Our Highlights from Dental Innovation Symposium 2019

The all-new, two-day Dental Innovation Symposium, which took place on the 7th – 8th June 2019 at the contemporary Pullman London St Pancras, was a huge success, with the inaugural event setting the world of dentistry on fire.

This innovative two-day Symposium brought together a first-class line-up of dentistry’s leading experts in the area of business performance, as well as key opinion leaders from the world of digital and clinical dentistry. It was heralded as THE event for practices open to thinking differently about how to boost their business and meet patients’ needs and it certainly did not disappoint. Organisers Henry Schein Dental, Software of Excellence, BioHorizons and MediEstates carefully interwove the topics, to create a delicate blend, which offered wide appeal to the attendees.

 

Around 300 delegates from dental practices across the UK were greeted by Ben Flewett, Managing Director at Software of Excellence, a Henry Schein brand, who launched the event by reminding dentists of their preventive responsibilities in the wider health care arena and giving some top tips to improve efficiency and boost business performance.

 

New stars to the fore

On the first day the event threw open the stage to the keynote, non-dental speakers and delegates gave a deserved standing ovation to motivational speaker and inspirational trainer Steve Head following his thought provoking and highly entertaining talk ‘Making the 1% Difference’. During this session, Steve showed how to create a resilient mindset, with tips on how to manage stress and so improve performance, demonstrating the huge and positive impact that can be made, by employing what might be considered minor changes to one’s home and working life.

 

Mandy Hickson, a former RAF pilot and only the second woman to fly the Tornado GR4 operationally, followed Steve and shared her incredible stories from the front line, providing a vivid insight into how to communicate and empower to get the best from the whole team in high pressure situations.

 

The event has been fantastic. The speakers have been very relevant and the way they address issues has just been wonderful. I’ve learnt a lot about innovation in dentistry, where dentistry’s going in the next couple of years, about marketing and how to brand your practice. I’ve learnt such a lot in a short time. It’s been brilliant – I’d recommend it absolutely.

Dr Kolade Orungbemi BDS, Dentist, Globe Dental Practice, Nantwich, Cheshire

Meet the experts

Throughout the two-days a series of smaller presentations and breakout sessions, covering a wide range of topics including digital dentistry, practice performance, teamwork, dental implants, orthodontics, lasers, marketing and finance, meant delegates could choose the topics most relevant to their needs. Featuring a first-class line-up of some of dentistry’s leading experts, these sessions built on what had gone before and provided practical tools and perceptive insight into the many different components that go to create a successful, efficient, patient-centred practice.

 

One of the stars of the Dental Innovation Symposium was undoubtedly Primescan, the new intraoral scanner from Dentsply Sirona that has opened up a new chapter in digital dentistry. This was one of the first chances for UK clinicians to see the new technology in action as Dr Julian Caplan demonstrated Primescan’s speed and accuracy and showcased the range of benefits it brings to numerous clinical situations.

 

 

Naturally, such a prestigious event attracted support from leading manufacturers and suppliers, led by headline sponsor Dentsply Sirona. The blend of topics and disciplines meant that delegates were able to discuss with the experts, their clinical, digital and business ambitions. And with over 20 exhibitors, including 3Shape, Formlabs and Ivoclar Vivadent as well as Henry Schein companies Software of Excellence, MediEstates, and BioHorizons, the exhibition arena was a hive of activity for the whole two-day period.

 

 

 

 

What I got out of the event was what is new in the market out there, how to improve your own dentistry and grow as a practice.

Dr Akhil Patel BDS PG Cert, Associate Dentist, Dental Smiles London

 

As dentistry becomes increasingly competitive for dental professionals, the need to differentiate in the minds of patients is crucial. By utilising new technology and following standard business practices, dentists can achieve a smoother, more efficient workflow, provide better clinical outcomes for patients and boost practice performance. The Dental Innovation Symposium ticked all these boxes, and furthermore, provided delegates with practical advice and tools to help their practices grow. As promised, it was indeed the newest and most exciting event in dentistry!

 

This event is probably the only event in the whole year where innovation and digital dentistry is really put at the forefront. I think it’s a great event that everyone should attend, not only for clinical tips and tricks which are invaluable, but also for management of practices and how you can improve the patient journey. All of these together makes this a great event and I’d recommend it to everyone.

Dr Dev Patel BDS PG Cert (Dip), Principal Dentist, Dental Beauty