For over 40 years Dr. Tatum has been most gracious in giving his time and knowledge to advancing the discipline of implant dentistry to the dental profession. The lives of many patients and dentists have been enriched as a result of Dr. Tatum’s innovative thinking, research and implant techniques that he developed. In 1955, while a student at Emory Dental School, he attended the first program on dental implants to be given in a dental school. Throughout his career Dr. Tatum’s goal has been “To bring the compromised dental patient back to normal comfort, function and esthetic dental health”.

Emory University Dental School 1953-1957

1969 – Began the bone expansion concept for the placement of implants

1970 – Introduced autogenous bone grafting techniques into Oral Implantology

1974 – Developed the Sinus Lift Operation

1974 – Began to perform the Inferior Alveolar Nerve lateralization technique

1975 – Developed the Sinus Graft Operation

1978 – Designed Sinus Grafting and Bone Expansion instruments

1979 – Designed the first 2 stage Titanium Root Form System in the USA

1982 – Introduced the Vascularised Osteotomy Technique with interpositional bone grafting

Presented over 2000 professional presentations worldwide

In 2003 Dr. Tatum was awarded the Chevalier of the French Legion of Honor by French president Jacques Chirac in recognition of his contributions to the healing sciences.

Dr Hilt Tatum is the inventor and pioneer of the Sinus Lift Clinical Procedure.

The sinus lift and graft technique is now considered to be a state-of-the-art surgery. In 1975, Tatum introduced the technique that increased maxillary bone height by placing graft material under the maxillary sinus and Schneiderian membrane; by the early 1990s, a modification of Tatum’s original technique had become a standard procedure.