Fellow Case Reports
Case Requirements • Case Submission • Frequently Asked Questions • Patient Release • Photograph Report • Radiograph Report • Written Report
General Information
Fellow applicants must have completed dental implant treatment of at least fifty (50) cases (arches). From these fifty (50) cases, the applicant will select five (5) cases on five (5) different patients to present for in-depth discussion with the examiners. The applicant must have provided the surgical and/or prosthetic treatment for these five (5) cases.
Candidates will use their examination number to identify all materials submitted for the examination. Candidates will receive this number after his or her application for the examination is received in the AAID Headquarters Office. Also, the patient’s address should NOT appear in the report.
The submitted reports become the property of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry and will not be returned.
Before you begin:
Download and read the GUIDELINES FOR CASE REPORTS FOR FELLOW MEMBERSHIP. Here you will find the criteria for each case and what should be included in your case reports. Details of when your photographs and radiographs should be taken and what views are required can be found in the Guidelines.
Download Guidelines
Check out the Frequently Asked Questions for the Fellow examination for answers to the most common questions.
Return to top
Case Requirements
Each Fellow candidate must submit and present five (5) cases on five (5) different patients for presentation to the examiners. The candidate must have provided surgical and/or restorative treatment for each of the submitted cases.
- The cases presented for the examination must include implants that are at least 3 mm in diameter.
- Each case must be on a different patient.
- Each case must be complete with the final prosthesis of the candidate's choice.
- Candidates may not submit the same case used by another candidate.
- The case must be in function for at least one year by the beginning of the examination period. Function is measured from the date of the final prosthesis to the first day of the examination period.
DO NOT SUBMIT CASES OF LESS THAN ONE YEAR IN FUNCTION FROM THE DATE OF THE FINAL PROSTHESIS DELIVERY.
The five (05) cases for presentation at examination must meet the following criteria:
- Edentulous mandible or maxilla with a full arch removable implant overdenture, utilizing two (2) or more implants.
- Edentulous posterior maxilla with pneumatized maxillary sinus requiring at least 5 mm of sinus augmentation and two (2) or more implants and its restoration.
- Anterior maxilla with one or more root form implants and its restoration.
- Any extraction with immediate implant placement or extraction with ridge preservation and delayed implant placement and its restoration.
- Edentulous mandible or maxilla with four (4) or more root form implants supporting a fixed complete implant prosthesis.
All the cases must be in function for a minimum of one year at the time of the examination.
Case Report Documentation
For all cases, candidates are required to submit 1) a written report, 2) photographs, 3) radiographs, and 4) a patient release form as specified in Case Report Guidelines. A template for each required file is posted in this section.
Return to top
Patient Release
The patient release is required for each case submission.
Submit a printed copy of the patient release form; do NOT include the patient release form in the electronic case reports.
AAID Patient Release Form
This form is the ONLY place the candidate's name, office name, and address should appear in the case submission.
Return to Top
Written Report
The written narrative report is required for all submitted cases.
The written report is the step-by-step narrative of how the treatment was completed, why the candidate chose these methods and materials, and what this means to the patient. Candidates must develop written narrative (prose) reports for three cases for the Fellow examinations.
A successful written report guides the reader through the case beginning with the patient's complaint and examination, then proceeding to the development and rationale of the treatment plan.
Next will be details of the surgical and prosthetic procedures (including treatment dates, materials, techniques, and rationale). The report continues with a comparison of preoperative and postoperative diagnoses and any complication that occurred. The patient acceptance and prognosis conclude the report.
Tips for writing the Written Report
The Written Report Template outlines the information the reader needs to understand the case and rationale behind the treatment decisions
- In each report, the arch that was treated must be specified; and the teeth must be identified by name, not number.
- If an abbreviation is used in the narrative (prose) reports, it must be explained the first time that it is used in the narrative report.
- The candidate’s name, office name, and address must not appear anywhere in the reports except on the patient release form.
- Also, the patient’s address should NOT appear in the report.
- The written narrative reports must include all of the pertinent information included in the template outline.
Creating the Written Report
Step 1: Download and save the Written Report Template (requires Microsoft Word)
Step 2: On page 1, type your examination number and the patient’s initials and choose the case type from the pull-down menu. Each candidate is issued an examination number after submitting the application for examination to the Headquarters Office.
Step 3: On page 2, insert a scanned copy of the medical history, which has the patient’s signature, by doing the following: (1) click on the sample history and (2) go to INSERT picture and insert a scanned image file of the patient’s medical history. Be sure that the scanned copy is LEGIBLE and does NOT contain candidate’s name, office name, or address.
Step 4: Beginning on page 3, there are headings for each section of the template outline. The content that must be included in each section is described in the grey shaded area, which is under the section heading. The content descriptions are the information the examiners have requested to understand the case. Begin typing the report text in the grey shaded area where your text will write over the content description. To move to the next section of the report, hit TAB.
Step 5: When the written report is completed, label and save in the appropriate case folder in your files (e.g. Edentulous Case Written Report).
