Upcoming Lectures & Courses

At Southwest Specialty Group, we believe in ongoing education and research and we want to share our knowledge with other dental professionals. Our team of specialist dentists are proud to speak at dental conferences, seminars and host continuing education courses to allow dental professionals to broaden their knowledge and enhance the overall quality of patient dental care.


  • 2025 Winnipeg Interdisciplinary Dental Summit

    Winnipeg Interdisciplinary Dental Summit 2025

    Brought to you by the Canadian Dental Institute and Southwest Specialty Group

    March 21-22, 2024  |  Winnipeg Art Gallery – 300 Memorial Blvd, Winnipeg, Manitoba

    CE Credits: The event is offered by the Canadian Dental Institute (CDI), providing 9 CE hours.

    Net proceeds from the 2025 Winnipeg Interdisciplinary Dental Summit will be donated in support of the University of Manitoba Dr. Gerald Niznick College of Dentistry’s New Building Fund, for the benefit of the dental profession.

     

     

    Register by January 31 for your chance to win a $500 gift card to Inn at the Forks!*

     

    Introducing our special guest speakers for 2025!

    Dr. Chris Barwacz: Chair (DEO) and implant program director of the Department of Family Dentistry, at The University of Iowa College of Dentistry

    Dr. Thanos Dounis:  Leading authority in the field of interdisciplinary dentistry. Co-author of the book Surgically Facilitated Orthodontic Therapy: An Interdisciplinary Approach.
     
    Dr. Rodrigo Cunha: A leading dental specialist in the field of endodontics in Winnipeg, and around the world. With more than 100 publications in peer reviewed journals, and books.
     
    Dr. Konstantinos Michalakis: Chair of the Department of Restorative Sciences and Biomaterials at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, and Professor at Boston University’s Center for Multiscale and Translational Mechanobiology.
     

    Welcoming you from SSG and CDI!

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Dr. John Tsourounakis: Periodontist at Southwest Specialty Group and Dental Educator at Canadian Dental Institute
     
    Dr. Jose Viquez: Prosthodontist at Southwest Specialty Group and Dental Educator at Canadian Dental Institute
     

    Register now for a comprehensive summit on collaboration in dentistry, with Specialists from all across the industry!

    Welcome to the Winnipeg Interdisciplinary Dental Summit 2025, where innovation, expertise, and collaboration converge to advance the field of specialty dentistry. We would be thrilled to have you join this gathering of distinguished professionals, researchers, and industry leaders – all sharing a common commitment to excellence in oral health.

    Register today – attendance numbers are limited.

    March 21 – 22, 2025  | Winnipeg Art Gallery – 300 Memorial Blvd, Winnipeg, Manitoba

     

    Summit Schedule

    Friday, March 21
    07:00 – 08:30  |  Breakfast at the WAG
    08:30 – 10:00  |  Identification and Comprehensive Treatment Strategies for Non-Carious Cervical Lesions (NCCLs) – Dr. Chris Barwacz & Dr. John Tsourounakis
    10:00 – 10:30  |  Coffee break at the WAG
    10:30 – 12:00  |  Planning for Restorative Success in the Anterior Esthetic Region – Dr. Konstantinos Michalakis
    12:00 – 13:30  |  Lunch
    13:30 – 15:00  |  Beyond braces and plastic aligners: The Role of Surgery in Accelerated and Predictable Orthodontics – Dr. Thanos Dounis
    15:00 – 15:30  |  Coffee break at the WAG
    15:30 – 17:00  |  Multidisciplinary Single-Tooth Implant Therapy: Leveraging Digital Technology & Implant Provisionalization to Personalize Therapy and Maximize Outcomes – Dr. Chris Barwacz

    Saturday, March 22
    07:00 – 08:30  |  Breakfast at the WAG
    08:30 – 10:00  |  Restorative design for tooth preservation, through an interdisciplinary approach – Part 1 – Dr. Jose Viquez, Dr. Rodrigo Cunha & Dr. John Tsourounakis
    10:00 – 10:30  |  Coffee break at the WAG
    10:30 – 12:00  |  Restorative design for tooth preservation, through an interdisciplinary approach – Part 2 – Dr. Jose Viquez, Dr. Rodrigo Cunha & Dr. John Tsourounakis
    12:00 – 13:30  |  Closing Remarks

     

    Tuition Cost

    Tuition for 2 day event: $349 CAD (Dentist) / $149 (Non-Dentist) / $99 CAD (Post-Graduate Resident) / $25 (Student, Saturday only) + processing fees/tax

    Breakfast, Coffee, Snacks, and Friday Lunch included.

     

     

     

    Registration is now open

    For more information about the summit please call Chelsey at 204-488-4564 extension 3 during regular business hours, or email Chelsey at register@canadiandentalinstitute.org

     

    *Register by January 31 for your chance to win a $500 gift card to Inn at the Forks!

