About Me
Carlos Aparicio: A life of innovation and passion for dentistry
My name is Carlos Aparicio; I was born in 1953 in Zaragoza, Spain. I’ve been married to Monica for more than 24 years. We live in Barcelona, we have five children, four of them living abroad. I am very privileged for many things, especially my family and friends.
I graduated in Medicine and Surgery from the University of Navarra and completed my training in dental implants, prostheses, and dental aesthetics in the USA, Canada, Switzerland, and Sweden.
I am the creator of the ZAGA (Zygoma Anatomy-Guided Approach) Concept, an innovative systemic approach to the treatment of patients who present a lack of maxillary bone necessary for the fixation of an implant.
I had the pleasure of creating the first center dedicated exclusively to the rehabilitation of tooth decay by means of prostheses fixed to the jaw by implants in 1985, and currently, I work to expand the ZAGA Concept and support the experts at Zygoma ZAGA Centers who are dealing with patients with bone atrophy or great bone loss.
I like sailing, windsurfing, light sailing and regattas. I practice Bikram Yoga regularly. I enjoy music, painting, and especially art that allows me to use various senses, like sculpture.
Biography Dr. Carlos Aparicio
MD (Summa Cum Laude), DDS, MSc, MSc, DLT, Ph.D. (Summa Cum Laude)
Dr. Carlos Aparicio was born in 1953 in Tarazona, Zaragoza, and spent his childhood and youth in Pamplona, Navarra.
He received his Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degree with Summa Cum Laude from the University of Navarra in 1978.
After that, he moved to Barcelona and completed postgraduate studies in Dentistry at the University of Barcelona in 1983.
At the beginning of this career, he became a Dental Laboratory Technician in 1983 at Ramon y Cajal School in Barcelona.
A year later, Dr. Aparicio received a Diploma in Implant Dentistry in 1984 from the University of Gothenburg, with Prof. P-I Bränemark as tutor.
In 1990, he obtained a Master of Materials Science at the University of Barcelona, and in 1995, he received a Diploma in Periodontics from the University of Gothenburg with Profs. Jan Lindhe and Jose Javier Echeverría as tutors.
He got a Master’s in Biomedical Research from the University of Barcelona in 2010, and in 2013, Dr. Aparicio became PhD in medicine with summa Cum Laude and International Mention. His thesis: “Zygomatic implants: state of the art and criteria for success,” was defended at the University of Barcelona with Profs. Tomas Albrektsson, Jan Lindhe, Xavier Gil, Jose M Suarez, and Mariano Monzo as jury.
He is a fellow researcher with the Handicap Research Group in the Department of Biomaterials at the University of Gothenburg (with Prof. Tomas Albrektsson as tutor) and became an International Teaching Scholar at Indiana University School of Dentistry, Indianapolis, USA, in 2021.
He has written numerous articles for international journals. In 2012, he wrote the book “Zygomatic Implants. The Anatomy-Guided Approach (ZAGA)”. In 2023, he edited the book “Advanced Zygomatic Implants. The ZAGA Approach“.
He has been a referee for the European Journal of Oral Implantology and the Journal of Clinical Implant Dentistry and Related Research.
He is a Fellow Member of the Royal Society of Medicine in England and became an Academic at The Royal European Academy of Doctors in 2016.
Dr. Aparicio is a former President of the Osseointegration Foundation of the American Academy of Osseointegration (2003-2004). From 2003 to 2005, he was a Board Member of the European Academy of Osseointegration.
In 2007, he was the President of the European Association of Osseointegration Barcelona Meeting. He founded the Spanish Society of Minimally Invasive Dentistry and is the honorific President.
Dr. Aparicio received the Fonseca Award from the Spanish Society of Periodontics three times and the Simo Virgili Prize from The Catalonian Society of Odonto-Stomatology twice.
In his latest endeavor, Dr. Aparicio founded the Zygoma ZAGA Centers Network in 2018 (www.zagacenters.com) to spread the ZAGA Philosophy globally.
He is currently sharing his knowledge as a senior consultant for Zygomatic Implants at Hepler Bone Clinic in Barcelona, Spain.