An interview with Dr Zhiqiang Luo

Fraser Macdonald, Dental Tribune International

Wed. 13. May 2026

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At exocad Insights 2026, held in Palma de Mallorca in Spain, attendees learned how fully digital workflows go far beyond replacing analogue steps to integrating multiple datasets in a single virtual patient model. During his presentation, Dr Zhiqiang Luo, a clinical instructor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry in the US, considered how this 360° approach can support diagnosis, treatment planning and simulation. In this interview with Dental Tribune International during the event, Dr Luo outlines the potential of virtual patient workflows to make complex treatment planning clearer, more visual and more predictable.

Dr Zhiqiang Luo, a clinical instructor at the University of Michigan School of Dentistry in the US. (Image: Dr Zhiqiang Luo)

Dr Luo, what are the biggest clinical advantages you see in fully digital workflows for prosthodontics today, and what should dentists focus on to make these workflows more predictable?
I think the biggest advantage for me is the flexibility that comes from bringing different datasets into a single digital workflow. Nowadays, we can use different technologies and integrate them using software like exocad to create a virtual patient model. Then we can do whatever we want with it—diagnosis, treatment planning, design and so on. This makes it much easier for us to follow the workflow step by step to manage complex cases in a more organised way. However, predictability of the outcome depends on discipline at every stage of the workflow, especially in how the data is captured, aligned and checked.

How do you see artificial intelligence (AI) improving digital impressions and restorative dentistry in everyday clinical practice?
Right now, AI is becoming more and more important in digital dentistry. We use AI for many different things—not just tools like ChatGPT but also directly in clinical workflows. For example, we use AI to assist with impression taking in the clinic, and we also use it to improve the treatment planning process. In the latest exocad software, there’s a feature that helps with smile design. The AI allows us to generate a comparison visualisation in real time so that we can render the digital workflow directly into the patient’s mouth immediately.

It’s very convenient and very visual. It gives us a much more objective way to communicate the expected outcome with patients. I think this kind of technology will continue to improve communication, efficiency and accuracy in everyday restorative dentistry.

In full-arch cases and cases involving complex aesthetic rehabilitation, what are the most common mistakes clinicians make with digital workflows, and how can they avoid them?
I think the most common mistake clinicians make is with data registration. In digital dentistry, if you do everything correctly, the workflow can give you excellent results. But if the data isn’t accurate, it can create major problems. In our digital workflow, we place particular emphasis on data registration because we’re constantly superimposing different datasets. Every time you go through that process, you have to be very careful to make sure that the datasets are aligned properly. Otherwise, even one small mistake can create a big disaster for the entire project. Accuracy at each stage is extremely important, especially in full-arch restorations and aesthetic rehabilitations.

What practical advice would you give dental professionals who want to improve patient trust and case acceptance through digital smile design and visualisation tools?
My advice is to use digital dentistry to make treatment planning and communication more visual and easier for patients to understand. Sometimes, communication in dentistry can become too abstract or too technical. When that happens, it’s difficult for patients to fully understand the treatment plan or what the dentist is trying to explain.

Digital dentistry helps make everything much more visual and understandable. Today, we can even use AI features to create virtual mock-ups so that patients can actually see the future outcome before treatment begins. That really helps build trust between the patient and the clinician. If you only explain things verbally, it can be difficult for patients to fully trust or visualise the result. But when they can actually see it, it becomes much easier for them to understand and feel confident moving forward with treatment.

What key insight or takeaway are you most excited to share with attendees at exocad Insights 2026?
I want attendees to take away from my presentation the importance of constructing a virtual patient by integrating different technologies into one platform—in this case, exocad. Based on that virtual patient, we can create comprehensive diagnoses and treatment plans and then manage the case step by step through a streamlined workflow. The process itself is straightforward, but clinicians must be extremely careful with data registration and accuracy at every stage. If the datasets are accurate and the dentist follows the workflow correctly, the process becomes much easier to manage.

In my lecture, I will share a very complicated full-mouth rehabilitation case involving tetracycline discoloration and a collapsed vertical dimension of occlusion. We had to increase the vertical dimension of occlusion slightly and establish a completely new occlusion. Cases like that can seem very challenging for clinicians, but digital dentistry—when done correctly—can simplify even highly complex treatments and make them feel much less overwhelming. I want clinicians to understand that, with the right workflow and attention to detail, even advanced rehabilitation cases can become much more predictable and manageable.