    Gift card is redeemable at Inn at the Forks, SMITH Restaurant, and Riverstone Spa. Learn more at www.innforks.com

     


    Summit Speakers

    Dr. Chris Barwacz

    Identification and Comprehensive Treatment Strategies for Non-Carious Cervical Lesions (NCCLs)

    FRIDAY 8:30 – 10:00

    Multidisciplinary Single-Tooth Implant Therapy: Leveraging Digital Technology & Implant Provisionalization to Personalize Therapy and Maximize Outcomes

    FRIDAY 15:30 – 17:00

     

    Dr. Chris Barwacz: Dr. Christopher Barwacz is an Associate Professor and Chair (DEO) of the Department of Family Dentistry, with a dual appointment in the Craniofacial Clinical Research Program (CCRP) at The University of Iowa College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics. Dr. Barwacz received his DDS degree from The University of Iowa College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics. He obtained his AEGD Certificate from Texas A&M Health Science Center, and subsequently completed an Implant Fellowship at The University of Iowa College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics. Dr. Barwacz currently serves as the Implant Program Director in The Department of Family Dentistry. He is a Fellow in The Academy of General Dentistry, the International College of Dentists, the American College of Dentists, and serves on the Academy of Osseointegration’s Fellowship & Certificate Steering Committee. He is a member of the International Association for Dental Research, the Academy of General Dentistry, the American Dental Association, and Omicron Kappa Upsilon (OKU). Dr. Barwacz has clinical translational research funding in oral implantology, specifically related to transmucosal factors that optimize implant prosthetic and mucosal outcomes. He maintains an interdisciplinary faculty intramural practice limited to restorative and implant dentistry at The University of Iowa College of Dentistry & Dental Clinics.

     

    Synopsis (Identification and Comprehensive Treatment Strategies for Non-Carious Cervical Lesions (NCCLs)):

    • Non-carious cervical lesions (NCCLs) present a multifactorial challenge in clinical dentistry, requiring accurate diagnosis, classification, and a multidisciplinary approach to treatment. This course explores the prevalence and etiology of NCCLs, emphasizing evidence-based strategies for their management employing either periodontal soft-tissue grafting, restorative procedures, or a combination thereof. Participants will gain insights into integrating periodontal and restorative techniques to optimize esthetic and functional outcomes for this often-overlooked clinical condition.

    Objectives:

    • Identify the prevalence, etiology, and classification of non-carious cervical lesions (NCCLs) and their clinical significance.

    • Evaluate evidence-based indications for periodontal soft-tissue grafting in the management of NCCLs.

    • Design multidisciplinary treatment plans incorporating restorative techniques and periodontal interventions for comprehensive NCCL care.

     

    Synopsis (Multidisciplinary Single-Tooth Implant Therapy: Leveraging Digital Technology & Implant Provisionalization to Personalize Therapy and Maximize Outcomes):

    Optimizing peri-implant mucosal and esthetic outcomes for long-term health and stability requires careful multidisciplinary digital planning, implant provisionalization, and ultimately patient and site-specific abutment design. Digital workflows now enable the clinician the opportunity to optimize the implant’s surrounding soft tissues in a multitude of different workflows, depending on the requirements of the specific patient and clinical scenario. This course will provide a didactic overview of significant developments that have occurred related to digital implant planning, patient-specific abutment selection and fabrication to optimize biological and esthetic outcomes of single-tooth implant restorations, and how the general dentist can leverage such technologies and workflows to optimize patient-centered care.

    Objectives:

    • Understand how digital implant planning can be used to optimize designs of patient-specific CAD/CAM abutments and custom healing abutments.
    • Review current evidence-based rationale for implant-abutment designs that optimize peri- implant bone and soft-tissue outcomes, while reducing short and long-term biological complications.
    • Identify the influence that implant provisionalization plays in optimizing peri-implant mucosal outcomes following surgery, and how soft-tissue contours can be reliably duplicated digitally to facilitate patient-specific CAD/CAM abutment designs.

