DT UK & Ireland No. 4, 2023

Increasing awareness of menopause in dentistry: Many Menopausal women consider leaving the dental profession owing to a lack of support and understanding from their employers or managers. / Evolving your business systems into 2023 and beyond—Operational systems: An article series on five basic systems to improve practice management by Chris Barrow / UK news: Metformin could help prevent oral and systemic disease in periodontal patients; Vaping jeopardises oral health as much as smoking does, states EFP / UK news: Sugar tax may have reduced UK paediatric tooth extraction; Are haptic dental trainers better than phantom heads for dental curricula? / Screw-retained restoration of a maxillary first molar and second premolar: A clinical report by Dr Anthony Bendkowski / International news: Dentistry rides third-quarter roller coaster—Third financial quarter of 2023 marked by weakness in the US dental market, soaring volumes in Asia and Latin America and historic slowdown in adult clear aligner cases. / International news: Post-COVID recovery fuels success of cost-conscious dental implant solutions and digital dentistry—A business insights report by Elena Generalova, iData Research analyst / Industry news: Curaden Academy hosts ninth iTOP Symposium; DIRECTEndodontics—a modern company, for modern dentists; Dentsply Sirona and University of Bristol open new dental facility in Bristol / Events: Long-awaited Digital Dentistry Show to premiere in Berlin in June 2024; ROOTS SUMMIT returns in 2024; ITI World Symposium 2024

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The World‘s Dental Newspaper
uk.dental-tribune.com

CASE REPORT
A step-by-step description of the implant
treatment and restoration of a patient
who had undergone extraction of a
maxillary right first molar and second
premolar.

Page 7

Published in London

Vol. 13, No. 4

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

UPCOMING EVENTS

Read all about third-quarter financial
results from the main international dental
companies and gain insights into the
latest trends in the global dental industry.

Next year will be an exciting one with
regard to dental events. Highlights of 2024
will be the first Digital Dentistry Show
and a new edition of ROOT SUMMIT.

Page 10 & 11

Page 14 & 15

Increasing awareness of menopause in dentistry
Many Menopausal women consider leaving the dental profession owing
to a lack of support and understanding from their employers or managers.

The hormonal changes that women
experience in the menopause may
cause cognitive, physical and psychological symptoms, and these are well
established. However, the effects of
the menopause on women in the workplace are still poorly documented and
understood, and the topic is frequently
stigmatised. Fortunately, in recent
years, there has been strong interest
in educating the dental community
about the challenges that menopausal
women face in the workplace and in
offering employers advice on how to
support them.

Symptoms of the menopause vary
and may include hot flushes, brain fog,
low mood—including depression—and
insomnia. As a consequence, a woman
going through the menopause may
feel daytime fatigue and have difficulty
concentrating. Commenting on employers’ growing interest in managing
the menopause, Vicky Kitney, from
human resources firm Peninsula, said
in a press release: “With the growing
awareness of the need to support
women with menopausal symptoms, we
are seeing a steady stream of enquiries
from dental practices about this issue.

By Iveta Ramonaite,
Dental Tribune International

 Page 2

Evolving your business systems into 2023 and
beyond—Part 5: Operational systems
An article series on five basic systems to improve practice management.

Over the past months that Dental
Tribune has published my article series,
I have looked at financial systems, marketing systems, the patient experience,
and leadership and management. In
this last article, I will now reach a
conclusion of our journey by looking
at operational systems—how we run
our businesses on a day-to-day basis,
remain compliant and stay relevant in a
changing world. To conclude my article
series, I wanted to look not just at the
present but into the future and try to
make some predictions about what the
world of dentistry will look like in the
years ahead.
That is never an easy path to take.
Which of the following three predictions
turned out to be true?
• “ I think that there is a world market for
about five computers.” —Thomas Watson,
former IBM chairman, in 1940

• “ I believe that at the end of the
century the use of words and general
educated opinion will have altered
so much that one will be able to
speak of machines thinking without
expecting to be contradicted.”—
Alan Turing in 1947
• “ There is no reason for anyone to
have computers in their home.”—
Ken Olsen, founder of Digital Equipment
Corporation, in 1977

lives, and I have taken to discussing
with my clients what I call the “five revolutions” that are happening right now:

• Revolution 1: the correct use of the
intra-oral scanner in every aspect of
patient communication;

By Chris Barrow, UK

I would be willing to bet that most
people would have considered Turing’s
quote (at the time) to be the least likely
to come true—and yet, here we are,
discussing the impact of artificial
intelligence (AI) on every aspect of
our lives. As for the other predictions—
red faces all around.
My first prediction is an easy one,
given the current landscape: that digital
will dominate every aspect of dentistry.
We are already seeing the impact of dig
ital workflows on our everyday working

In this last part of his article series, dental consultant Chris Barrow discusses how dental
practices can stay relevant in a fast-changing world.

• Revolution 2: the role of the digital
treatment coordinator;
• Revolution 3: the role of the modern
dental therapist in the UK;
• Revolution 4: the use of off-site digital
design and on-site 3D printing; and
• Revolution 5: the use of AI-driven software in smile simulation for patients
before they begin treatment.
All these are game-changers.
Add them together and you occupy
a different plane of existence from
“ordinary” dental practices. A practice that embraces these five revolutions does not have to worry about
recruitment, retention, new-patient
acquisition, treatment plan conversion,
or sales and profitability targets.
The five revolutions put the joy back
into the practice and business of
dentistry.

 Page 2

[2] =>

UK NEWS

2
 Page 1 “Increasing awareness”

These account for a small but significant number of cases, and the trend is
increasing.”
The effects of the menopause can
last from a couple of years to over a
decade. Since 77% of the dental team
in the UK are women, including nearly
52% of dentists, 93% of dental hygienists
and dental therapists, and 98% of dental
nurses, it seems appropriate and necessary to discuss how the menopause can
affect work performance. This would
be helpful not only for improving staff
morale but also for retaining skilled
workers and for recruiting new staff
more effectively. Concerningly, data shows
that many women consider leaving the
dental profession as a consequence of
the menopause and the lack of support
shown in the workplace.

Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition | 4/2023

“Research has shown that 10% of
women leave their jobs and many
more are reducing their hours or
passing up promotions because of
their menopausal symptoms. Ensuring
colleagues feel supported is an important part of addressing this concern. It should also help in meeting
the overall commitments set out in
National Health Service England’s

Long Term Workforce Plan, which
emphasises the need to retain valued
employees by encouraging them to stay
in the workplace,” noted Debbie Herbst,
a dento-legal adviser at the Dental
Defence Union.
Many existing laws in place that
regulate working conditions for menopausal employees are vague, and there
is limited literature on the effects that
the menopause can have on members
of the dental team. However, many
organisations and dental practices are

now considering adopting a policy that
sets out how to support staff during
the menopause. This also comes as a
response to the increasing number of
legal cases related to the menopause.
Data shows that the number of menopause-related employment tribunals has
doubled in recent years.

Promoting a supportive
work culture
Paving the way for a more supportive work culture, the British Association
of Dental Nurses (BADN) launched a
menopause policy in March 2022 to
help support staff experiencing symptoms in the workplace. In an interview
with Dental Tribune International,
Jacqui Elsden, president of the BADN,
stated: “I think it is really important for
employers to understand what is being
experienced. If an employee feels that
she is listened to and understood, it

 Page 1 “Evolving business systems”

Basic simulation software has been
around for a few years now, but the latest generation of AI-based applications
is moving oral health education up by
an order of magnitude in terms of patient
engagement and treatment plan acceptance. Astonishing and exciting!
My friend Dr Colin Campbell from the
Campbell Clinic in Nottingham in the UK
recently blogged that dental businesses
are changing from dentists who use technology to IT companies with a specialisation
in dentistry. It is that mindset change that
will identify the leaders in a future that is
happening now.
My second prediction relates to
team members. What of people in this
changing world? What will the dental
workforce of the future look like? Dental
team members must be tech-savvy.
The days when a long-serving team
member (or clinician) resisted the advance of technology are now in the
past. Everyone in the team has to move
beyond beliefs like “I don’t do spreadsheets”, “I’m not very good with computers”, “All this new technology is beyond me” or—most dangerous of all—
“We don’t need this; our patients will
not want it” and “There’s nothing
wrong with the way we have always
done things.” If you hear that kind of
language in your practice, it is a clear
signal that you will have to change the
person or change the person.
Whether in front of house, nursing,
treatment coordination, marketing or
administrative support, a future dental
business will be driven by what has
come to be known as a “tech stack”—
the technology that is used to keep

the business wheels turning. Even in
today’s practice, the tech stack could
include cloud-based:
•d
ocument storage;
•p
ractice management software;
•
customer relationship management
system for managing new enquiries;
•b
ack office project management;
• c ollections and accounting;
•p
rivate interteam online messaging;
• laboratory design communication;
•p
rivate patient communication;
• s martphone app;
•b
ooking and chatbot;
• intra-oral scanning and smile simulation;
• CBCT scanning; and
• compliance.
All these can be designed for multi
location businesses so that all team members can have access to group informa-

