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Los Angeles, CA

The California Mini-Residency

Learn to solve complex dental cases, from esthetics to TMJ issues with ease.

The California Mini-Residency offers a tailored dental continuing education pathway for dental professionals seeking advanced knowledge and the skills needed to excel in Complete Dentistry. The Mini-Residency features hands-on clinical learning experiences, exclusive Dawson Study Clubs, personalized one-on-one instruction, and engaging group discussions.

Thrive alongside like-minded dental professionals at the California Mini-Residency

A cohort of 20-30 dentists and/or lab technicians will study and complete the Dawson Academy Core Curriculum over a 15-month period.

The curriculum includes our comprehensive seven-part Core Curriculum series, all completed at The Dawson Academy in California, with the final lecture hosted at a scenic California location.

Our faculty will be available throughout the 15-month period (and beyond) to support mini-residency members in implementing their knowledge and achieving clinical success.

An added perk is that you’ll have access to an exclusive study club, ensuring continuous support and educational guidance throughout your entire Mini-Residency program.

Course Dates and Information

Sep. 18-19, 2026

San Diego, CA

$1,995.00

Embark on the first course in your transformative journey with Occlusion & Smile Design. Elevate your dentistry to the top 10% as you explore occlusal stability, patient communication, case acceptance, and practice management, all underpinned by timeless principles for harmonious and predictable restorative care. Experience the fusion of function and aesthetics, analog and digital workflows, and ignite your practice’s efficiency and fulfillment in ways that reshape your approach to dentistry. This course can be taken in person, or online.

Description

Core 1 in the first course of Dawson’s Core Curriculum. Over two days, you’ll learn the requirements for occlusal stability to improve your practice–from examination and records to treatment planning to practice management.

Added material in this occlusion-led course includes patient communication, case acceptance, converting to a fee-for-service model, and more.

These timeless principles remain the foundation of quality care dentistry. True long-term success, otherwise known as predictability, in restorative care is the merger of esthetic, functional, and phonetic parameters. The foundation of The Dawson Academy is rooted in a complete understanding of how the TM joints, muscles, proprioceptive input, lower anterior teeth, upper anterior teeth, lower posterior teeth, and upper posterior teeth are designed to function in harmony with one another.

Examples will be presented for both analog and digital workflows–with bonus content catered to implementation and business management. Students will understand how integrity and fulfillment are intertwined to create the most efficient and predictable outcomes and results. This course will give you an insight and understanding that will change not only how you practice and manage, but your enjoyment of practice as well.

Learning Objectives

Visualize the journey from an insurance-focused level of care to a patient-focused, health-oriented model
Discover why the most productive practices only need 10-12 new patients per month
Convert the dental practice to fee-for-service with ease and predictability
Motivate patients towards a higher level of health to ethically boost productivity per hour
Identify the 11 factors critical to a stable occlusion resulting in the long-term success of general and cosmetic cases
Gain confidence in diagnosing TMD-related issues and how to provide appropriate, successful orthotic/splint therapy
Understand the treatment planning relationship between the face, airway, and bite and how to identify, prior to treatment, which patients pose a risk of future instability
Eliminate porcelain chips and breakage, and uncover how these issues can erode profitability more than dentists realize
Determine tooth positioning for orthodontics, veneers, crowns, or implant-supported restorations
Utilize checklists for functional-esthetic analysis and treatment planning
Define a thorough examination process and how to implement in practice by employing diagnostic records for complete diagnosis and treatment planning
Recognize how designing a stable, minimal-stress occlusion on teeth or implants saves time, increases profitability, and reduces stress

Schedule & CE

Seminar Hours: 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EDT

Tuition: $1995 – $2,495

CE Credits: 16

CE Codes: #180(4L), #490(2L), #550(2L), #730(7L) and #780(1L)

Speaker: Dr. Leonard Hess, Clinical Director

Target Audience: General Dentists, Specialists, Lab Technicians

Recommended Prerequisites: None

Meet the Instructor

Leonard A. Hess, DDS is the Clinical Director at The Dawson Academy and joined the faculty in 2009. He owns Union County Center for Comprehensive Dentistry in Charlotte, North Carolina, and practices full-time in addition to teaching continuing education courses. He is a member of the editorial board for Inside Dentistry and has had over 17 articles published in peer-reviewed journals. He is also a member of the American Academy of Restorative Dentistry, AACD, ADA, AES, and NCDS. Dr. Hess began teaching continuing education courses in 2005 on topics including occlusion, smile design, treatment planning, preparation design, and practice integration of Complete Care Dentistry. He’s taught full-day continuing education courses at the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry’s national meeting, The Greater New York Dental Meeting, AACD National Meeting, Pacific Dental Conference, Ontario Dental Association meeting, and The Yankee Dental Conference. Dr. Hess has taught courses in Japan, Germany, Poland, China, and Canada.

