The San Jose Dental Continuum: Hands-On Implant Training
A hands-on implant training program for Bay Area dentists — founded and taught by Dr. Douglas Maxson, who has placed and restored implants for over 35 years and taught clinicians internationally as an ICOI-certified instructor.
Most implant education is lecture-based: you watch, you take notes, and you go home hoping you'll remember enough to try it. The Dental Continuum was built on the opposite philosophy — dentists learn implants by doing implants, on live patients, with an experienced mentor beside the chair.
You can place dental implants.
This isn't a marketing promise. Several of the doctors who joined the Continuum had spent years simply restoring implants — and within one year, they were confidently placing multiple implants on their own patients surgically, providing more comprehensive care start-to-finish for the people in their chairs.
Many dentists are on that path already: familiar with the restorative half of implant dentistry and ready to advance to the surgical side. Getting there in a year takes commitment — investing in the right imaging and surgical equipment, bringing your own patients to each session, and learning with a mentor beside the chair. The Continuum is built to guide you through it: small sessions held one day per month in San Jose, where you treatment plan with CBCT software, place implants using surgical guides, and follow your own patients through to the finished restoration.
Implant mentorship in San Jose, from a dentist who has walked the path
Dr. Maxson has coached dozens of general dentists through their implant training, from their first guided placement to grafting and full-arch planning. Because sessions are small, every participant gets direct chairside feedback on their own cases.
CBCT treatment planning
Plan placement and restoration on your own patients using cone-beam scans and computer-generated surgical guides.
Live implant surgery
Place implants and bone grafts with one-on-one guidance — on your patients, or on patients provided for you.
Grafting & growth factors
Bone graft augmentation, sinus lift procedures, and regeneration with PRP and PRF growth factors.
Restore what you place
Impression techniques, abutment selection, temporization, and delivery — follow your patient all the way to the final crown.
New to implants?
You've sat through the lectures but placed few or no implants. The Continuum takes you from watching to doing, on live patients, with a mentor beside the chair.
Restoring but not placing?
Already comfortable with the prosthetic side? Learn the surgical half — site evaluation, grafting fundamentals, and guided placement.
Placing but ready for more?
Refine your diagnostic and surgical skills, manage complications, and move into advanced cases — immediate placement, full-arch treatment planning.
A program that pays for itself
Past participants have covered the cost of the Continuum with fees collected from their own implant patients. You're not just adding a skill — you're adding a service line your practice can build on.
Frequently asked questions
How is the Continuum different from a weekend implant course?
Weekend courses teach from slides and models. The Continuum meets one day a month over a year, so you place implants on live patients, see how they heal, and restore them yourself.
How long does it take to start placing implants on my own?
Most participants complete the Continuum over about a year of monthly sessions. Several dentists who started out only restoring implants were placing multiple implants on their own patients within that year. It depends upon your starting comfort level — typically, we have you observe some procedures, then we assist you with the procedures.
Can I join if I've never placed an implant?
Yes. The Continuum is designed for general dentists at every stage, from those who have only attended lectures to those already restoring implants. You learn on live patients with Dr. Maxson guiding each step.
Do I need to bring my own patients?
Bringing your own patients is ideal, because you build your practice as you learn. Patients can also be provided for you.
What equipment will I need, and do I need my own CBCT scanner?
The use of a CBCT scanner is recommended, and these scans can be taken at the San Jose office. Students may want to invest in their own surgical equipment by the end of the course and we can guide you in choosing the best implant system for your needs.
Why train with a local mentor instead of at a national course?
Implant surgery is learned at the chair, not from slides. A San Jose program lets Bay Area dentists train close to their practices, bring their own patients, and follow each case from planning through the final crown.
Are CE credits available?
No CE credits are currently available for this program.
Where are sessions held?
At Calm Dental Care, 1198 S. De Anza Blvd., San Jose, CA 95129, convenient for dentists across the Bay Area.
Interested in the next session?
Sessions are small and fill by referral, so curriculum details, dates, and tuition are arranged directly with Dr. Maxson. Call (408) 996-0176 and ask about the Dental Continuum.
Questions about the Continuum?
Call the office and we'll connect you with Dr. Maxson directly.