Technicians
What you Missed in 2023:
Following a fantastic Congress opener from Tim Peake – military helicopter pilot and ESA astronaut – the Technician’s Programme on Friday started with Ashley Byrne and digital dentistry. Ashley shared some of the ways in which he has utilised digital solutions in his own lab, highlighting just how much impact the right technology can have on a business.
Steve Campbell later took to the podium to discuss some of the major challenges facing labs today. As he said, not all labs that offer digital services do the same thing, nor do they need to. He therefore urged delegates to do what they do best and not worry about competing with others that actually offer something quite different. Steve himself also does not shy away from working with centralised milling centres and other outsourcing companies where they afford a level of accuracy that is often not obtainable in a single lab (or not financially feasible). Going on to show some of the opportunities for automation that are available today, and the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance standards and streamline workflows, Steve remains confident that technology is more about increasing efficiencies than replacing humans. Highly skilled technicians will be needed for many years to come if these technologies are to be implemented corrected!
Among the remaining sessions were Jack Marrano discussing a team approach to All on X and Nondas Vlachopoulos exploring aesthetic and function of ceramic implant-retained restorations. Ricardo Kern also offered some of his insights into the communication between practice and lab and how this can be optimised to ensure good soft tissue outcomes for patients. In particular, he demonstrated the importance of designing a smile with reference to the entire face and suggested that dental technicians need all this information in order to create restorations that enhance the emergence profile and tissue conditioning of FP1 implant cases.
Delegates were very happy with their experience at the ADI Team Congress once again this year. Wayne Flack, dental technician from Envision Dental Laboratory, said:
“This is the second time I’ve attended the ADI Team Congress and I wanted to come to improve my understanding of the market, especially with regards to digital solutions, to help us keep up at the lab. I also wanted to attend to network and I have achieved both of these goals. The lectures have been really informative and very interesting – I’ve learnt a lot.”
Lab Manager from Glasgow Dental Hospital, Klaudiusz Kozubek, commented:
“We’re always open to new ideas and want to see what’s happening in the market, as well as whether we can bring new things back to the lab. I have found the topics very useful and the speakers covered everything we needed them to. Steve Campbell was particularly helpful and it was great to get a chance to follow up with him after the session to exchange ideas as well. We have been establishing good contacts at the event and we’re hoping to use them to enhance the education for dental technicians in Scotland for the future.”
CONGRESS PROGRAMME