View a Recent Lecture

Nov. 12-14, 2026

Tarzana, CA

$6,895.00

Examination and Records is one of the most important dental courses that a dentist will master on the path to complete dentistry. The cornerstone of the Dawson philosophy begins with a thorough comprehensive examination and the gathering of necessary records accurately. As Dr. Dawson says “every great treatment plan comes from a well organized Records appointment”.

Description

Examination and Records is one of the most important dental courses that a dentist will master on the path to complete dentistry. The cornerstone of the Dawson philosophy begins with a thorough comprehensive examination and the gathering of necessary records accurately. As Dr. Dawson says “every great treatment plan comes from a well organized Records appointment”.

The examination and accompanying records are the ﬁrst step in the process of complete dentistry. This hands-on program will cover all aspects of the exam and records process.

Course Size: 20

Learning Objectives

Acquire skills to perform a TMJ/Occlusal examination.
Clarify the co-diagnostic process of the examination and explain how to ask future focus questions.
Evaluate the masticatory system for instability in the TM joints, muscles, and teeth.
Employ bilateral manipulation and outline how to obtain an accurate veriﬁable centric relation record.
Master the use of a lucia jig to help obtain a centric relation bite record.
Verify how to do a correct face-bow transfer and why it is critical to both the diagnostic and restorative phases of treatment.
Mount casts using the face-bow transfer and CR record on a semi-adjustable articulator.
Acquire the skills to use a macro digital camera to shoot a series of diagnostic photographs.
Design the implementation process to establish the process of complete dentistry.

Schedule & CE

Target Audience: General Dentists, Specialists

CE Credits: 20

CE Codes: #010 (2L, 3P), #130 (2L, 1P), #180 (3L, 3P), #730 (2L, 2P) and #780 (2L, 2P)

Class Hours: Day 1 & 2 – 8am to 5pm Day 3 – 8am to 3pm

Tuition: $6,395 – $6,595

Recommended Prerequisite: Core 1: Occlusion & Smile Design

Mar. 12-14, 2026

Tarzana, CA

$6,895.00

This dental ce course provides a programmed approach to predictably diagnose and treatment plan both simple to extremely difficult cases. Utilizing the standardized records discussed in our dental courses Functional Occlusion- from TMJ to Smile Design and Achieving Predictable Esthetic Results each dentist will discover how to visualize optimum dentistry from an esthetic, functional, biological and structural perspective. You will learn to apply the four treatment options: reshaping, repositioning, restoring and surgical correction, which are a critical component of step-by-step dental treatme

Description

This dental CE course provides a programmed approach to predictably diagnose and treatment plan both simple to extremely difficult cases. Utilizing the standardized records discussed in our dental courses Core 1 & Core 2, each dentist will discover how to visualize optimum dentistry from an esthetic, functional, biological and structural perspective. You will learn to apply the four treatment options: reshaping, repositioning, restoring and surgical correction, which are a critical component of step-by-step dental treatment planning checklists.

After sharing knowledge in these areas, our instructors walk through case studies showing you the correct option(s) for each patient. Once a specific, comprehensive treatment plan is decided upon, then the critical step of sequencing the treatment for efficiency and profitability will be determined and discussed. Since you cannot practice complete dentistry without a complete plan, our students learn how to segment large treatment plans enabling patients with financial issues to receive optimum treatment over time without compromising their oral health.

The focus of this continuing dental education program is to integrate a comprehensive dental treatment planning process into your practice. Recommendations based on best practices are discussed to help assist you with organizing your busy schedule and a creating a space for optimum treatment planning. How to present your treatment plan will also be discussed as well as many other aspects of procedures and materials.