IMPRINT
INTERNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS
Publisher and Chief Executive Officer:
Torsten OEMUS

tion and managers can work remotely.
My prediction, therefore, is that the dental
workforce of the future will be tech-savvy,
specialising in dentistry and patient communication (particularly customer service
excellence). It remains to be seen how
long it will take for academia and training
and development businesses to realise
this—I rather suspect that it will be independent business owners that pave the
way, by recruiting, training and mentoring
their homegrown teams.
To keep the dental workforce of the
future together, you will have to ensure
that there are very good reasons for them
to stay in dentistry and to stay with you.
Consider these ten golden reasons:
1. Money: We must accept the bottom
line here, that the pay is going to be
very important, and so it must be

makes a great difference, and she will do
everything she can to perform her work
in the best possible way.”
Elsden also noted that, although
the menopause is a natural part of a
woman’s life, it is a taboo topic. Since
previous generations were mute on
this topic, women often do not have
sufficient knowledge and awareness of
the menopause themselves.

Improving working
conditions
High temperature, humidity, poor
ventilation, uncomfortable work uniforms, noise and a lack of access to
quiet or restful spaces all contribute to
exacerbating the effects of the menopause in the workplace. To improve
working conditions for women undergoing the menopause, employers
could consider workplace adjustments

c ompetitive. However, please make sure
that you have done the numbers on
production, pay, prices and profits to
create a win–win.
2. Team: Provide the very best support
both in surgery and throughout the
business.
3. C
ulture: This must always be in the top
three. Culture covers brand, vision,
mission, values, goals—the difference
that you want to make in the world.
It is the unmissable experience of being
a part of your business.
4. E nvironment: These are the physical facilities you offer throughout your building(s).
5. T echnology: Innovation and early
adoption are the key here—being able
to confidently say that you are at the
forefront in digital workflow.
6. Marketing: You must be able to reassure your clinical team that your internal, inbound and external marketing
systems will ensure full books and a
constant supply of new patients.
7. Patient experience: Your team needs to
have the confidence that, from front of
house to end-of-treatment review, you
deliver a service that patients will review positively and share with others.
8. Treatment coordination: Provide the
support of talented treatment coordinators to smooth the patient tran
sition to treatment and to maximise
clinical productivity.
9. Mentoring: Share your own experience
and expertise with those around you
and conduct regular peer review with
your clinical team.
10. Postgraduate training: Encourage (and
perhaps even fund) further education.
Do you currently deliver on the ten?
When a new clinician is applying for a job
with you or if an existing team member
tells you that they are considering a move,
ask yourself whether you are supplying
these ten golden reasons to work as part

such as the installation of air conditioning or the use of fans, the training of
staff members about the menopause
and the introduction of flexible working
hours. Additionally, dental practices
should foster open communication
about the menopause and offer mental
well-being support for menopausal
women.
“Fostering an open, inclusive
env ironment where employees feel
they can raise concerns about how
the menopause is affecting them with
no stigma or embarrassment will
help practices in becoming menopause-friendly e mployers,” K itney
noted.
The benefits of adopting a menopause policy in the workplace include
lower sickness absence and employee
turnover as well as increased engagement and loyalty.

of your team and ask the team member
whether the new opportunity that they
are considering offers these ten golden
ways to support them.
Thank you for staying with me
throughout the article series. My hope is
that I encouraged you to stop and think,
to review what you have done in the past,
what you are doing today and how you
plan to evolve in the future.
This year is the 30 th since my first business planning meeting with a dentist, and
I am hugely grateful to a profession and a
business that has given me a vocation, kept
me busy and allowed me to make a good
living and make the very best of friends along
the way. In all these years, I have rarely been
as excited as I am today about our collective
opportunities in this great profession—we
are innovating at pace and I am looking forward to participating in our bigger future.

Chris Barrow
has more than 50 years of work
experience and has been active as
a consultant, trainer and coach to
the UK dental profession for over
25 years. His main professional focus
is through his Extreme Business
company, providing coaching and
mentorship to independent dentistry
around the world via virtual con
sultancy, practice visits, a workshop
programme and an online learning
platform. His blog, Thinking Business,
enjoys a strong following. During the
COVID-19 pandemic, Barrow created
the Regeneration Coaching Programme
to help practices to survive lockdowns
and to bounce back higher after
their return to work. More information on his work can be found at
www.coachbarrow.com.

Tel.: +49 341 4847 4302

national GmbH. Such material must be published

Dental Tribune International GmbH makes every

Fax: +49 341 4847 4173

with the permission of Dental Tribune International

effort to report clinical information and manufac-

General requests: info@dental-tribune.com

GmbH. Dental Tribune is a trademark of Dental

turers’ product news accurately but cannot assume

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Tribune International GmbH.

responsibility for the validity of product claims or

www.dental-tribune.com

for typographical errors. The publisher also does not

national GmbH. Reproduction in any manner in any

assume responsibility for product names, claims or

Material from Dental Tribune International GmbH

language, in whole or in part, without the prior

statements made by advertisers. Opinions expressed

Chief Content Officer:

Dental Tribune International GmbH

that has been reprinted or translated and reprinted

written permission of Dental Tribune International

by authors are their own and may not reflect those

Claudia Duschek

Holbeinstr. 29, 04229 Leipzig, Germany

in this issue is copyrighted by Dental Tribune Inter-

GmbH is expressly prohibited.

of Dental Tribune International GmbH.

[3] =>

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[4] =>

UK NEWS

4

Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition | 4/2023

Metformin could help prevent oral and
systemic disease in periodontal patients

Research suggests that approxi
mately half of the adult population
over 30 years have some form of
periodontal disease, and the figure
increases to 70% in adults over
65 years and older. The disease is
strongly associated with systemic
conditions such as diabetes and obe
sity, and some studies have shown
that controlling glucose metabolism
in patients may contribute to longe
vity and decrease the development
of periodontal disease. Similarly, it
has also been demonstrated that
patients successfully treated for

periodontal disease improve their
glucose metabolism and cardiovas
cular health.

The trial showed improved clini
cal outcomes in the periodontal
disease treatment and in the control
of glucose levels and inflammation in
both the mouth and body, even when
high levels of bacteria were present.
In light of the data, the researchers
believe that using metformin for
periodontal disease prevention could
also help control weight gain and
glucose levels.

© Sonis Photography/Shutterstock.com

Factors such as glucose metabolism,
nutrition, oxidative stress and age
ing drive periodontal progression.
However, current periodontal treat
ments do not directly address the
host’s metabolic inflammatory re
sponse, which is crucial for the
management of periodontal disease.
Although systemic metformin is
widely used in the management of
diabetes, the medication has never
been used in periodontitis treat
ment management. Now, a new
study has reported that metformin
helps control inflammation and glu
cose levels in the mouth and body and
could be used as an intervention to
help prevent both oral and systemic
disease.

In the study, the researchers in
vestigated the effects of metformin,
which is currently used as a first-line
agent for glycaemic control, as a
pharmaceutical glucose metabo
lism modulator. The medication was
chosen for its cost-effectiveness,
safety and potential for repurposing and to promote longevity in
patients.

The study found that metformin
led to significant prevention of bone
loss during induced periodontal dis
ease and age-related bone loss in vivo
in living mice. The researchers then
tested the use of metformin in pa
tients with periodontal disease with
out diabetes, the first clinical trial of
its kind. To test the effectiveness of
the medication, half of the partici

pants received 850 mg of a placebo
and the other half were given 850 mg
of metformin. All participants under
went full-mouth non-surgical therapy.
The researchers reviewed the pa
tients at baseline, three days later
and a week later. Periodontal reas
sessment was performed six and
12 weeks after full-mouth non-surgical
therapy.

