Meeting review: 2019 Midwinter Meeting in Chicago

Dental Tribune International

Mon. 25. February 2019

share

save

CHICAGO, U.S,: The Chicago Dental Society held its 2019 Midwinter Meeting from Feb. 21 to 23 at McCormick Place West. The event featured more than 600 exhibiting companies and numerous C.E. opportunities. The theme of the meeting was “A Midwinter Mardi Gras.”

The fun started with a bang and a blast just outside the Midwinter Meeting exhibit hall Thursday morning, with meeting organizers joining the band Tubad and the Kings of Nola in a spirited parade through the lobby. The internationally acclaimed New-Orleans-second-line brass band played “When the Saints Come Marching In,” “Do What You Want” and “Ooh Nah Nay” as members of the meeting’s organizing committees danced along with parasols swinging in tune.

The music set the tone, but meeting attendees entering the exhibit hall quickly saw that far more than beads were being handed out.

The quip booth was popular, with free samples of the subscription electric toothbrush being handed out following a brief presentation on the toothbrush and service.

In the IC System booth, it was not time for Mardi Gras, it was time to go camping. The accounts-receivable company was handing out a trail-guide checklist to help you achieve faster payments and increased cash flow. You could also walk away with a stress-ball bear and a “conference survival kit” that included breath mints, antacid tablets and hand wipes.

Those having a practice-management software emergency could head straight to XLDent, where reps were demonstrating how the company’s dental software suite can deliver worry-free mobile- and tablet-friendly workflow to improve profitability.

Continuing education in dentistry has historically crossed the industry’s academic and marketplace borders, and perhaps nowhere is that more visible than in the exhibit halls of the world’s major dental meetings. The Midwinter Meeting is no exception, presenting seemingly unlimited opportunities for practitioners to not just keep pace — but take the lead with dentistry’s latest innovations.

If it’s not a course in a booth or nearby classroom, there’s some other educational opportunity typically linked to the products and services on display. An apt example could be found in the DentalEZ booth, with the company’s recently released True Caries Teeth from Columbia Dentaform. Unlike painted caries, the simulated caries on True Caries Teeth has a sticky, rubbery feel that provides a realistic, tactical sensation and response when students remove it with a curette. It’s a significant advancement in the teaching of caries identification and removal and worth checking out along with the company’s many other dental products.

If you’re interested more in the delivery side of the continuing education equation, you might consider a visit to the TAUB booth. If you’re a devoted user of any of its product lines, perhaps you’ve already been sharing that enthusiasm with your peers. The company is always open to speaking with advocates interested in teaching others about its offerings and how to best use them.

There were plenty of educational opportunities in the lecture halls as well. Attendees were encouraged to register for courses early because of the meeting’s reputation for seeing many of its highly popular sessions quickly sell out. Even “no-additional-charge” sessions required preregistration and on-time arrival.

The meeting’s benefits weren’t limited to the classrooms. The Midwinter Meeting has developed a strong reputation as a popular launch venue for new products and services being released by some of the industry’s most innovative companies.

Beyond the classrooms and the exhibit hall, the Midwinter Meeting also delivered abundant opportunities to network with colleagues and other professionals throughout the dental community.

Tags: