Dr. Ioannis Kormas comes from Athens, Greece, and is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Periodontics at the Texas A&M College of Dentistry. He received his dental degree (D.D.S.) at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens in 2013. After 1 year of private practice and 1 year of service at the Hellenic Air Force General Hospital, he completed the 2-year Advanced Education in General Dentistry (A.E.G.D.) at the Eastman Institute for Oral Health (University of Rochester) in 2017. Following that, he completed his Periodontology residency at the University of Minnesota and Master of Science (M.S.) in 2021. His research experience, as part of his Master of Science studies, was in the field of metabolomics, where he used Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Mass Spectrometry technologies to investigate changes in the metabolites of gingival crevicular fluid sampled from individuals with periodontitis and healthy controls. He is the recipient of the Marmion & Ruth Houglum Endowment and of the Engel Award related to research and teaching at the University of Minnesota. Additionally, he received the Nobel Biocare Student Member Annual Meeting Scholarship in 2019 and the Dr. Fanny Freund Advanced Education Scholarship for the year 2020-2021. He has presented his work at national and international meetings and has several publications in peer-reviewed journals. In 2022, he was awarded the Clinical Science Award in the Research Forum Poster Competition at the American Academy of Periodontology 2022 Annual Meeting as well as the Educator Award for Excellence in Teaching and Mentoring in Periodontics by the American Academy of Periodontology. Dr. Kormas started working in the Department of Periodontics of Texas A&M School of Dentistry in July 2021 and since September 2022, he has been appointed the Interim Program Director for the A.E.G.D. of Texas A&M School of Dentistry. 

The course will focus on the topic of soft tissue augmentation and periodontal plastic surgery. It is a commonly required procedure and over-treatment, or under-treatment is always a concern. The course will discuss diagnosis, indications, and expectations and will present different treatment techniques and options with advantages and disadvantages.

At the conclusion of this course, participants should be able to::

• Classify different types of recessions and soft tissue conditions
• Understand the necessity or not of periodontal plastic surgery and soft tissue grafting
• Understand the different treatment options & the associated clinical procedures
• Discuss the different perspectives of treatment around teeth and implants
• Understand and be able to communicate to the patient the different treatment expectations