“Our patients do not often have
any tools to fight against gum disease other than brushing their teeth,
but for the first time, we have a
potential tool that can help not only
with gum disease but overall health,”
lead author Dr Vitor Neves, academic
clinical lecturer and periodontics
registrar at King’s College London,

said in a press release. He added:
“Metformin is readily available around
the world and is cheap, therefore
allowing the drug to be used as a
preventive medicine for oral and sys
temic diseases that could be adopted
on a global scale.” He explained that
this would help many to age more
healthily.
The study, titled “Repurposing
metformin for periodontal disease
management as a form of oral–
systemic preventive medicine”, was
published online on 10 October 2023
in the Journal of Translational
Medicine.

Vaping jeopardises oral health as much as
smoking does, states EFP

Nicotine, an ingredient com
monly found in both cigarettes and
e-cigarettes, restricts the blood flow
to the gingival tissue. Other chem
icals contained in the e-cigarette
vapour, including formaldehyde, pro
pylene glycol and benzene, may lead
to serious dental damage and cause
progressive destruction of the peri
odontium.
According to the European Feder
ation of Periodontology (EFP),
tobacco-
smokers have a heightened
awareness of the risks of smoking for
general and oral health. However,


it stated that e-cigarette users are
often misled into thinking that vaping
is a less harmful option than smoking.
According to the World Health
 rganization, around 1.3 billion
O
people worldwide are tobacco users,
and tobacco kills over eight million
people each year, including 1.3 million
non-smokers who are exposed to
second-hand smoke. Regular warnings

© New Africa/Shutterstock.com

Besides crippling health effects,
smoking can cause serious damage
to oral health, putting smokers at an
increased risk of periodontal disease,
tooth loss and even oral cancer.
A trendy alternative to smoking
favoured by the younger generation
is vaping, which is often seen as
the lesser of the two evils. However,
research on its oral health effects is
limited, and its claims to be a safer
option than smoking conventional

cigarettes have been oversold.

against vaping often only highlight
the damage it causes to the heart and
lungs, but do not refer to oral health,
although as the EFP noted, evidence
shows a clear and undisputable link
between e-cigarettes and poor oral
health.
“Damage on the gums and the
tissues supporting the teeth, often
to an irreversible state, is a likely

 dverse effect of vaping,” stated
a
Prof. Andreas Stavropoulos, EFP’s im
mediate past president and chair of
the EFP’s scientific affairs committee.
“This damage includes permanent
resorption of the gums and the bone
that keep the teeth in function and in
the mouth. Treatment of these prob
lems, depending on the extent, is
often cumbersome, and expensive,”
he added.
The EFP encourages oral health
care professionals to refrain from
recommending vaping as a means

of transitioning from tobacco use.
Instead, health experts should pri

oritise offering smoking cessation
guidance to individuals who use either
cigarettes or e-cigarettes. Additionally,
the EFP believes that dental profes
sionals should provide patients with
information concerning the potential
adverse effects of vaping on oral
health.
Other oral health-related side
effects of vaping include halitosis,
mouth and throat irritation, paratra
cheal oedema, laryngitis, black hairy

tongue, nicotine stomatitis, tooth
ache, tooth discoloration, caries,
tooth sensitivity, tooth loss, reduced
enamel hardness and an increased
risk of cancer.

Growing health
concerns in the UK
According to research conducted
by not-for-profit organisation Material
Focus, a staggering five million
single-use vapes are being disposed
of in the UK every week—four times
more than in 2022. Owing to growing
fears about the health and environ
mental risks of disposable vapes, the
government is reportedly planning to
ban their sale in the country.
Scott Butler, the executive director
of Material Focus, stated that single-use
vapes are one of the most environmen
tally wasteful, damaging and dangerous
consumer products ever made. However,
according to The Guardian, the UK Vaping
Industry Association is concerned that
the ban would only lead to further harm,
since the vapes would eventually be sold
on the black market.

[5] =>

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Tribune Group GmbH is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider. ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in
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acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry. Tribune Group GmbH designates this activity for 18.5 continuing education credits. This continuing
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[6] =>

UK NEWS

6

Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition | 4/2023

Sugar tax may have reduced UK paediatric
tooth extractions—study

The researchers examined the
effect of the soft drinks industry levy
on paediatric extractions of carious
teeth by studying NHS hospital
admission data from January 2012

to February 2020—a period that
spanned the pre-announcement and
post-announcement of the highly
publicised law. They found that the
mean incidence rate of hospital ad
missions per 100,000 inhabitants per
month fell from 31.0 in the pre-
announcement period to 28.5 in
the post-announcement period, a
reduction of 12%.
“Based on a population of
12,699,899 children aged 0–18 years
in England in 2020, this reduction
equates to an estimated 5,638 averted
cases of hospital admissions per
annum,” the study reads.

© urbans/Shutterstock.com

Dental caries is the primary cause of
elective hospital admissions among
UK children aged 5–9 years, and the
disease accounts for nearly 90% of
tooth extractions in the age group.
Given that consuming soft drinks is a
risk factor for caries, UK researchers
have examined whether a levy
introduced in 2018 on sweetened
drinks has reduced hospital ad
missions for carious tooth ex
tractions. According to their find
ings, the added tax may have
led to 12% fewer extractions in
children.

level changes and the impact on early
life oral/dental health outcomes which,
if untoward, would produce a significant
onward burden on dental services
through the life course.”
Prof. Ray continued: “The economic
effects of this are more pronounced
given current challenges in the pro
vision of far-reaching dental health
coverage both in countries with nation
alised healthcare systems as well as
others. Whilst there are methodolo
gical limitations in this study in regard
to causal inference, this paper provides
the basis for the design of further
policy-sensitive research investigating
these relationships in a manner that
clearly links cause and effect.”
Introduced in April 2018 to tackle
growing child obesity, the soft drinks
industry levy, also known as the sugar
tax, is a staggered levy applied to soft
drinks sold in the UK. Drinks with
5–8 g of sugar added have an addi
tional tax of £0.18 per litre (€0.20), and
those containing more than 8 g carry
an additional tax of £0.24 per litre.

The observed reduction in hos
pital admission rates was greatest
in the age groups 0–4 years and
5–9 years, totalling 6.5 and 3.3, re
spectively, which the researchers said
was significant owing to the higher
likelihood of younger children being
admitted to hospital for carious tooth
extractions. No significant change

was seen in the incidence of admis
sions in the age groups 10–14 years
and 15–18 years.
Admissions were found to have
been some five times higher in the
poorest areas of the country; how
ever, the reductions in the younger
age groups were observed across all

geographies, regardless of deprivation
status.
Prof. Sumantra Ray, executive direc
tor of the NNEdPro Global Institute for
Food, Nutrition and Health, commented
in a press release: “We welcome the
publication of this research which at
tempts to draw the links between policy-

The study, titled “Estimated impact
of the UK soft drinks industry levy
on childhood hospital admissions
for carious tooth extractions: Inter
rupted time series analysis”, was pub
lished online on 14 November 2023 in
BMJ Nutrition, Prevention and Health,
ahead of inclusion in an issue.

Are haptic dental trainers better than
phantom heads for dental curricula?