    Dr. Konstantinos Michalakis

    Planning for Restorative Success in the Anterior Esthetic Region

    FRIDAY 10:30 – 12:00

     

    Dr. Konstantinos Michalakis: Dr. Konstantinos Michalakis graduated from the School of Dentistry of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. Soon after he began his 3-year residency in Prosthodontics at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. He also holds a PhD in Dental Materials from the Department of Prosthodontics of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, an MSc degree in Applied Biomechanics from the Department of Bioengineering of the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, UK, an MSc in Experimental and Translational Therapeutics from the Department of Oncology of the University of Oxford, Oxford, UK, and a Certificate in Executive Leadership for Healthcare Professionals from the Sloan Program in Health Administration, of Cornell University. He is a Diplomate of the American Board of Prosthodontics. Today he serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Restorative Sciences and Biomaterials at Boston University Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, and Professor at Boston University’s Center for Multiscale and Translational Mechanobiology. Before joining Boston University’s Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine, he was a tenured Professor and the Director of Graduate Prosthodontics at the School of Dentistry of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and an Adjunct Associate Professor at the Division of Graduate and Postgraduate Prosthodontics at Tufts University School of Dental Medicine. He has lectured extensively at both national and international meetings and he has published numerous articles in high impact peer-reviewed journals, in his areas of expertise. He has co-authored a book on Occlusion and Postural Control, and he has contributed chapters in Fixed Prosthodontics, Digital Dentistry and Implant Dentistry books. He is a member of the editorial board of several scientific journals and an ad-hoc reviewer for major Prosthodontic, Implant Dentistry, Materials, Biomechanics and Bioengineering journals with high impact factors. He serves in the Committees of several Prosthodontic Associations in the US. He has supervised and co-supervised several doctoral dissertations and postgraduate MSc theses. He is an external examiner at the University of Otago School of Dentistry in New Zealand, and he has collaborated extensively with clinicians and researchers of many prestigious universities from around the world.

     

    Synopsis:

    This presentation will focus on key factors for a predictable and successful outcome when restoring the anterior region, where the esthetics are of outmost importance. During treatment planning the restorative dentist should assess all critical parameters that are important in decision making. These involve the biology (periodontal and endodontic status of the teeth to be restored), the foundation (structural integrity and color of the abutment), the function (phonetics, incisal guidance, envelope of function) and the esthetics (position, form, size, PES/WES) of the restorations. The optical behavior of the natural teeth, as well as that of different restorative materials will also be reviewed. Finally, the parameters for consideration, when choosing a material for fixed restorations on natural teeth and implants will be presented. These include: 1. patient’s esthetic demands, 2. occlusion, 3. tooth preparation, 4. gingival biotype, 5. condition of the prepared tooth, 6. cements that will be used, 7. implant abutments

    Objectives:

    1. To identify the critical parameters in decision-making, when treatment planning for anterior restorations
    2. To be able to choose the right treatment approach for each case
    3. To be able to select the right restorative material for each case

    Dr. Thanos Dounis

    Beyond braces and plastic aligners: The Role of Surgery in Accelerated and Predictable Orthodontics

    FRIDAY 13:30 – 15:00

     

    Dr. Thanos Dounis: Dr. Thanos Dounis is the leading dental implant specialist in Fredericksburg, VA. He has dual specialty training in both Prosthodontics and Periodontal and Implant surgery. His advanced dual training ranks Dr. Thanos Dounis in a very limited group of clinicians around the nation who have 6 years advanced training after dental school. Dr. Thanos Dounis serves as a resource for his Virginia colleagues by directing study clubs where he teaches advanced dental care to other dentists. His scholarly activity is reflected by his numerous peer-reviewed publications in the field of implant dentistry in journals with significant impact factors. He has also co-authored several books. Although he lectures nationally and internationally, he has practiced exclusively in Fredericksburg since 2014. Dr. Dounis considers living in the same community that he practices very important, and he is very actively involved in the Fredericksburg community. With Synergy Periodontics & Implants he is a sustaining sponsor of the University of Mary Washington Great Lives series, Gold sponsor of the Community Foundation for many consecutive years, and is involved with multiple other organizations such as Loisann’s Hope House.

     

    Synopsis:

    Surgically facilitated orthodontic treatment (SFOT) offers several benefits for general dentists who collaborate with orthodontists and periodontists in managing complex cases. It offers enhanced treatment efficiency and expanding treatment possibilities by overcoming biologic limitations. 

    This presentation will allow clinicians to

    • Understand case selection.
    • Educate patients about the benefits, risks, and costs of SFOT
    • Create better referral relationships and strengthen multidisciplinary care.

    Dr. Rodrigo Cunha

    Restorative design for tooth preservation, through an interdisciplinary approach

    SATURDAY 8:30 – 10:00 | SATURDAY 10:30 – 12:00

     

