Ghanaati-Education

Bridging Jaw-Bone Pathologies
 with Systemic Health

By Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. Shahram Ghanaati
MD, DDS, PhD

What is Ghanaati-Education?

The current scientific literature believes that after tooth extractation, there is a natural bone healing inside the tooth socket. But recently published studies reveal, that extractation sites often undergo a programmed collapse (Ghanaati et al., 2025 Bioengineering) instead of complete bone regeneration inside the tooth socket. This leads to hollow spaces inside the jawbone, referred to as cavitations. The presence of the jawbone pathologies such as cavitations - in relation to the bone healing processes after tooth extraction - has been previously described by Jerry Bouquot (Bouquot et al., 1992; Oral Surgery) based on histological findings. Currently pusblished studies were able to show, that cavitations can be inflamed. These jawbone lesions don't just stay local - they can act as silent or active foci of inflammation (Lechner et al., 2013; Ghanaati et al., 2025 Biomedicines), potentially contributing to conditions such as chronic fatigue, rheumatologic disorders, cardiovascular disease, and neurological problems.


Evidence
  • Radiological Evidence: 3D imaging shows bone collapse of up to 55% within six months after extraction, with unhealed spaces in the center of the socket (Ghanaati et al., 2025 Bioengineering)

  • Molecular Evidence: Cavitations are "biologically" active, producing inflammatory messengers like RANTES/CCL5, which disturb both local healing and the immune system (Lechner 2013; Ghanaati et al., 2025 Biomedicines)

  • Microbiological Evidence: Harmful bacteria (including the "red complex" pathogens linked to gum disease) hide deep in the jawbone and can only be removed by specific surgical techniques like decortication
    (Ongoing clinical studies)

Based on this insights Ghanaati-Education has a clear order in its Vision Statement:

Integrating the Oral–Systemic-Link in medical and dental education for ensuring the highest standard of practice and patient care!

Our Mission

At Ghanaati-Education, our mission is founded on the Guided Open Wound Healing (GOWH) method — a surgical technique developed by our founder, Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. Shahram Ghanaati. GOWH provides the basis for complete socket healing after tooth extraction and is the outcome of more than 25 years of pre-clinical and clinical research in three key areas:

  • Biomaterial Research - advancing bone and soft tissue regeneration with biomaterials of different origins.

  • Blood Concentrates - harnessing patients’ own concentrated white blood cells, platelets, and growth factors as the most natural and effective healing source.

  • Wound Healing Biology - exploring how to orchestrate and enhance wound healing to achieve optimal tissue regeneration.

Through an innovative 3D visualization approach based on radiological diagnostics (CBCT and CT), cavitations within the jawbone can be detected at an early stage. The application of GOWH as an innovative regenerative and reconstructive surgical concept enables infected jawbone areas to be revitalized.

To generate robust scientific data, each patient’s medical condition is carefully evaluated using a comprehensive medical questionnaire developed by Professor Ghanaati. This assessment begins prior to surgery and continues for up to one year post-surgery. The resulting data provides valuable insights into the systemic medical impact of cavitation surgeries, allowing us to continually refine our methods and improve patient outcomes.

Currently, over 100 dental specialists worldwide have been trained by Professor Ghanaati in the method of GOWH through his Maxi Residency Program at Tufts Dental University, in collaboration with the Academy of Medical and Oral Regeneration. Furthermore, there is the possibility for dental centers to become certified GOWH Centers, once they have successfully fulfilled specific criteria, ensuring the highest standard of practice and patient care.

Find out more about our Educational Concept...

The Founder

Professor Shahram Ghanaati
MD, DDS, PhD

Professor Shahram Ghanaati is a board-certified oral and maxillofacial surgeon with additional specialization in plastic surgery. He serves as Deputy Director and Senior Chief Consultant of the Department of Oral, Cranio-Maxillofacial and Plastic Facial Surgery at Frankfurt University Medical Center, where he also directs the Head and Neck Cancer Center and the Wound Center. He is internationally recognized for his pioneering research in biomaterials, tissue engineering, and biologics, and for translating these innovations into clinical practice worldwide.

From the beginning of his career, Professor Ghanaati has combined excellence in clinical practice, research, and teaching. Since joining Goethe University Frankfurt in 2007, he has founded the FORM-Lab for biomaterial research and tissue engineering, mentored countless researchers, and established a study unit dedicated to clinical trials in regenerative therapies. Through this work, he has built one of the world’s foremost centers for clinically oriented biomaterial research, translating basic science into everyday clinical practice.

In both his clinical practice and research, Professor Ghanaati focuses on two key areas: reconstruction with biomaterials and regeneration using blood concentrates for tissue repair throughout the body. As a leading oncological and reconstructive surgeon, he develops innovative approaches for treating large bone and soft tissue defects following cancer surgery. His work has introduced novel surgical methods, including the Guided Open Wound Healing Concept (GOWH) for biomaterial-based tissue augmentation. Since 2010, in collaboration with Dr. Joseph Choukroun, he has advanced the field of autologous blood concentrates, co-developing the Low-Speed Centrifugation Concept (LSCC), which laid the foundation for the AWMF S3-guideline on the clinical use of platelet-rich fibrin in dentistry.

In 2020, Professor Ghanaati founded the Academy for Medical and Oral Regeneration (AMOR), an international platform dedicated to advancing biologics and biomaterials in medicine. AMOR supports basic and clinical research, conducts clinical studies to explore the link between oral health and systemic health, and provides national and international training in GOWH. Building on his extensive experience, he has also pioneered new educational formats for physicians and dentists, integrating cutting-edge science with practical training. To enhance knowledge transfer, he introduced 3D visualization into surgical education and, in 2024, founded Visiogenics and its online platform, ghanaati-education.com, to expand global access to biologic surgical education.

Professor Ghanaati is a highly sought-after speaker, having delivered more than 180 lectures at international congresses and over 250 hands-on courses and workshops worldwide. He has published more than 200 peer-reviewed papers, with an H-Index of 41 and a cumulative impact factor exceeding 640. In addition to serving as a reviewer for numerous journals in regenerative medicine, oral and maxillofacial surgery, and head and neck oncology, he is Senior Associate Editor of the Journal of Oral Implantology (JOI).

He has received numerous national and international awards for his clinical and scientific contributions and has served as a guest lecturer and adjunct faculty at universities worldwide. Since 2024, he has been Adjunct Instructor at Brooks Rehabilitation College of Healthcare Sciences, Jacksonville University, where he teaches biologic concepts for facial treatment and aesthetics. At Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in Boston, he created the innovative Maxi Residency in Biological Dentistry, Biological Surgery and Implantology based on Guided Open Wound Healing, which combines theory, hands-on training, case presentations, and online modules. The program culminates in Frankfurt, Germany, where participants observe live surgery.