The COVID-19 pandemic and the
immediate need to control aero
solised pathogens led to a reduction
in patient-facing training, necessitat
ing the exploration of safe, sustain
able alternatives. With funding re
ceived for digital transformation, the
institute invested in advanced virtual
reality haptic stations and intra-oral
scanners, aiming to enhance the

linical competency-based dental
c
curriculum. The haptic dental trainers
by Simodont were chosen to intro
duce this haptic technology, and the
addition was guided by a simulation-
based dental education framework,
which focuses on psychomotor skill
acquisition and the collective impact
on the teaching staff, curriculum and
facilities.
The curriculum development
followed a phased approach, rooted
in the concept of deliberate practice,
a method emphasising active en
gagement in task-focused training
with immediate feedback. This ap
proach was extended to haptic simu
lation training, aligning with the
school’s existing education pedagogy
and aiming to improve psychomotor
skills through structured, repetitive
practice and feedback.
The integration process involved
collaborative work between the
e-learning team and a newly ap
pointed haptics teacher, focusing on
transitioning preclinical learners’
psychomotor skills to a virtual reality

environment. Staff and students
underwent comprehensive training

to familiarise themselves with haptic
technology. This included face-to-face
presentations, online materials and
hands-on sessions. The staff’s in
volvement was crucial in adapting

the curriculum and creating new hap
tic cases that mirrored traditional
training while leveraging the advan
tages of virtual reality simulation.
Utilising existing Simodont cases
helped ensure the curriculum was
designed to progressively develop

© Anel Alijagic/Shutterstock.com

For dentists in training, options for
honing their skills have been histori
cally limited to phantom heads or
patients at university dental clinics.
Both options limit the dental stu
dent’s ability to repeat specific tech
niques, procedures and conditions.
However, a study conducted at the
Institute of Dentistry of Queen Mary
University of London has found that
including haptic training in the under
graduate dental programme was
helpful in training for rare clinical
scenarios, provided realistic feedback
and allowed students to practise
repeat procedures with the same

patient parameters. This led to accel
erated skill learning and improved
confidence.

the students’ manual dexterity and
technical skills.
The use of haptic simulators is
regarded as far superior to working
with artificial teeth in a phantom
head; however, the study pointed out
the need for further, comprehensive
research to establish the long-term
benefits and pedagogical effective
ness of haptic training. Given the sub
stantial financial investment required
for haptic technology, it is crucial to
understand its impact on traditional
training methods and patient clinics
and to ascertain whether it offers any
measurable advantages in terms of
patient safety and educational out
comes. The study authors suggested
that answers to these questions are
vital for justifying the investment to
funders and professional regulators
in the UK and globally.
The study, titled “The integration
of haptic training into the QMUL dental
curriculum”, was published online
on 24 October 2023 in the European
Journal of Dental Education, ahead of
inclusion in an issue.

[7] =>

CLINICAL

Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition | 4/2023

Screw-retained restoration of a maxillary
first molar and second premolar
By Dr Anthony Bendkowski, UK
Dental implants are widely accepted
as a successful method for replacing
missing teeth. The success of dental
implant treatment depends on
many factors, such as implant design, surgical technique, bone quality
and patient factors. The aim of this
case report is to present a step-
by-step description of the implant
treatment and restoration of a patient who had undergone extraction
of a maxillary right first molar and
second premolar, from the initial
osteotomy preparation to the final
restoration.

Case presentation
A 64-year-old female patient
presented to our practice with
a heavily restored dentition. Her
failing maxillary right first molar
and second premolar had been
extracted by her general dental
practitioner (Fig. 1), leaving an unbounded edentulous area. Radiographic assessment indicated that
there was ample bone depth in the
posterior maxilla to allow for satisfactory implant placement (Fig. 2).
An implant solution was provided using two individual screwretained crowns supported by two
OmniTaper EV implants (Dentsply
Sirona) and using a digital workflow with Primescan and Atlantis
(Dentsply Sirona).
A full-thickness envelope flap
was raised with relieving incisions,
and the initial small round guide
drill was used to mark the implant
position. The site was enlarged with
OmniTaper drills of different diameters, following the recommended
drilling protocol. The initial osteo
tomy preparation was performed
with a 2 mm diameter OmniTaper
drill at no more than 1,500 rpm and
with copious external irrigation
with saline according to the surgical
protocol (Fig. 3). An OmniTaper EV
3.8 × 11.0 mm implant was placed in
position #15 using the TempBase
driver (Fig. 4). Both OmniTaper EV
implants placed with the help of
the preassembled TempBase abutments nicely aligned in positions
#15 and 16 (Fig. 5).
Next, the large quantity of
autogenous bone collected with

the disposable BoneTrap (Dentsply
Sirona) during surgery was used
to augment the small bone fene
stration (Figs. 6 & 7), and Symbios
Xenograft Granules were layered
over the autogenous bone (Fig. 8).
Finally, Symbios Collagen Membrane SR
(15 × 20 mm) was trimmed to shape
to complete the guided bone
regeneration procedure (Fig. 9).

The wound was closed with PGA
sutures (Fig. 10), and radiographic
evaluation was performed to

Fig. 1: Initial situation. Fig. 2: Pre-op radiographic assessment. Fig. 3: Full-thickness envelope ap and direction indicators after
initial preparation with the 2 mm diameter OmniTaper drill. Fig. 4: Placement of the OmniTaper EV implant in position #15 using
the TempBase driver. Fig. 5: Both OmniTaper EV implants placed with the help of the preassembled TempBase abutments
nicely aligned in positions #15 and 16. Implant–abutment connection size of medium indicated in yellow. Fig. 6: Use of the
BoneTrap to augment the small bone fenestration. Fig. 7: Large quantity of autogenous bone collected from the BoneTrap.
Fig. 8: Symbios Xenograft Granules layered over the autogenous bone. Fig. 9: Symbios Collagen Membrane SR trimmed
to shape to complete the guided bone regeneration procedure. Fig. 10: Passive primary closure with PGA sutures.
Fig. 11: Post-op radiograph of the implants. Fig. 12: Healing Abutments EV placed at three months after initial surgery.
Fig. 13: Atlantis IO FLOs in situ ready for the Primescan digital impression. Fig. 14: Design of Atlantis abutments and
zirconia crowns. Fig. 15: Well-fitting screw-retained Atlantis CustomBase abutments and zirconia crowns tried in.
Fig. 16: Radiograph to verify correct seating of the restorations. Fig. 17: Screw access holes sealed and amalgam
in tooth #14 replaced with composite. Fig. 18: Final restorations in situ.

Dr Anthony Bendkowski
is an oral surgery specialist in practice limited to implant reconstructive
surgery with two clinics in
London and Maidstone
in the UK. He has
over 30 years of
experience in
both the sur

verify the implants postoperatively
(Fig. 11). Three months later, meHealing Abutments EV were
dium
placed (Fig. 12).
A digital impression using an
intra-oral scanner (Primescan) was
then captured using the Atlantis IO FLO
for a digital restorative workflow
(Fig. 13). An Atlantis CustomBase
solution, consisting of an Atlantis
crown, an Atlantis abutment and
an Atlantis abutment screw, was
fabricated for each implant and
tried in, and no adjustments were
needed (Figs. 14 & 15). After seating, a radiographic evaluation

was performed to verify the final
restorations (Fig. 16). The final restorations showed excellent soft-
tissue adaptation and an aesthetic
outcome (Figs. 17 & 18). The patient
was extremely satisfied with the
outcome of the treatment and the
fixed restorations.

Conclusion
This case report highlights the
successful placement of OmniTaper EV
implants in a patient with a heavily
restored dentition. The use of an
intra-
oral scanner and impression
components for the prosthodon-

tic and technical
d igital workflow
allowed for precise planning and
execution of the
treatment plan. The
use of the OmniTaper
drill system allowed for
efficient and predictable placement of the implant.

gical and re
storative management of
implant cases.
He is a past
president of the
Association of
Dental Implantology,
an examiner for the
Royal College of Surgeons of
Edinburgh Diploma in Implant Dentistry
and a contributor to the postgraduate
dental implant programme at Brighton
and Sussex Medical School in the UK.
He is co-chair of Bromley, Bexley and
Greenwich LDC and an honorary

Editorial note: This article was published
in digital—international magazine of
digital dentistry vol. 4, issue 2/2023.

consultant at King’s College Hospital
NHS Foundation Trust in London.

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition | 4/2023

Dentistry rides third-quarter roller coaster
Third financial quarter of 2023 marked by weakness in the US dental market,
soaring volumes in Asia and Latin America and historic slowdown in adult clear aligner cases.

The dental industry is known for its
resistance to economic recession;
however, as dentists know, no clinic is
an island. In the third financial quarter
of this year, dentists in developing dental markets experienced better patient
flow than their counterparts in some
of the world’s wealthiest nations did.
Softening consumer trends—particularly in the area of orthodontics—led
to ups and downs and some major
surprises for the world’s largest dental
manufacturers, causing some of them
to lower their earnings forecasts for
the full year.

in the US. Principal Financial Officer
Stephen Keller told analysts that the
result reflected continuing growth in
Envista’s specialty products and technology segment, offset by a low single-
digit decline in sales of its equipment
and consumables.

