New SCDL Format a Success

By Pam Johnson

From the spirited management-focused Leadership Roundtable to a panel discussion and Q&A session addressing current and future advances in the digital dentures arena, the shakeup in meeting format at the Southeastern Conference of Dental Laboratories invited attendees to voice their experiences, challenges, and questions in a highly interactive environment. Held at the Courtyard by Marriott located in Atlanta’s charming suburb of Decatur, Georgia, this year’s day-and-a-half meeting offered attendees three keynote presentations: Thomas Leonardi, Corporate VP for the Global Prosthetics Business for Dentsply International, highlighted global trends impacting the dental prosthetics market; John A. Chatham III, VP of Global Sales Leadership and Development for Henry Schein, offered attendees an in-depth look at the challenges facing the dental landscape in 2016 and how laboratories can thrive in the changing landscape; and Bill Marais, RDT, provided a roadmap for perfecting internal workflow to ensure successful fixed prosthetic outcomes.

Energized attendees then chose among the various Leadership and Technology sessions being held concurrently or visited with manufacturer representatives at their booths in the spacious exhibit hall. Leadership educational opportunities ranged from a presentation by Rod Eckard, Senior Business Consultant with Dale Carnegie of Georgia, on helping owners and managers discover new approaches for dealing with conflict to Mark Murphy, DDS, FAGD, detailing how to increase profitability by measuring key performance metrics. Among the presentations on the technical side of education, Daniel Alter, MSc, MDT, CDT, examined the steps for digitizing implant workflow; National Association of Dental Laboratories President Dena Lanier and Rebecca Wade, CDT, explained how to grow your business by engaging call-in customers on the phone; PREAT Corporation President Chris Bormes provided protocols, tips, and pitfalls to avoid when fabricating or outsourcing implant-supported and -retained restorations; and Daniel Ammon, PhD, explored tomorrow’s digital denture workflow. In the exhibit hall, table clinics and booth demonstrations invited attendees to interact with presenters in a hands-on learning environment.