Posterior Onlay/Overlay Course (2 days)

If you’re aiming to deliver predictable posterior onlays/overlays with modern adhesive protocols—without defaulting to crowns—this intensive 2-day, >75% hands-on programme is designed to make your preparations and bonding workflows more consistent, repeatable, and evidence-led.

Led by Kushal Gadhia (Clinical Director; former Consultant and Honorary Lecturer in Restorative Dentistry at the Eastman Dental Hospital), the course focuses on what really determines success with indirect posterior restorations: prep design, margin management, isolation choices, and adhesive cementation—from start to finish.

What makes this course different

• Hands-on first: A practical course with >75% hands-on training.
• Two-material mastery: Train preparation and cementation concepts for both e.max and gold onlays/overlays—so you can select the right option and execute it with confidence.
• Modern adhesive decision-making: Clear, evidence-based guidance on when to place fillings vs overlays vs crowns, supported by a 2-hour pre-course video to align everyone on the core theory before you arrive.

Hands-on preparation training (multiple clinical scenarios)

You’ll complete extensive practical exercises to refine your bur control, finish lines, and lab communication:

• e.max onlays: finish lines using evidence-based protocols recommended since 2020, burs required, and laboratory instructions (including 4 hands-on e.max preparations across clinical scenarios)
• Gold onlays/overlays: finish lines, burs required, and laboratory instructions (including 4 hands-on gold preparations across clinical scenarios)

Adhesive workflows you’ll take back to practice

Build a complete workflow you can replicate chairside, including:

• Immediate Dentine Sealing (IDS): what/when/how/why, plus activation at the fit appointment
• Deep Margin Elevation (DME): protocols for deep margins, including when not to do DME and when to consider crown lengthening surgery
• Bonding to enamel and dentine: a deep dive into principles and evaluation of bonding agents, with recommended “gold standard” product guidance discussed on the course
• Bonding to e.max and gold: surface treatments and protocols, including considerations for milled vs pressed restorations
• Resin cement selection: how to choose resin cements appropriately, with a critical appraisal of the evidence
• Temporisation: how to make well-fitting temporary overlays that don’t fall off, plus material selection

Practical detail that improves outcomes

Because predictable onlays aren’t just about prep geometry, you’ll also cover the clinical details that make or break delivery:

• Ergonomics and positioning: optimising the dentist/nurse/patient set-up, plus handpiece and foot control for better preparations
• Digital vs conventional impressions: scanning vs impressions, and how your isolation choices influence your result
• Isolation considerations: discussion points around rubber dam, and the use of retraction cords and PTFE for isolation and temporisation

Who this course is for

This course is ideal for dentists who want to:

• increase confidence with posterior onlay/overlay preparation
• develop a clearer, evidence-led approach to material selection and cementation
• standardise protocols for deep margins, IDS, DME, and isolation
• improve communication with the lab through better finish lines and instructions

Learning experience at ACE Courses

ACE Courses’ short courses are designed to be hands-on, applicable to daily clinical practice, and evidence-based, delivered in small groups at their OUR PLACE training centre.