus lifts, guided bone regeneration and split‑bone augmentations to more unconventional moves like cyst removals and apicoectomies.

“We need to update how we think about surgical guides—they’re not just for implants anymore. With biomodels, almost any procedure can be planned and executed in a guided way. Think outside the box—or better yet, forget there ever was a box. The options are limitless: periapical surgery, sinus augmentations, and more. Guides can improve efficiency, accuracy, and even the perceived technicality at every step of the procedure.”

Juan Pena Cardelles

Every great goal needs a golden assist, and that role was mastered by Dr. Samuel Akhondi and Dr. Ignacio Pedrinaci. With surgical precision they led the audience through each crucial planning step: mapping the implant position according to the four‑millimeter rule, selecting and placing the ideal abutment, and designing the final crown with the biorestorative concept in mind. Their collaboration made it clear that flawless outcomes begin in the planning phase, long before the first incision.

“One of the key take-home messages: a 4-mm supragingival tissue height—etched in our minds as a golden rule. Know your implant connection and know that it’s the most apical 2 mm that have the greatest influence on marginal bone level stability. That’s where the biological control lies.”

Dr. Samuel Akhondi

“Customized implant components take center stage in the planning phase—they dictate crown position, implant shoulder, and ultimately determine clinical success. This is the bio-restorative implant concept in action: digital × (biological × restorative) equals success.”

Dr. Ignacio Pedrinaci

No match is won without scoring, and score they did. Dr. Alexandra Rendon, a master periodontist, showed us how to execute precise incisions, flap management and flawless suturing techniques. Dr. Jason Lee then delivered the prosthetic finish, together they crafted the ideal anterior esthetics around teeth and implants. Their combined perio‑prosthetic approach brought power and precision to every final move.

“Every detail matters in periodontal plastic surgery. But it’s not just about the surgery. You always need to take both preoperative and postoperative prosthetics into account. Leave enough space for the tissue to grow, adapt, and mature properly.”

Dr. Alexandra Rendon

“Esthetic implant rehabilitations need to be picture perfect. When placing implants immediately, pay attention to the surgical prerequisites, especially the distance from the buccal plate and the positioning challenges that come with it. Precision here is everything.”

Dr. Jason Lee

Not every player needs a set role. Some define their own. Dr. Lorenzo Tavelli redefined the midfield, orchestrating the soft‑tissue strategy with unparalleled expertise. In a live‑surgery demonstration of the tunnelled coronally advanced flap he combined both the mucogingival CAF and the classic tunnel and guided participants deep into the papillae via high‑definition video. His mastery of pink esthetics made him indispensable to the team.

“When it comes to soft-tissue grafting, we take what we’ve learned from conventional techniques and adapt where necessary. We don’t cut tiny papilla anymore—if we can preserve them, we do. Think in terms of combining tunneling with CAF procedures to get the best of both. And ultrasonography? It’s not just for visualizing babies in the womb. We can now use it to assess peri-implant lesions, identify different tissue types, and evaluate dynamic tissue perfusion in real time.”

Dr. Lorenzo Tavelli

And what about the XIIth man?

And what about the twelfth man? Though eleven took the field, they would be nothing without the participants. Off the pitch, during breaks, the lines between players and spectators vanished entirely. Conversations flowed freely, tactics evolved mid‑sentence, and impromptu formations were sketched on napkins and whiteboards. We organized into supporting squads – The InBostonables, The Magic Eight, Row 4 and Veritas – and each evening we received real case homework: planning implant positions, selecting abutments, designing prosthetics and debating digital workflows long into the night. The following morning, we presented our solutions under rigorous review, with the faculty’s insight and energy driving every session forward. It wasn’t mere networking; it was collective play‑analysis in action, and without the twelfth man there simply is no game. In the same way, without participants there would be no ITI Education Week.

Final whistle

When the final whistle sounded, the energy soared higher than ever. It felt like the climax of a Champions League final that refused to end. In that instant an ITI family was born, united by shared triumph and the thrill of collective achievement. That night the full HSDM lineup assembled at the Harvard Faculty Club to celebrate under its storied roof. Laughter and fresh ideas echoed through the grand dining hall as dinner unfolded. Certificates were presented like trophies, each handshake sealing new bonds of collaboration. It was the perfect finale to a week of elite performance, destined to be remembered long after the lights dim.

“As a participant, I can say without hesitation, I was lucky to witness this game: ITI Education Week 2025 in Boston.”

Alexander De Greef

Mark ITI Boston Education Week on your calender for 2026 (date here?), you don’t want to miss that game!

Harvard team sheet

• Coach: Prof. Dr. German Gallucci
• Principal: Prof. Dr. William Giannobile
• Technical coach: Dr. Wael Att
• Goalkeeper: Dr. Kevser Pala
• Defense: Dr. Hans-Peter Weber, Dr. Dominique Rousson, Dr. Joao Afonso
• Midfield: Dr. Juan Peña Cardelles
• Assist Wing/Flankers: Dr. Samuel Akhondi, Dr. Ignacio Pedrinaci
• Support & Infrastructure: Dr. Sam Alawie
• Strikers: Dr. Jason Lee, Dr. Alexandra Rendon
• Wildcard/Free Role: Dr. Lorenzo Tavelli