Course Size: 20

Learning Objectives

Apply a step-by-step process for treatment planning any restorative case from simple to complex.
Explore why 90% of mistakes occur not during the restorative phase, but rather during the treatment planning process.
Visualize ideal esthetics and ideal function.
Discover the need for/value of quality records.
Use all of the critical checklists used to design a treatment plan for every case.
Investigate how the teeth should be positioned in space for optimum esthetics, phonetics, and function.
Identify specifically how to utilize the diagnostic photographs in conjunction with mounted diagnostic models to visualize an optimum course of treatment.
Apply these concepts to the study casts.
Develop an ideal, efficient, and profitable treatment sequence for each case.
Create a segmented treatment plan for optimum care over a longer period of time.
Develop a consultation process within your practice to connect with your patients and boost case acceptance.

Details

Target Audience: General Dentists, Specialists

CE Credits: 20

CE Codes: #180 (2L, 2P), #690 (1L, 1P), #730 (5L, 5P) and #780 (2L, 2P)

Class Hours: Day 1 and 2 – 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Day 3 – 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Tuition: $6,395 – $6,595

Recommended Prerequisites: Core 1: Occlusion & Smile Design, Core 2: Examination & Records

Jul. 09-11, 2026

Tarzana, CA

$6,895.00

This Dawson Academy hands on course provides continuing education for dentists who need to implement a process of occlusal therapy within their dental practice. Equilibration is a cornerstone for treatment of occlusal disease, and as such, any dentist who wishes to practice complete dentistry must know how to perform all aspects of it correctly. As a participant, you will discover the importance of the trial equilibration and be given the opportunity to adjust several different case types to insure your complete understanding of the material presented. This complete dentistry dental continuing

Description

This restorative dentistry course how to implement a process of occlusal therapy within their dental practice. Equilibration is a cornerstone for treatment of occlusal disease, and as such, any dentist who wishes to practice complete dentistry must know how to perform all aspects of it correctly. As a participant, you will discover the importance of the trial equilibration and be given the opportunity to adjust several different case types to ensure your complete understanding of the material presented. This complete dentistry dental continuing education course includes lectures, videos of patient treatment, and hands-on exercises to provide you with the knowledge and confidence to return home and implement occlusal treatments in your practice on Monday morning.

Course Size: 20

Learning Objectives

Design a stable, minimal stress occlusion (lines on the front, dots on the back).
Recognize when to equilibrate your patient, and when other options should be considered.
Identify how to schedule the equilibration appointment.
Choose appropriate articulation paper to mark each type of occlusal interference.
Assess when an occlusal splint should be considered prior to reshaping, repositioning or restoring.
Evaluate how to efficiently equilibrate the natural dentition.
Select, train and work with a dental assistant to efficiently adjust an occlusal splint and/or equilibrate the dentition.
Verify when to use a full arch occlusal splint, and when to use an anterior deprogramming appliance.

Schedule & CE

Target Audience: General Dentists, Specialists

CE Credits: 20

CE Codes: #010 (1.5L), #130 (.5L), #180 (4L, 5P) and #730 (3.5L, 5.5P)

Class Hours: Day 1 and 2 – 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Day 3 – 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Tuition: $6,395 – 6,595

Recommended Prerequisite: Core 1: Occlusion & Smile Design, Core 2: Examination & Records, Core 3: Treatment Planning

This restorative dental course will provide the students with the procedural knowledge to do contemporary restorative procedures at the highest level. This dental seminar will leave each student with a clear understanding of the four options of treatment: Reshaping, Repositioning, Restoring and Surgical alternatives.

Description

Core 5: Diagnosis & Airway is a virtual restorative dentistry course that will provide the students with the procedural knowledge to do contemporary restorative procedures at the highest level. This dental continuing education seminar will leave each student with a clear understanding of the four options of treatment: Reshaping, Repositioning, Restoring and Surgical alternatives.

Preliminary mouth preparation such as necessary periodontal procedures and occlusal equilibration will be covered in detail. Necessary soft tissue surgical procedures that will provide an ideal gingival backdrop will also be presented. Tooth preparation for crowns and veneers will be understood by each participant. Soft tissue management in conjunction with final impressioning techniques will be discussed in detail. Provisional restorations, bite registration techniques, laboratory communication and cementation/adhesive options will be a cornerstone of this presentation.