Return to Top
Photograph Report
All photographs must be of good quality (diagnostic value).
Cheek retractors must be used for all intraoral photos, and a high-quality side view mirror must be used for all posterior views.
These photographs must clearly depict the soft tissue relationship to the implant prosthesis. The tooth (teeth) of interest must be shown in each of the photographs.
Unless specified, the photographs should be taken post-completion.
All visual images presented in the photographs must be in their natural state and must not have been altered by a graphics editing program such as Adobe Photoshop. Do not submit any photographs that are not required.
Photograph Template
Required Photographs
All photographs must comply with applicable patient privacy laws
- Occlusal view of maxillary arch
- Occlusal view of mandibular arch
- Frontal view in maximum intercuspation position (MIP)
- Left side in MIP
- Right side in MIP
For cases that involve an implant supported / retained removable prostheses:
- Occlusal views of all implant attachment mechanisms (intra-oral)
- Views of tissue surface areas of the removable prosthesis
Creating the Photograph Report
Step 1: Download and save the photograph template as specified for the case type in Required Photograph views section.
Step 2: Open the template for photographs in Microsoft PowerPoint. All of the photo views required by case are listed on the opening slide(s). For each case, type the information specified in the bracketed text of the slide.
Step 3: After the required photo view slides, insert the candidate’s examination number, the patient’s initials, and the case type in the bracketed text of the slide. Each candidate is issued an examination number after submitting the application to the Headquarters Office.
Step 4: The next slide provides the template for each photograph. In the slide sorter view or the side bar on the left, right click on this slide, then choose duplicate slide, and repeat until you have inserted enough slides for each of the required photos. See above required views to decide number of slides necessary (between 8 – 14 slides.)
On each slide, type the view and date that the photo was taken, as appropriate. Only place one photo per slide.
DO NOT EDIT THE PHOTOGRAPHS.
- All visual images presented in the photographs must be in their natural state and must not have been altered by a graphics editing program such as Adobe Photoshop.
- Suspicion of photo editing is cause for disqualification from the examination.
Step 5: Name the file by candidate number, case type, and “Photographs” (e.g. 8F08_Edentulous Case_Photographs)
Return to Top
Radiographs
The radiograph report is required for each case submission.
Radiographs that meet the criteria listed in this section and show clearly the views listed below are required for all case reports submitted for both the Associate Fellow and Fellow examinations. All radiographs must be of diagnostic quality and have minimal distortion, and bone levels must be obvious.
Radiographs Template
Radiographs of the following views must be submitted with each case report.
- Presurgical panograph or a full-mouth radiographic series.
- Post-surgical (within one week of surgery) panograph or a post-surgical periapical radiograph for a single-tooth-implant
- Post-prosthetic (with prosthesis or bar superstructure in place); either panographic or periapical radiographs are acceptable
- Completed case radiograph (taken within 12 months of the candidate’s oral/case examination date.) Either a panograph or a full-mouth radiographic series is acceptable.
For grafting cases, two additional radiographs are required:
- Cross sectional cone beam radiograph of the augmentation site BEFORE the augmentation’s placement
- Pre-prosthetic cross sectional cone beam radiograph of augmentation site that shows
- 3 mm gain in bone for onlay grafts
- 5 mm gain in bone for sinus grafts
If a CT scan has been made for a case, a panoramic view and representative slices of the scan may be submitted but are not required.
Creating Radiograph and CT Scans
Download and save the radiograph template. Open the template for radiographs in Microsoft PowerPoint. For each case, type the information specified in the bracketed text of the slide. Include the candidate’s examination number, the patient’s initials, the case type, and date radiograph taken. Only place one radiograph per slide.
Name the file by candidate number, case type, and “Radiographs” (e.g. 8F08_Edentulous Case_Radiographs)
If a CT scan has been made for a case, a panoramic view and representative slices of the scan may be submitted, using the same procedure. Please note that CT scans are only required for grafting cases.
Return to Top
Case Submission
Instructions for Submission of Electronic Case Reports
Case reports for both the Associate Fellow and Fellow examinations are due in the Headquarters Office 45 days before the examination period begins. The applicant is responsible for insuring that the case materials arrive by that date; therefore, use of a delivery process that allows verification of receipt in the Headquarters Office is recommended.
The case reports must be submitted in electronic format and all materials submitted for the examination will be identified by candidate number. Candidates will receive this number after his or her application for the examination is received by the AAID office. Candidates should submit all reports online through the link in the confirmation letter, which includes a folder for each case type, labeled as appropriate, e.g., single tooth case. Only submit cases once.
Subperiosteal Cases: Candidates who are presenting a subperiosteal implant case must bring the bone model from either the direct bone impression or CT scan to the examination. Do not submit these models with the case reports.
Study Models. During the case presentations, the candidate may use study models, but they are not required. Candidates who plan to use study models should bring them to the examination. Do not submit study models with the case reports.
Failure to comply with the case report guidelines, including the radiographs, photographs, and medical histories, will greatly affect the candidate's case report score.
View exam schedule
Return to top