Fellow Requirements & Examination
Membership and Experiential Requirements:
Any member who is an Associate Fellow of the Academy in good standing, has five or more years
of experience in the practice of implant dentistry, and provides the surgical and/or prosthetic
phases of implant treatment is eligible for election as a Fellow. In addition, those who have passed
Part 1 (written) of the Associate Fellow examination have the option of taking the oral/case examination
for Fellow membership, provided they meet the requirements.
Educational Requirements:
All applicants for Fellowship must have completed a minimum of 400 hours of continuing education
in implant dentistry, i.e., 100 hours in addition to the 300 hours, of which 75 must be in a participatory/
hands-on format, required for Associate Fellow membership, which must be divided between the sciences related to implant dentistry and clinical implant education.
The science component should include internal medicine, anatomy, histology, pathology,
pharmacology, bone physiology, immunology, radiology, and dental materials. Education in
clinical implantology and related courses must include various implant modalities. Suggested
clinical subjects are: root-form, plate-form, subperiosteal, and ramus frame implants; grafts;
occlusion; oral and maxillofacial surgery; prosthetics; and periodontics.
Graduation from a full-time implant dentistry, periodontal, oral and maxillofacial surgery,
or prosthodontics program (of at least one year) fulfills the educational requirement for either the
Associate Fellow (300 hours) or Fellow (400 hours) examination.
The Examination Process:
The Fellow examination has two parts. For those seriously considering applying for Fellowship, download the Fellow Guidebook. The candidate must be proficient in both the surgical and prosthetic treatment.
The examination begins with an oral examination in front of AAID-credentialed reviewers and is clinically oriented. For the oral examination, candidates review a written description, a panograph, and a photograph for five (5) standardized cases, and then respond to questions related to treatment.
For the second part, candidates must submit and defend their own cases. Candidates must submit five (5) cases for in-depth discussion with the examiners. The candidate must have provided the surgical and/or prosthetic treatment for each of these cases. The candidate must be proficient in both the surgical and prosthetic treatment. Each case must be on a different patient and must be complete with the final prosthesis in function for at least one year by the beginning of the examination period. The submitted reports become the property of the American Academy of Implant Dentistry and will not be returned.
Prior to the examination, for each of the five (5) cases submitted, candidates need to include:
- A step-by-step written narrative of how the treatment was completed, why the candidate chose these methods and materials, and what this means to the patient.
- Diagnostic value photographs that clearly depict the soft tissue relationship to the implant prosthesis. The tooth (teeth) of interest must be shown in each of the photographs.
- Radiographs of diagnostic quality with minimal distortion. Bone levels must be obvious.
Case Requirements
- The cases presented for the examination must include implants that are at least three (3) mm in diameter.
- Each case must be on a different patient.
- Candidates may not submit the same case(s) as another candidate.
- Each case must be complete with the final prosthesis of the candidate’s choice.
- 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.
- A patient release is required for each case submission.
The candidate will submit cases that 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 five (5) mm of sinus augmentation and two (2) or more implants and their restorations.
- Anterior maxilla with one (1) 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.