Learning Objectives

Recognize how to prevent breakage and failure of anterior restorations.
Acquire information to maximize function and longevity of anterior restorative dentistry.
List the goals of every finished equilibration.
Identify the expanded 4×4 process to 16 functional and esthetic requirements.
Assess how to efficiently equilibrate the natural dentition and when to use splints in the process.
Distinguish when veneers, all ceramic crowns, zirconia, or metal ceramic crowns are the right choice for your patient.
Discover the keys to efficient and correct tooth reduction for veneers and crowns.
Communicate esthetic gingival position to your Periodontist and Orthodontist.
Acquire the key components of lab communication – what to send when.
Appraise the value of equilibration in everyday restorative practice.
Identify the 10 steps to contouring provisional restorations for optimum phonetics, esthetics, and function, and why this will change your practice forever.
Plan how to create a customized anterior guidance for each of your anterior restorative cases.

Schedule & CE

Instructor: Leonard Hess, DDS

CE Credits: 16

CE Codes: #010 (1L) #550 (4L) #150 (4L) #610 (3L) #730 (1L) #180 (2L) #200 (1L)

Format: Live Online Session + Digital Course Manual

Live Virtual Tuition: $999 with 30 days access to recording

Target Audience: General Dentists, Specialists, Laboratory Technicians

Recommended Prerequisite: Core 1: Occlusion & Smile Design, Core 2: Examination & Records, Core 3: Treatment Planning, Core 4: Equilibration & Orthotics

This hands-on program will assist the cosmetic dentist in taking those critical steps in accomplishing anterior restorative procedures at their highest level. Restoring anterior teeth and managing dental esthetics with predictability, truly represents the culmination of our understanding of how this intricate system is designed as we attempt to emulate what nature has originally created.

Description

This Dawson Academy continuing education esthetics course is a hands-on program that will assist the cosmetic dentist in taking those critical steps in accomplishing anterior restorative procedures at their highest level. Restoring anterior teeth and managing dental esthetics with predictability, truly represents the culmination of our understanding of how this intricate system is designed as we attempt to emulate what nature has originally created. Through the use of lecture, clinical videos, and hands-on exercises the restorative dentist will develop the confidence in diagnosis, material selection, preparation design and the creation of key indices to insure predictability in delivering exquisite anterior restorations.

The clinician will have the opportunity to transition the knowledge gained in the “2D” treatment planning mode into a “3D” dental blue print through the use of mounted diagnostic models and the minimal wax technique. The modulation and understanding of Smile Design in an advanced level of dental treatment planning affords the ability to begin with the end in mind, creating an esthetic result that reflects a functionally sound design and insures durability.

The critical information obtained in creating this dental blue print will allow for the fabrication of reduction guides and provisional matrixes to increase your efficiency, productivity and accuracy chairside. We also provide some key concepts in the single most important step in insuring predictability in indirect restoration, creating exquisite prototypes. Special emphasis will be placed on contouring the provisional restoration, and why this is key to long-term functional and esthetic success in every case you perform. Finally, we will discuss with you in detail the cementation and adhesive options so that the proper course of action is matched with each material.

The prime focus of this program is to provide the essential skills and protocols to enhance the clinicians’ ability to create beautiful anterior restorations.

Course Size: 20

Learning Objectives

Delineate the key concepts of Smile Design relative to Global, Macro, and Micro criteria and their assessment related to function and phonetics.
Describe the skill in creating a “Dental Blue” that will enable the production of key indices and stents that will facilitate preparation and provisionalization.
Explain the fluid concepts of preparation design as it relates to functional needs, esthetics, and the parameters of new materials.
Develop an effective and efficient provisionalization technique.
List the key elements related to the assessment of the prototypes to ensure predictability in the final restorations.
Outline laboratory communication to ensure a predictable result.
Summarize the concepts of adhesion and the clinical protocol in the luting of final restorations.

Schedule & CE

Target Audience: General Dentists, Specialists, Lab Technicians

CE Credits: 20

CE Codes: #010(.5L, .5P), #250(.5L, .5P), #690(1.5L, 3P), #730(3L, 6P) and #780(1.5L, 3P)

Class Hours: Day 1 and 2 – 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Day 3 – 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Tuition: $6,395 – 6,895

Recommended Prerequisite: Core 1: Occlusion & Smile Design, Core 2: Examination & Records, Core 3: Treatment Planning, Core 4: Equilibration & Orthotics, Core 5: Diagnosis & Airway

Apr. 30- May 02, 2026

Clearwater Beach, FL

$4,000.00

This dental course will provide the participant with the necessary information to solve complex dental problems. Extreme occlusal wear, anterior open bites, deep overbites, extreme overjet and Class III malocclusions will be discussed. Neutral zone and vertical dimension will be covered in detail as it pertains to the treatment of the above problems.