By Jeremy Booth,
Dental Tribune International

The company’s emerging markets
grew by low single digits—strengthened by solid growth in China—and
a decline in sales was seen in Russia.
Envista’s orthodontic business grew by
double digits during the period, helped
by the rapid expansion of the Spark
clear aligner system market, and its
traditional bracket and wire business
declined by low single digits. Global
sales of dental implants kept pace with
market performance in most geo
graphies, but were offset by weakness
in premium and value implant sales in
the US.

The stars fall out
of alignment
In September, the world’s largest
clear aligner treatment provider alerted
investors to a substantial lull in adult
patient volumes. “Dental practices and
industry research firms have reported
deteriorating trends, including decreased patient visits and increased
patient cancellations, along with fewer
orthodontic case starts overall, especially
among adult patients,” Align Technology
CEO Joseph Hogan told analysts during
the company’s webcast quarterly earnings call. Hogan pointed to a report
by business analytics provider Gaidge,
which showed that new orthodontic
appointments and case starts in North
America in September were down by
8.7% and 6.9% year on year, respectively. It was one of very few occasions
in which Align has painted a dreary
picture for investors. “For our clear
aligner business, we expect clear aligner
teen volume to be seasonally lower in
[the fourth quarter], and we don’t anti
cipate improvement in adult volumes,”
Chief Financial Officer John Morici
conceded.
The company’s results for the
period seemed to be a continuation of
its historically stellar performance—
new revenues increased by 7.8% year
on year to reach US$960 million
(€911 million), and a record 221,000 of
its total shipment of 602,000 clear
aligner cases were shipped to teens.
Analysts had expected more, however,
and a lowering of Align’s full-year earnings
forecast was a clear signal that the
market remains shaky.
The third quarter was also marked
by the shock announcement that the
flag-bearer for at-home clear aligner
therapy had filed for bankruptcy protection. Plagued by a litany of lawsuits
and economic setbacks, SmileDirectClub
was due to cease its US operations if
it could not secure a financial lifeline
by late November. The period had
lapsed at the time of writing without
word regarding the company’s fate.
In what Bloomberg described as a
“textbook case of value destruction”,
the company was valued at close to
US$9 billion in 2019 and had just US$5

million in cash and nearly US$900 million
in debt when the filing was submitted
on 29 September.

China and Latin
America boost results
at Straumann
Third-quarter sales results from
Straumann Group showed 1.5% yearon-year growth in the company’s home
market of Europe, the Middle East and
Africa (EMEA) and a 2.9% year-on-year
decline in North America. The Asia

influenced demand for full-arch implant and orthodontic treatments. In
the Asia Pacific region, strong growth
was recorded in the Australian, Chinese,
Indian and Japanese markets, and
China’s volume-based procurement
of dental implants led to what the
company called “significant volume
increases”. Sales of Neodent in Brazil
continued to boost Straumann’s growth
in the Latin America region, and orthodontic sales in Mexico, Colombia and
Chile contributed to growth in the
region.

“While our results in North
America were disappointing,
we believe this
will be temporary.”
—Amir Aghdaei, CEO, Envista
Pacific and Latin America regions performed better for Straumann, growing
by 12.6% and 15.9% year on year,
respectively. On an organic basis—
where the effects of currencies and acquisitions are excluded—sales grew by
6.6% in EMEA, by 26.8% in Asia Pacific
and by 19.1% in Latin America and declined by 5.5% in North America. Sales
for the period totalled CHF 570 million
(€589 million), and this represented a
year-on-year organic increase of 11.4%.
Dental implant sales were Straumann’s
main driver of growth in the EMEA region, and the company said that sales
in North America had been strong,
despite the impact of high inflation on
consumer spending, which negatively

CEO Guillaume Daniellot noted in
a call with analysts that “[the] current
geopolitical and macroeconomic uncer
tainties, which influenced the patient
flow observed in the third quarter,
are expected to continue generating
different dynamics in our different
regions”. However, Straumann would
not be revising its full-year earnings
guidance, Daniellot said.

Dentsply Sirona’s
20% growth
in China offset by
weakness at home
Net sales at Dentsply Sirona were
flat during the period, amounting to
US$947 million. CEO Simon Campion

described the quarter as one of
“challenging macroeconomic conditions”,
and Chief Financial Officer Glenn Coleman
pointed to weaker patient traffic in
markets that typically lead the com
pany’s sales growth. US sales declined
by around 1%, despite strong sales of
clear aligners and CAD/CAM equipment,
and organic sales growth in Europe
declined by 2.8%, owing largely to
constrained spending in Germany.
The US and Germany are the company’s
two largest markets, representing
around 75% of total revenue.
Things were better for Dentsply
Sirona in China and Latin America. The
company grew its Chinese business by
20% during the period, owing to a 30%
sequential gain in the volume of dental
implants. “Latin America, a smaller but
fast-growing region for us, was another bright spot and grew [by] double
digits with improved performance in
Brazil and Mexico,” Coleman said.
Citing negative economic and
dental trends, Dentsply Sirona low
ered its financial outlook for 2023,
anticipating full-year organic sales

growth of 1% instead of the previously
announced 3%. The company is in the
midst of rehauling its operations, and
it posted a net loss of US$266 million
for the period. This was a 75% improvement compared with its net loss of just
over US$1 billion for the same period
last year, both being attributable to noncash charges for the impairment of
goodwill and other intangible assets.

Envista expects
slight decline
in core sales growth
Third-quarter sales at Envista
Holdings Corp. were flat at US$631
million—core sales having increased

by 0.8%—and the company observed
decreased demand for its dental products

CEO Amir Aghdaei told analysts:
“While our results in North America
were disappointing, we believe this will
be temporary.” He said that the company’s customers around the world were
mindful of the current macroeconomic
climate and that Envista had witnessed
a decline in high-end procedures and
in adult orthodontic cases. “Clinicians
are cautious. They’re very cautious
about inventory management in their
offices around implant[s] and bracket[s]
and wires,” Aghdaei said.
Envista now expects a slight yearon-year decline in core sales growth
for the full year, and Keller said that
the revision “reflects the increased
macroeconomic risks in our developed
markets, continued challenges in Russia
and the additional risks brought on by
the new conflict in the Middle East”.

“We see bright spots
in the business”
The third quarter was marked by
increased cancellations and a slump
in patient traffic in Europe and the US,
as well as lower demand for large imaging equipment across international
markets. Nonetheless, dental CEOs
remained upbeat. Campion told analysts: “We see bright spots in the business.” Stanley Bergman, chairman of
the board and CEO of Henry Schein,
said that the company believed that
the dental and medical markets “are
relatively recession-resilient”.
Henry Schein’s global dental sales
reached US$1.9 billion during the period,
representing year-on-year growth of
5.4%. The dental giant noted a sales
slowdown in the US and a global fall of
2% in internal sales of dental equipment in local currencies. In October,
the company fell victim to a cyber-
attack that affected its distribution and
e-commerce infrastructure, leading the
company to revise its full-year sales
forecast to a year-on-year decline of
1% to 3% rather than the prior guidance
of 1% to 3% sales growth.

[11] =>

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition | 4/2023

Post-COVID recovery fuels success
of cost-conscious dental implant solutions and digital dentistry

Fig. 1: Market share and growth of the dental implant and final abutment market by segment in Europe for 2022–2029. Fig. 2: Dental implant market in Europe by segment for 2022–2029. Fig. 3: Leading competitors in the dental
implant market in Europe in 2022. (All graphs: © iData Research Inc.)

