Dental News - Ivoclar impresses with fourth International Expert Symposium

Brendan Day, DTI

Wed. 20. June 2018

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ROME, Italy: As a company with a long and storied history of providing innovative dental products and services, Ivoclar Vivadent has first-hand experience of the seismic shifts the industry has undergone. The recent movement towards advanced digital and aesthetic dentistry solutions was, fittingly, the main topic at the company’s 2018 International Expert Symposium (IES). Held at Rome’s regal Auditorium Parco della Musica on 15 and 16 June, the event saw 19 prominent speakers deliver a variety of exciting and thought-provoking presentations on direct and indirect restorative dentistry.

In his opening address, Ivoclar Vivadent CEO Robert Ganley welcomed attendees and outlined the main goals of the conference. Ganley eloquently described dental market trends such as CAD/CAM, intra-oral scanners and digital radiography as being “connected islands that sit in an ocean of digital”, emphasising how digital dentistry and aesthetic dentistry are not mutually exclusive but can instead work in tandem and “allow us to shape our dental future together”.

Ganley’s speech set the tone for the ensuing presentations, as he highlighted the increased demand for all-ceramic materials and minimally invasive orthodontic treatment while affirming Ivoclar Vivadent’s commitment to productivity, long-term performance and excellence. Ganley noted that patients were one of the key drivers of this upsurge in demand for aesthetic dental treatments, remarking that “the difference between a patient who asks for a product and a patient who doesn’t is one thing—knowledge.”

After a brief introduction from Dr Laurent Schenck, Senior Director of Global Communications and Strategy at Ivoclar Vivadent, attendees were able to participate in a range of breakout sessions. These workshops, organised within the framework of Ivoclar Vivadent’s Experts Circle, allowed for dentists and dental technicians alike to gain valuable insight into smile design, micro-veneering and integrating digital workflows into dental practices.

Dental technician Vincent Fehmer at one of the morning's breakout sessions. (Photographs: Brendan Day, DTI)

Attendess inspecting Ivoclar Vivadent's products

Attendees at one of the breakout sessions

Ivoclar Vivadent representatives

Attendees viewing Ivoclar Vivadent's soon-to-be-released Smile Visualizer app.

One of the morning's breakout sessions

Ivoclar Vivadent representatives and a dental technician discussing the PrograMill range.

Dr Stefen Koubi and Hilal Kuday

The audience in the auditorium.

Ivoclar Vivadent CEO Robert Ganley.

Ivoclar Vivadent's PrograMill PM7

Ivoclar Vivadent CEO Robert Ganley

IPS e.max

A presenter at one of the morning's breakout sessions.

The audience in the auditorium.

Dominique Vinci presenting.

The crowd at the 4th International Expert Symposium

Oliver Brix presenting.

Diego Gabathuler, Head of Sales for EMEA at Ivoclar Vivadent.

Vincent Fehmer presenting.

Some of the food provided at the International Expert Symposium

A glimpse at what can be achieved with Ivoclar Vivadent

An attendee being shown the benefits of digital dentistry.

Presentations with passion

At the conclusion of the breakout sessions—and after a delectable lunchtime offering—the 1,000 dental professionals gathered for IES 2018 and moved into the auditorium for an afternoon of presentations delivered with gusto by some of the world’s leading dental thinkers. With the genial and gregarious Dr Francesco Mangani acting as moderator, each presenter brought forward a new way of thinking about how digital dentistry can be adopted in ways that ultimately benefit both the dental professional and the patient. A sense of the dentist as a craftsperson pervaded most presentations, with a general consensus emerging that the efficiency and quality offered by many digital technologies can only be fully accessed by dentists with a bedrock of practical and applicable skills.

Though each presentation was of a uniformly high quality, Dr Stefen Koubi and Hilal Kuday’s talk titled “Challenging nature in the esthetic zone—Reproduction and prediction in everyday practice situations” was a highlight. Energised by a rapt audience, Koubi and Kuday demonstrated that, regardless of the complexity of a restoration in the aesthetic zone, a predictable protocol must be followed to ensure success. Also of note was Oliver Brix’s closing presentation, aptly named “Quo vadis, dentistry?” An expert in ceramics, implantology and aesthetic dentistry, Brix pondered the way in which technology is altering the dental professional’s role, asking “What will the future bring us?” Showcasing several patient cases treated with the latest version of Ivoclar Vivadent’s IPS e.max system, Brix demonstrated how a dentist with passion, creativity and imagination can achieve incredible aesthetic results, as long as his or her imagination is supported by knowledge.

A night to remember

After a full day of learning, it was time for the attendees of IES 2018 to relax in style. This meant an elegant gala dinner hosted by Ivoclar Vivadent at the beautiful Villa Miani. Located on the hill of Monte Mario, this impeccably maintained neoclassical edifice offered resplendent views of Rome at dusk, and with great food, company and entertainment all in abundance, a memorable night was had by all.

Back in action

The following morning saw more than a few pairs of sunglasses donned to shield bleary eyes as attendees returned for the final day of IES 2018. Welcoming the crowd was Diego Gabathuler, Head of Sales for Europe, the Middle East and Africa and Sales Operations at Ivoclar Vivadent. Summarising a key message of many of the presentations at IES 2018, Gabathuler stated, “The intersection between analogue and digital is where the magic happens”, reinforcing the crucial role the expertise of the dentist continues to play in achieving aesthetic restorations.

Once again, the presenters demonstrated why Ivoclar Vivadent had invited them to share their expertise as they communicated novel approaches to digital restorations and aesthetic rehabilitation in engaging, easy-to-follow ways. Dr Gianfranco Politano, in his presentation “The bottom line in direct posterior restoration: Merging esthetics and function; maximizing efficiency and economics”, stressed how following an efficient and simple protocol can help dentists to deliver consistently high-quality and durable posterior restorations in limited time spans. Though they instead focused on indirect restorations in the smile zone, Prof. Nitzan Bichacho and Dr Mirela Feraru showed how the shade of the surrounding dentition is crucial to achieving aesthetic harmony when placing abutment–crown complexes.

As Prof. Antonella Polimeni and Paolo Castoldi, Managing Director of Ivoclar Vivadent Srl (Italy), brought IES 2018 to a close and bid attendees farewell, there remained a palpable sense of excitement in the room. Though some dental professionals may have regarded digital dentistry with some scepticism at first, those who were present in Rome were surely invigorated by the expanded possibilities of digital and aesthetic dentistry that had been on display.