IDT Expands Midwinter Engagement
Dental professionals flooded Chicago in late February to attend a wide variety of educational, networking, and ancillary events surrounding the annual Chicago Dental Society (CDS) Midwinter Meeting.
IDT Roundtable: Removable Prosthetics
On Wednesday night, Inside Dental Technology sponsored the IDT Roundtable: Removable Prosthetics, hosted by Robert Kreyer, CDT, and Eric Kukucka, DD, at Maggiano's Little Italy. More than 50 dentists, technicians, denturists, and other dental professionals attended the 4-hour event. Jiro Abe, DDS, PhD, presented a CE-accredited lecture on the suction mechanism of mandibular complete dentures, and a lively open-mic discussion session followed.
Women in Dental Technology Breakfast
Thursday morning, IDT and the AEGIS Dental Network hosted the annual Women in Dental Technology breakfast, sponsored this year by Glidewell Dental. Stephenie Goddard, Executive Vice President of Glidewell Dental, presented the keynote address on "Mindfulness" and primed the more than 80 dental professionals attending the event for the busy days that lay ahead.
CDS Midwinter Meeting
Also Thursday morning, IDT was at the AEGIS Dental Network booth at the CDS Midwinter Meeting at McCormick Place. Among the highlights of the meeting from a laboratory perspective was 3Shape's annual Thursday morning press conference, which this year included the announcement of a new clear aligner workflow for laboratories in cooperation with Argen and Full Contour. "I think this is the biggest business opportunity for restorative laboratories to grow," said Rune Fisker, PhD, MBA, 3Shape's Vice President of Product Strategy.
NADL Education Section Conference
Educators met Thursday for the National Association of Dental Laboratories (NADL) Education Section Conference at the Wyndham Grand Chicago Riverfront. Several DLT program directors and faculty members were present to discuss the state of formal education in dental laboratory technology. Also present were organization leaders from the Commission on Dental Accreditation (CODA), National Board for Certification, the Foundation for Dental Laboratory Technology, and NADL. CODA reported that there are 14 accredited programs remaining, and a proposal to include digital processes and workflows into the standards is out for public response. Discussions among the educators on their long-term visions for their programs included engaging with more digital processes and the possibility of moving toward a baccalaureate-level degree to fill a need for advanced dental technology education in engineering, business, science, etc. Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne has established its bachelor's degree with a pre-dental track and is now running its first cohort of students. New York City College of Technology is engaged in developing baccalaureate degree paths to meet industry, community, and student needs.
Cal-Lab Meeting
On Thursday and Friday, IDT exhibited at the Cal-Lab Meeting at the Westin Michigan Avenue Chicago. Highlights of the meeting included a presentation on FDA oversight by Bennett Napier, CAE, Executive Director of NADL. In an exclusive interview with IDT at the meeting, Thomas Leonardi, Dentsply Sirona Group Vice President Global Prosthetics, spoke about his company's new Lab Strategic Business Unit. "You cannot expect the dentist to continue living in a digital world at home and use analog in the office. With this new strategic business unit, Dentsply Sirona can help our laboratory partners stay digitally connected with their dentists and evolve digitally with them," Leonardi said.
90th Annual Scientific Session of the APS
Another event on Thursday and Friday was the 90th Annual Scientific Meeting of the American Prosthodontic Society. IDT Editorial Advisory Board member Edward McLaren, DDS, MDC, was honored as the 2018 recipient of the Kenneth D. Rudd Award given to dental technologists or dentists for contributions to the advancements of prosthodontics and the dental laboratory community. McLaren was presented the award by new APS President Todd Fridrich, CDT, the first technician to serve in that capacity.
North American Pekkton Summit
Also Thursday and Friday, anaxdent North America hosted the North American Pekkton Summit at the Gleacher Center. Lecturers included Phil Reddington, RDT; Grady Dix, CDT; Javier Vasquez, DMD, CDT; and Bill Marais, RDT. "Our goal for the Pekkton Summit was to bring world-leading Pekkton experts together to share their honest experiences," says Tay Harvey, COO of anaxdent North America. "The response from the audience was overwhelmingly positive."
VITAVISION Chicago 2018
On Friday, VITAVISION Chicago 2018 featured four dentist-technician teams presenting educational collaborative lectures at the Gleacher Center. The speakers included IDT Editor-in-Chief Peter Pizzi, MDT, CDT; IDT Editorial Advisory Board members Sivan Finkel, DMD, and Victor Castro CDT; and IDT authors Stephanie Zeller, DDS, MS, and Bobby Williams, CDT.
CDT Fest
Friday evening, the NADL hosted the inaugural CDT Fest as part of LMT Lab Day at the Hyatt Regency Chicago. IDT was a sponsor of this networking and appreciation event.