By Elena Generalova, Canada
The long-awaited post-pandemic recovery and reopening of dental practices for patients after the COVID-19
pandemic has not only produced a
spike in the growth of dental procedures but also highlighted the need
to reconcile the damage done to the
industry, including supply chain issues, economic hardship and global
inflation. Patients and dental professionals have grown more sensitive to
cost and, as a result, are more open to
discount and value implant products.
The growing acceptance of these
more affordable products is set to
shift the dental implant market.
The most prominent difference
between premium, value and discount implant solutions is the cost,
premium brands costing several
times more than value or discount
brands. These price differences not
only reflect research and development and quality assurance expenses,
but also include additional costs
such as the inclusion of training programmes, dental practice support
and extended service from the manufacturer. Owing to the high cost of
dental treatment and limited coverage,
cost-effectiveness has been always at
the forefront of the dental industry,
and the permanent crisis era of postCOVID recovery has only fuelled the
need for lower-cost implants. Dental
insurance coverage remains limited
and is usually provided under an
employment benefits package. While
the overall market growth will continue to be constrained by reimbursement and unemployment rates, the
lack of it, to some extent, will drive the
need for cost-sensitive and affordable treatment.
Historically, premium dental implant companies have dominated the
competitive landscape in Europe, but
they have recently faced increased
competition from value and discount
brands. In addition, the premium
segment market is mainly shared by
four main companies: Dentsply Sirona,
Envista Holdings Corp., the Straumann
Group and ZimVie. The growing pre
valence of local manufacturers and an
increasingly cost-sensitive consumer
demographic have contributed to

overall price depreciation in the total
dental implant market that has been
fuelled by a growing share of the
value and discount segments in the
total dental implant market value.
The combined market share of the
value and discount segments is projected to be over half of the total
dental implant market value by the
end of the forecast period.
Similar to the dominance of premium implants, stock abutments
have historically prevailed as the predominant segment of the final abutment market. Recent improvements
in manufacturing capability and
product affordability have resulted in
the rapid growth of the CAD/CAM
abutment segment relative to the
stock abutment and custom-cast
abutment segments. CAD/CAM abutments offer significant improvement
in aesthetics and clinical outcomes.
The segment became the largest
segment in the total final abutment
market in 2022, closely followed by
the stock abutment segment.

Digital dentistry
Further development and adoption of digital dentistry will continue
to drive the growth in the dental
implant and bone grafting material
markets. Driving the CBCT scanner
market is the development of computer-guided surgery software for
treatment planning and implant
placement. Based on the treatment
plan, the dentist also has the option
of using a surgical guide to assist in
placement of the implants. CAD/CAM
technology is increasingly being used
to manufacture customised final
abutments as well, thereby creating
a more stable and aesthetic restoration.
Dental manufacturers invest in
the digital dentistry transformation
via collaborations with start-ups,
education centres and other com
panies globally to expand tech
nological capabilities, outreach and
local experience. The Straumann
Group, for example, has invested
in China to establish a Straumann
manufacturing, innovation and education centre by 2029. The company
also founded a new technological

and innovation centre in Switzerland.
Open-architecture systems enable integration with other components, even those from different
manufacturers. Companies producing CAD/CAM abutments are opening
their systems to make the process of
sending a scan easier for dental professionals. Nobel Biocare’s system,
for example, can now receive CAD
files from 3Shape scanners too.
Dentsply Sirona too has opened its
CEREC software to support compatibility and a smooth workflow.
Closed systems used to be the
only option in the early days of
CAD/CAM development, limiting the
dentist’s choice of components to
a single manufacturer. The shift
towards open CAD/CAM systems
makes the process of ordering
CAD/CAM abutments more accessible
to the market and is therefore expected
to increase the demand in volume
for CAD/CAM products. In addition,
it allows for cross-promotion of
a broader range of products from
different manufacturers.

Recent significant
events relating to
digital dentistry market
In May 2023, Henry Schein announced the acquisition of Brazilian
company S.I.N. Implant System. The
company specialises in value dental
implant solutions and has been expanding into the US market. Henry
Schein is planning to integrate S.I.N.
into its Global Oral Reconstruction
Group. The combined forces of the
two companies are set to form a
global supply of dental implant and
bone regeneration materials to address the growing demand in both
emerging and developed markets.
The acquisition is expected to be completed in the second half of this year.
In April 2023, ZimVie announced
the launch of RegenerOss CC Allograft
Particulate and RegenerOss Bone Graft
Plug, extending the company’s dental
bone grafting portfolio, primarily focusing on the North American market. Both
products are processed by RTI Surgical
and marketed by ZimVie.

In April 2023, Medentika, a member of the Straumann Group since
2016, announced the launch of a
brand awareness campaign for its
MPS multiplatform portfolio of dental
implants and prosthetic components.
The campaign is called “This is
MEDENTiKA”.
In March 2023, ZimVie introduced
the CAD and FULL SUITE modules for
its RealGUIDE digital dentistry software
platform at the International Dental
Show in Germany. The FULL SUITE
integration provides a seamless
workflow between the CAD module and
RealGUIDE’s existing Plan, App and
Guide modules, offering a one-stop
solution for surgical and restorative
treatment.
In February 2023, BEGO and
Rapid Shape announced their partner
ship allowing Rapid Shape customers
to process BEGO’s Varseo materials
on Rapid Shape’s D20+, D30+ and
D50+ printers. This allows users of
those 3D printers to produce a broad
range of restorative solutions with
BEGO’s VarseoSmile and VarseoWax
materials.
In January 2023, Nobel Biocare announced its acquisition of Mimetis Biomaterials, a spin-off from the Biomaterials, Biomechanics and Tissue Engineering group of the Polytechnic University
of Catalonia in Spain. Nobel and Mimetis
have partnered in the development of
materials since 2016, the newest product of which is creos syntogain, the latest-generation synthetic bone grafting
material developed by Mimetis. Through
its partnership with Mimetis, Nobel has
been able to expand its portfolio of
regenerative solutions.
In its annual report
for 2022, the Straumann
Group announced
2023 additions to its
portfolio, including
value dental implant
systems, abutments,
grafting materials
and g rowth f actor.
This included an Anthogyr line extension with
the Axiom X3 tissue-level implant, the extension of the BLX and
TLX implant family lines, an addition to

the Variobase abutment family and
the Zygoma-S implant designed for the
zygoma anatomy-guided approach.
The company also announced the
continuous global roll-out of cerabone
plus, a bovine bone grafting material
with sodium hyaluronate, starting with
Germany, Austria, Switzerland and
the Nordic countries. The company also
announced the global release of the
Medentika multiplatform and implant
system. Other new products are the
fully tapered TLX tissue-level implant
system for immediate protocols, the
Neodent t wo-piece s crew-retained
zirconia–zirconia connection implant
with a tapered design and the Neodent
Helix GM Narrow implant, also for immediate protocols. The company is
planning a continuous global roll-out
of its Emdogain growth factor, featuring the latest extension of its indi
cations to flapless surgery and peri-
implant therapy.

iData Research
For over 15 years, iData Research
has been a strong advocate for data-
driven decision-making within the
global medical device, dental and
pharmaceutical industries. By pr
oviding custom research and con
sulting solutions, iData empowers
its clients to trust the source of
data and make important strategic
decisions with confidence. More information can be found at https://
idataresearch.com.

Elena Generalova
is analyst team leader at
iData Research. She
specialises in research projects
on the medical
technology
industry, including the
global market
for dental materials and the
European market
for dental implants,
bone grafting ma
terials and other bio
materials for dentistry.

[12] =>

INDUSTRY

Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition | 4/2023

“Health and happiness are only possible through education”
Curaden Academy hosts ninth iTOP Symposium.

Fig. 1: Curaden Academy’s yearly iTOP Symposium is an opportunity for its top lecturers to hone their prophylaxis skills. Fig. 2: Italian dental hygienist Sabina Floridia explaining the ins and outs of the BOB-App, a handy tool
for dental professionals to keep track of their patients’ oral health status. Fig. 3: Dr Mário Rui Araújo explaining how dental hygiene and behavioural change go hand in hand.

The dental practice
of the future

The annual iTOP Symposium serves
as an important refresher for an
international panel of leading iTOP
lecturers to keep their own skills at
the highest level. Only by mastering
perfect individual prophylaxis themselves can they provide other dental
professionals, dental students and
patients with the most effective
instructions on using the right oral
hygiene tools and techniques. According to Christine Breitschmid,
managing director of Curaden, “It is
important to come together once a
year to exchange ideas, reinvigorate

ITOP—short for individually trained
oral prophylaxis—is a hands-on training programme designed by Czech
prevention pioneer Dr Jiří Sedelmayer.
It sets the gold standard for teaching
prevention through a learning-by-doing
approach and provides dental pro
fessionals with clear guidelines for
instructing patients. Furthermore, iTOP
is increasingly being implemented at
universities, offering dental students a
rare opportunity to become oral health
coaches for their patients.

our commitment and perfect our skills.
We must promote the idea that taking
care of our oral health is synonymous
with taking care of our overall health
and happiness. Health and happiness
are only possible through education.”