Description

Advanced Problem Solving is the last of the Dawson Academy courses in the Core Curriculum. This dental course will provide the participant with the necessary information to solve complex dental problems. A programmed approach to treatment planning will be presented so that each student will learn how to solve the 4 functional and 12 esthetic goals when given any set of circumstances. Extreme occlusal wear, anterior open bites, deep overbites, extreme overjet and Class III malocclusions will be discussed. Neutral zone and vertical dimension will be covered in detail as it pertains to the treatment of the above problems.

Special emphasis will be placed on best restorative options, and when orthodontic/orthognathic alternatives should be considered. Each participant will learn how and when to open the vertical dimension of occlusion and when it should not be opened. A programmed approach to full mouth reconstruction, whether it is teeth, dental implants, precision attachment partials or a combination, will be a cornerstone of this program.

Learning Objectives

Recognize how the 16 functional and esthetic criteria for success can apply to even the most difficult treatment plan.
Plan what additional records may be required for the treatment planning of various complex esthetic and functional problems.
Evaluate how to recognize the patient who will be best served with a full mouth reconstruction.
Solve complex functional and esthetic problems such as extreme wear, with optimum restorative dentistry.
Judge how to establish a relationship with the Orthodontist, Periodontist and Orthognathic surgeon to solve even the most complex dental and skeletal problems.
Verify the process of taking centric jaw relation records to cross mount the die models with the provisional models and why this is one of the most critical aspects of full mouth dentistry for incredibly predictable results.
Appraise individual articulation systems to do full mouth rehabilitation dentistry.
Explore when it is safe to open the vertical dimension and when it is not!
Plan how to sequence full mouth reconstructions so that you will know in advance the number of appointments that will be required, and precisely what to do at each visit.
Identify how to phase complex treatment plans, so if need be a full mouth reconstruction can be done over a period of years rather than weeks.

Schedule & CE

Target Audience: General Dentists, Specialists, Lab Technicians

CE Credits: 20

CE Codes: #180 (8.75 L), #610 (1L), #670 (1L), #690 (1L), #770 (.25L) and #780 (1L)

Class Hours: Day 1 – 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. | Day 2 – 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Reception & Dinner 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. | Day 3 – 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

Tuition: $4,000

Recommended Prerequisite: Core 1: Occlusion & Smile Design, Core 2: Examination & Records, Core 3: Treatment Planning, Core 4: Equilibration & Orthotics, Core 5: Diagnosis & Airway, Core 6: Predictable Esthetics

Want More Info?

From payment options to course dates, a course advisor will fill you in.

Benefits of the Mini-Residency Program

Increase practice revenue

Increase your practice revenue by tackling cases you currently are not confident enough to treat; many doctors say they recoup the cost of the training on their very first case!

Eliminate re-makes and case failures

Eliminate re-makes and case failures by adding predictability to all of your restorative procedures. From a simple composite to a full mouth reconstruction and implants, The Dawson Academy’s principles of occlusion and treatment planning will forever change how you examine your patients and deliver care.

Increase efficiency, profitability and predictability

Increase efficiency, profitability and predictability during the examination, treatment planning, case planning and lab communication process by utilizing The Dawson Academy’s treatment planning software.

Grow together

Grow together by sharing experiences about implementing the material into your practice and encouraging each other between classes. From these experiences, you’ll form strong bonds amongst yourselves, which continue post-curriculum plus enjoy access to the Resident Study Club.

What other Dawson cohort attendees have said…

It was a great experience attending the Dawson continuum in a room full of classmates. Going through the program with the same people not only allowed us to build a fellowship with our colleagues, but also allowed the learning environment to grow as we could all work with each other and grow together. Also, having set classes in my schedule and a real timeline allowed us all to get the the full program at a much smoother pace.

By signing up for the Dawson Cohort, I was finally able to complete the sequence in a timely manner and gain the skills and confidence to treat cases that had perplexed and intimidated me before. But a wonderful unexpected benefit was that by taking the courses with the same participants and the same instructors, an atmosphere of honesty, accountability, & support developed that was quite extraordinary. I would recommend the Dawson curriculum wholeheartedly, and I cannot imagine a better way to do it than in a cohort!