    Dr. Rodrigo Cunha: Dr. Rodrigo Sanches Cunha completed his Undergraduate Dental Degree in 1994, which he obtained from the Catholic University of Campinas in Sao Paulo – Brazil.  His post-graduate studies include a Specialty degree in Endodontics obtained in 1997 from the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP); in 2002, a M.Sc. degree in Clinical Dentistry (Endodontics), and in 2006, a Ph.D. degree in Dental Sciences both of which he received from Sao Leopoldo Mandic Centre for Dental Research. In 2011, Dr. Cunha moved with his wife (Andressa) and three daughters (Leticia, Larissa and Helena) to Winnipeg to work as a Full-time Professor at the College of Dentistry, Faculty of Health Sciences at the University of Manitoba.  Dr. Cunha became Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada (Endodontics) in 2013 and, in 2016, decided to work in Private Practice full-time. Dr. Cunha joined Dr. Simona Pesun as the founders of Prairie Endodontics in 2018. Dr. Cunha has been a guest speaker at more than 200 events worldwide. Dr. Cunha has published more than 100 papers and abstracts in several peer reviewed journals, six book chapters, and has extensive clinical experience obtained working in Private Practice limited to Endodontics since 1995. Dr. Cunha is a Fellow of the International College of Dentistry (ICD) and is currently the President Elect of the Canadian Academy of Endodontics (CAE). Dr. Cunha is a real Winnipeg Jets fan and enjoys watching sports, swimming and enjoying his family during his spare time.

     

    Synopsis:

    This presentation is focused on procedures that we encounter on a daily basis in a restorative practice. We will discuss the necessity for a restoratively driven endodontics, where the restorative plan guides the Endodontic protocol. The indication for periodontal intervention, aiming to improve treatment prognosis, will also be reviewed. Furthermore, we will transition into how to use the adhesive concepts to maximize tooth structure preservation and increase the chances of a successful and predictable outcome. This presentation is evidenced in sound scientific research and designed to cover daily procedures in restorative dentistry requiring interdisciplinary intervention.

    Objectives:

    • Develop a decision process to determine tooth restorability.
    • Analyze how the restorative design impacts the long term prognosis of a tooth. 
    • Emphasize the need for restoratively driven endodontic treatment
    • Develop comprehensive, phased treatment plans integrating endodontic, periodontal, and restorative interventions
    • Integrate multidisciplinary approaches to manage cases effectively

    Dr. John Tsourounakis

    Identification and Comprehensive Treatment Strategies for Non-Carious Cervical Lesions (NCCLs)

    FRIDAY 8:30 – 10:00

    Restorative design for tooth preservation, through an interdisciplinary approach

    SATURDAY 8:30 – 10:00 | SATURDAY 10:30 – 12:00

     

    Dr. John Tsourounakis: Dr. John M. Tsourounakis brings a wealth of expertise and a global perspective to his practice. After earning his Doctor of Dental Surgery degree from Aristotle University in Greece in 2008, he pursued his passion for advanced dental care by completing a Master’s Degree in Health Care Management at the University of New Orleans, where he graduated with honours for academic excellence in 2011. He further honed his skills by obtaining a specialty Certificate in Periodontics in 2012 and completing a prestigious postgraduate Fellowship in Dental Implantology at Louisiana State University School of Dentistry in 2013. Today, Dr. Tsourounakis is a trusted periodontist at Southwest Specialty Group in Winnipeg, Manitoba, where he combines cutting-edge techniques with compassionate care. He also shares his expertise as a clinical instructor in the graduate periodontics program at the University of Manitoba College of Dentistry, and with Canadian Dental Institute. Recognized as a Diplomate of the American Board of Periodontology and a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentists of Canada, Dr. Tsourounakis is committed to advancing his field. Outside the clinic, John is a devoted family man who embraces life in Winnipeg with his kids and loved ones. Whether he’s navigating the snowy charm of winter, swimming, or spending quality time with friends, he brings the same passion and energy to his personal life as he does to his profession.


    Dr. Jose Viquez

    Restorative design for tooth preservation, through an interdisciplinary approach

    SATURDAY 8:30 – 10:00 | SATURDAY 10:30 – 12:00

     

    Dr. Jose Viquez: Prosthodontist Dr. Jose Viquez earned his DDS degree from Universidad Latina de Costa Rica in 2010. After joining his father in private practice for a brief period, Dr. Viquez decided to pursue his advanced training in Prosthodontics. In 2014 he received a Certificate in Advanced Prosthodontics after completing a three year residency program at Louisiana State University School of Dentistry, where he had the opportunity to work with multiple implant systems. In 2015 he completed the Surgical Dental Implant and Esthetic Dentistry Fellowship Program in the Department of Prosthodontics at Louisiana State University School of Dentistry. Dr. Viquez is a Fellow of the International Congress of Oral Implantologists and a Fellow of the Royal College of Dentist of Canada.


    Your ultimate winter destination.
    When you come to visit for the Winnipeg Interdisciplinary Dental Summit, why not build in some extra time to take in many of our winter activities? Visit the Human Rights Museum, The Forks with skating, sledding and more, or visit The Leaf at Assiniboine Park – Winnipeg’s spectacular indoor Botanical garden at Assiniboine Park. For more information on Winnipeg and it’s events and attractions, visit Tourism Winnipeg.