Hands-on programme
for a new generation
of dental professionals

Modern dentistry is becoming
increasingly patient-centred, emphasising
education and long-term health. In addition, a growing number of patients are

becoming more conscientious and pro
active about their oral health. They seek
out dental professionals who prioritise
prevention and wellness, driving the
industry towards preventive care.
This year’s symposium in Barcelona
reflected this new direction with
a series of lectures that highlighted
the patient’s perspective. Dental
hygienist Sabina Floridia presented
her experiences with the BOB-App,
a smart practice app that connects
dental professionals with their patients
and supports regular recalls.

The iTOP community is growing.
Almost 50,000 dental professionals
have been iTOP-trained, and that
number is increasing. “It is our mission to contribute to a healthier
and happier society and to believe
that future and active dental professionals play a crucial role in
maintaining and promoting oral
health behaviours,” Dr Sunčica Ilija,
head of Curaden Academy, concluded.

Behavioural change was also
a prominent topic. According to
speaker Dr Mário Rui Araújo, an
expert in health psychology, dental
professionals need to identify patients’ triggers, their motivational
reasons for behavioural change.
He explained that it is important
“not only to achieve goals but also
to find what prompts specific behaviours. This is a new responsibility
for dental professionals: to understand
the social environment of the patient
and build a story together.” This sentiment was echoed by Dr Viktoriia
Gabal in her lecture on motivational
interviewing. “You are in cooperation with the patient, not to direct,
but to listen and guide based on their
motivation and stories.”

Fig. 4: Christine Breitschmid, managing director of Curaden, defined goals and strategy during her opening speech. Fig. 5: Slovakian dentist Dr Pavel Andel (left) and South African dental hygienist
Natasha Swart during their recall. The yearly recall is a moment of practice and assessment that ensures iTOP lecturers maintain top-notch prophylaxis skills. Fig. 6: Spanish lecturer, researcher
and dentist Dr Isabel Martínez Lizán explaining perfect biofilm management. Fig. 7: The ninth iTOP symposium in Barcelona in Spain gathered iTOP lecturers and Curaden area managers.

Dentists interested in taking
part in an iTOP seminar can visit and
explore the upcoming courses at
www.curadenacademy.com.

DIRECTEndodontics—a modern company, for modern dentists
DIRECTEndodontics offers great European
products at affordable prices and free
shipping without the hassle of dealing
with distributors, sales representatives,
call centres and shipping.
At DIRECTEndodontics, all products
are only a click away. The company
offers:
•g
reat European-crafted endodontic
instruments
• replacements for the reciprocating
and rotary nickel–titanium instruments
you currently use

• the opportunity to keep using
your current techniques with our
products
• products at a fraction of the price
you currently pay
• free shipping throughout Europe on
all orders.
DIRECTEndodontics sells all
products directly to dental profes
sionals.
Online ordering is easy, and live
chat customer support is available
24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Register now to receive an additional 10% off all orders for the first
12 months.
You receive a 100% money-back
guarantee on all unopened products
for three years and a 100% refund on
up to two empty instrument packs
per stock-keeping unit (SKU), so
you can even use all the files in two
packs per SKU and still receive a full
refund!
More information can be found at
www.directendo.com.

[13] =>

INDUSTRY

13

Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition | 4/2023

Dentsply Sirona and University of Bristol
open new dental facility in Bristol
Dentsply Sirona, the world’s largest manufacturer of professional dental products
and technologies, has continued its long
partnership with Bristol Dental School to
open a new multimillion-dollar dental
facility in Bristol city centre. The new site
was officially opened during an in
auguration ceremony in September and
is equipped with cutting-edge equipment
to ensure students have access to high-
quality training and their patients to
excellent oral healthcare.
The new Bristol Dental School site will
host students throughout their training
as they move from preclinical education
through to treating patients in the clinical
years. It is equipped with 119 Dentsply
Sirona Intego Pro treatment centres and
includes an ambidextrous version in order
to cater easily for both right- and left-handed
dentists. With access to modern and in
tuitive dental chair units, students will
learn to provide a wide range of treatments
to the local community while using advanced
digital dentistry technology. Students in
preclinical years will also have access to
56 Sim Intego simulation units, which will
allow them to practise different skills
needed for clinical practice and gain confidence before they start treating patients.

need to do all we can to ensure that the
next generation of dentists has access
to the excellent education and training
available during their studies,” said Jörg
Vogel, vice president of sales at Dentsply
Sirona. “Bristol Dental School is paving
the way in ensuring young dental pro
fessionals are well prepared to meet the
demands of the future, bridging the gap
between theory, skills labs and clinical
practice. We are proud to have been
a key partner in this project—our largest
to date in the UK—and look forward to
seeing the new facility in action,” he
added.
“We’ve been working with Dentsply
Sirona for a number of years now and
were pleased to be able to work in close
collaboration once again to open this
state-of-the-art facility for our dental students,” said James Tubman, senior school
manager at Bristol Dental School. “The
entire site, from the treatment spaces to
the clinical skills suite, is designed to help
our students put theory into practice and
prepare to meet the needs of modern
dental care. We are excited to see this new
facility officially up and running—to the
benefit of both students and their future
patients,” he continued.

Future-proofing young
dental professionals

The new Bristol Dental School
facility was officially opened at the
beginning of September and has already
welcomed students, the new university
year beginning in late September. With
access to the new location, Bristol D
 ental
School will now be able to expand its
number of student places, introduce a
range of new programmes and create
jobs.
“The UK is currently facing a serious
shortage of dental professionals, so we

High-quality tools and
training for dental students
around the world

Through its international special
clinic solutions division, Dentsply Sirona
partners with universities around the
world to provide state-of-the-art training
facilities to dental students. Having
worked with more than 1,000 universities,
hospitals and clinics worldwide on the
planning, construction and fitting out of
new dental facilities, the company draws
on decades of experience to design ex
cellent learning environments for future
dentists.

Recently, Dentsply Sirona partnered
with Nice University Hospital in France
to open a new odontology centre for the
university’s oral medicine, oral surgery
and dentofacial orthopaedics specialties.
The company has also been a long-term
partner of the University of Pennsylvania,
helping to establish its Care Center for
Persons with Disabilities dedicated to
ensuring that people with all forms of
disability have access to quality oral
healthcare.
More information about Dentsply
Sirona’s international special clinic
solutions can be found online at
https://www.dentsplysirona.com/clinics.
AD

[14] =>

EVENTS

Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition | 4/2023

Long-awaited Digital Dentistry Show
to premiere in Berlin in June 2024
Now is an exciting time for dentistry.
Technological innovations lie at
the heart of the profession and
are significantly advancing personalised dental care. To provide a platform to celebrate digital innovations in the field and educate the
dental team, DDS.Berlin is bringing a highly immersive experience
to the capital of Germany—the
Digital Dentistry Show. Scheduled for
28 and 29 June 2024 at the Arena Berlin,
the event promises to deliver engaging educational and social opportunities with a special focus on digital

experts, professional organisations,
manufacturers and publishers who
are looking to form or expand their
network of like-minded, future-oriented
individuals. To be hosted at one of
Berlin’s industrial pearls, the unique
event location offers a rich history and
a distinctive modern feel. The adjacent
Escobar and the Badeschiff spaces will
enhance the relaxed and jovial atmosphere, underlining the informal and
engaging nature of the show.
The 2024 Digital Dentistry Show is
expected to attract over 2,000 eminent

Fig. 1: Located in Berlin’s Alt-Treptow
inner-city district, the 6,500 m2 Arena Halle
offers high-quality professional infrastructure. Fig. 2: The Badeschiff is a picturesque
floating public swimming pool area overlooking the Spree river. Fig. 3: Attendees
will also have access to the Sonnendeck of
the Escobar, where they will be able to enjoy delicious food and drinks. (All images: ©
Markus Nass)

products and the digital workflow in
dentistry.
Through live product presentations, workshops, discussion sessions
and an exhibition, the 2024 Digital

Dentistry Show seeks to provide attendees with first-hand knowledge of
digital dental products and services
and to offer space for personalised
advice and face-to-face interactions
with industry leaders. With the focus

on robust research evidence, the
scientific programme will feature
presentations by prominent opinion
leaders, including Drs Henriette Lerner,
Alessandro Cucchi, Mirela Feraru,
Howard Gluckman, Fabrizia Luongo
and Setareh Lavasani, and cover a
wide range of topics, such as artificial
intelligence, the digital workflow in
maxillofacial surgery and full-arch rehabilitation, and digital bone surgery.
Attendees will have the opportunity

to earn valuable continuing education
credits.
Besides a strong educational aspect, the 2024 Digital Dentistry Show
will serve as a social hub for dental

dental professionals from around the
world. You are invited to be one of
them!
More information can be found at
dds.berlin.

ROOTS SUMMIT returns in 2024

After a successful event in Prague in
the Czech Republic in May 2022, which
was attended by more than 400 people
from 42 countries, the organisers of
ROOTS SUMMIT have announced the
dates and venue for next year’s edition.

The endodontic meeting will be held from
9 to 12 May 2024 at the Eugenides Foun
dation in Athens. Attendees can look
forward to the usual high-calibre clinical
practice and technique tips, intended for
immediate incorporation into practice.

“ROOTS SUMMIT 2024 will feature
speakers from nine countries, each of
whom will bring significant scientific
credibility and authority to the benefit
of every participant’s clinical practice.
Our scientific director, Dr David E. Jaramillo,

is well known for putting together
unrivalled scientific programmes,” said
ROOTS SUMMIT Co-Chairman Stephen
Jones.
Topics will include irrigation and
disinfection of root canals, restoration of
endodontically treated teeth, the effect
of radiotherapy on dental structures, root
canal blockage management and the
rationale for the management of complex, borderline cases in endodontics.
Just like for previous events, hands-on
courses will be offered.
“One of our speakers will be
Dr Mitsuhiro Tsukiboshi from Japan.
The American Association of Endodontists
describes Dr Tsukiboshi as the ‘world’s
leading authority on auto-transplantation
of teeth’ on its website. His lecture on
auto-transplantation of teeth as part of
complex treatment plans is not to be
missed,” emphasised Jones.
Taking place in the Greek capital, the
meeting will be hosted in a city that offers
a myriad of ancient monuments, temples,
ruins and churches. ROOTS SUMMIT 2024
is to be held in the conference halls of the
Eugenides Foundation, a landmark building complex right next to the waterside,

but still close to the city centre. Two large
lecture halls and two floors for exhibition
assure enough space to showcase, get
together and educate. A special highlight
will be the foundation’s planetarium,
which ROOTS SUMMIT attendees can visit
during the conference days.
“The Eugenides Foundation has been
hosting scientific and technical education
events for over 60 years in its purpose-built
lecture theatre. In the last 20 years alone,
the fully renovated conference and lecture rooms have hosted over 1,400 Greek
and international events and welcomed
470,000 participants,” commented Jones.
ROOTS SUMMIT meetings have been
enjoyed by participants for more than
20 years. The first meeting was held in
1999 in Toronto in Canada, and many
events all over the world followed, having
taken place in the US, the Netherlands,
Mexico, Spain, Brazil, India, the UAE, Germany
and the Czech Republic.
Registration for the event is open at
www.roots-summit.com. Dental professionals are invited to submit their poster
presentations for inclusion in the dynamic
scientific programme for the event until
26 April 2024.

[15] =>

EVENTS

Dental Tribune United Kingdom Edition | 4/2023

ITI World Symposium 2024
More than 50 speakers, exclusive clinical case footage and real patient stories

The International Team for Implantology
(ITI) World Symposium 2024 will be
held in Singapore from 9 to 11 May
next year. The event will feature more
than 50 world-renowned speakers,
real patient stories and exclusive
clinical procedures, and attendees can
expect cutting-edge insights into soft
tissue management, guided bone
regeneration and bone augmentation,
immediate implants, peri-implantitis
and digital workflows.

Besides the main sessions, the
ITI World Symposium will offer several parallel sessions on topics such
as regeneration, periodontics and
primary stability. In addition, attendees
can choose from a wide range of
limited attendance workshops, which
will offer hands-on opportunities to
acquire new skills.

THE GLOBAL DENTAL CE COMMUNITY

All registrations include full lunch
and coffee break catering, offering

Speakers who will present at the
world’s largest scientific implant dentistry event include Prof. Daniel Buser,
Prof. Giovanni Zucchelli, Dr Istvan Urban,
Prof. Ronald Jung, Prof. Hom-Lay Wang
and Prof. Irena Sailer. Attendees can
expect an engaging experience with
lectures, clinical procedures and
discussions.
With a unique, patient-centred
programme structure, the ITI World
Symposium 2024 aims to combine
practical clinical insights with the
latest scientific findings. Over three
days, attendees will have the opportunity to follow real patients’ stories
on stage, with world-class clinicians
providing commentary on exclusively
recorded clinical procedures.

attendees a flavour of Singapore’s
diverse cuisines. An event app for
Apple and Android phones will be
available in order for attendees to
keep up to date with the fast-paced
programme and all other ITI of
ferings.
Registration for the ITI World
Symposium is now open, and ITI
members as well as early registrants
will benefit from significant discounts. Over 4,000 dental profes
sionals from around the world are
expected to attend, making this event
an excellent opportunity to network,
share and learn.
Register now online at https://
worldsymposium.iti.org.
Tribune Group is an ADA CERP Recognized Provider. ADA CERP is a service of the American Dental Association to assist dental professionals in identifying quality providers of continuing dental education. ADA
CERP does not approve or endorse individual courses or instructors, nor does it imply acceptance of credit hours by boards of dentistry.This continuing education activity has been planned and implemented in
accordance with the standards of the ADA Continuing Education Recognition Program (ADA CERP) through joint efforts between Tribune Group and Dental Tribune Int. GmbH.

[16] =>

Register at

www.dds.berlin

Digital
Dentistry
Show

In collaboration with
Digital
Dentistry
Society

OF DENTISTRY

OF DENTISTRY
D I G I TA L D E N T I S T R Y S H O W • U N V E I L I N G T H E F U T U R E

DIGITAL
DENTISTRY
SHOW

D I G I TA L D E N T I S T R Y S H O W • U N V E I L I N G T H E F U T U R E

28 & 29 JUNE 2024

) [page_count] => 16 [pdf_ping_data] => Array ( [page_count] => 16 [format] => PDF [width] => 872 [height] => 1130 [colorspace] => COLORSPACE_UNDEFINED ) [linked_companies] => Array ( [ids] => Array ( ) ) [cover_url] => [cover_three] =>

[cover] => DT UK & Ireland No. 4, 2023

[toc] => Array ( [0] => Array ( [title] => Increasing awareness of menopause in dentistry: Many Menopausal women consider leaving the dental profession owing to a lack of support and understanding from their employers or managers. [page] => 1 ) [1] => Array ( [title] => Evolving your business systems into 2023 and beyond—Operational systems: An article series on five basic systems to improve practice management by Chris Barrow [page] => 1 ) [2] => Array ( [title] => UK news: Metformin could help prevent oral and systemic disease in periodontal patients; Vaping jeopardises oral health as much as smoking does, states EFP [page] => 4 ) [3] => Array ( [title] => UK news: Sugar tax may have reduced UK paediatric tooth extraction; Are haptic dental trainers better than phantom heads for dental curricula? [page] => 6 ) [4] => Array ( [title] => Screw-retained restoration of a maxillary first molar and second premolar: A clinical report by Dr Anthony Bendkowski [page] => 7 ) [5] => Array ( [title] => International news: Dentistry rides third-quarter roller coaster—Third financial quarter of 2023 marked by weakness in the US dental market, soaring volumes in Asia and Latin America and historic slowdown in adult clear aligner cases. [page] => 10 ) [6] => Array ( [title] => International news: Post-COVID recovery fuels success of cost-conscious dental implant solutions and digital dentistry—A business insights report by Elena Generalova, iData Research analyst [page] => 11 ) [7] => Array ( [title] => Industry news: Curaden Academy hosts ninth iTOP Symposium; DIRECTEndodontics—a modern company, for modern dentists; Dentsply Sirona and University of Bristol open new dental facility in Bristol [page] => 12 ) [8] => Array ( [title] => Events: Long-awaited Digital Dentistry Show to premiere in Berlin in June 2024; ROOTS SUMMIT returns in 2024; ITI World Symposium 2024 [page] => 14 ) ) [toc_html] =>

Table of contents

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