MINNETONKA, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UnitedHealthcare has expanded its efforts to help address the connection between dental care and the opioid epidemic, introducing a public toolkit with information to help support oral health care professionals and patients, especially after wisdom-teeth removal for teens and young adults.

The toolkit — available here — provides information for oral health professionals and all consumers, including an educational flyer with commonly asked questions related to opioids and a checklist to help people better understand pain-management options before and after wisdom-teeth removal.

The toolkit builds upon a companywide approach to address the epidemic from all angles, including dental care. This comprehensive approach includes a pharmacy policy, outreach to dental health professionals and plan participants, along with TV and radio public service announcements (PSAs).

Taken together, these efforts to date have resulted in an 89% reduction in opioid prescriptions above federal guidelines written by network dental health professionals for UnitedHealthcare dental plan participants age 19 and under.1

“Confronting the opioid epidemic requires a comprehensive approach involving multiple stakeholders across the health care system, including addressing the often overlooked connection with dental care,” said Tom Wiffler, CEO, UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits. “Working together, these initiatives are making a meaningful difference in helping address this important national public health issue.”

The opioid epidemic causes more than 130 overdose deaths2 each day, while the economic cost exceeds $500 billion annually, according to a study from The Council of Economic Advisors. In addition, oral health professionals write 12% of all opioid prescriptions, including more than 54% of opioid prescriptions for adolescents3 – an age group especially vulnerable to addiction.4

UnitedHealthcare’s comprehensive approach to combating opioid use related to dental care also includes:

• Pharmacy Policy: The policy change — enacted in late 2018 — capped at three days and fewer than 50 morphine milligram equivalents per day for all first-time opioid prescriptions written by UnitedHealthcare network dental health professionals for people age 19 and under, as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Among the first dental plans to take this step, the policy was designed to help limit access to often unnecessarily large prescriptions and help facilitate patient engagement to reduce the risk of misuse.

• Dental Health Professionals: Network dental health professionals identified as consistently prescribing opioids above CDC guidelines — as measured by the number of days per supply and/or morphine milligram equivalents per day — will receive information about their status and access to the pain-management toolkit to share with patients. Following similar UnitedHealthcare outreach last year to more than 2,800 oral health professionals, prescribing patterns improved by 12%.1

• Dental Plan Participants: Nearly 72,000 UnitedHealthcare dental plan participants with dependents ages 16 to 22 received information by e-mail about the risks associated with opioids, specifically in connection with wisdom-tooth extractions. More than two-thirds (70%) of wisdom-tooth extractions for people ages 16 to 22 result in at least one opioid prescription,3 so providing this information is designed to help parents and young people better identify pain management alternatives and strategies to manage the frequency of use, dosage and proper disposal of unused opioids. A recent study from Stanford University found that teens and young adults can end up in a battle with opioid addiction following wisdom-teeth removal.

• Public Service Announcements (PSAs): TV and radio PSAs — in collaboration with Shatterproof, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to reversing the addiction crisis in the United States — last year aired on nearly 400 stations across the country, helping parents and health professionals understand the connection between oral health and the opioid epidemic.

UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, is also collaborating with health care providers and communities and using powerful data and analytics to prevent opioid misuse and addiction, tailor ways to treat people who are addicted and support long-term recovery.

Learn more about what UnitedHealthcare is doing to address the opioid epidemic.

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.3 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter.

1 UnitedHealthcare pharmacy claims analysis, 2019

2 2 CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, Mortality. CDC Wonder, Atlanta, GA: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2018. https://www.drugabuse.gov/drugs-abuse/opioids/opioid-overdose-crisis

3 UnitedHealthcare pharmacy claims analysis representing more than 3 million claims, 2019

4 Pediatrics February 2019, 143 (2) e20182752; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-2752

Zahn will be hosting an exclusive customer event titled "Spoiled for Choice: vhf Mills - a Cut Above the Rest!" on Wednesday, March 25th, 2020, from 6 PM to 8:30 PM. 

Synopsis

The digital revolution of the dental industry is continuously evolving. Look no further for future-proof milling machines for wet or dry applications, overnight milling, and maximum ease of use. Make the optimal purchasing decisions for your lab and take the opportunity to test-drive your mill of choice live at the manufacturer’s U.S. headquarters with your Zahn sales representative and vhf experts.

The CAM solution provider vhf offers maximum indication and material freedom and the CAM software is always included, at no extra cost.

Find the perfect match for your lab and explore the vast offering of mills. Take advantage of exclusive on-site specials!

Agenda

• The Future is Here: Digital Workflow in Today’s Dental Labs with Daniel Alter MSc, MDT, CDT

• Milling Needs: A Machine for Every Indication

• Hands-on Milling: Bring in Your STL!

• Evening Reception, Finger Food and informal Tech Talk

Time: Wednesday March 25, 2020 from 6-8:30 PM

OPTIM® has demonstrated effectiveness against viruses similar to Novel Coronavirus on hard non-porous surfaces and non-invasive medical devices. This product can therefore be used against 2019-nCoV when used in accordance with the directions for use against Poliovirus on hard, non-porous surfaces, and non-invasive medical devices.

This enveloped virus, also known as 2019-nCoV, is part of a family of viruses that can cause a range of illnesses from the common cold to SARS and MERS. What makes this coronavirus unique is that it is a strain never before seen in humans. While it is new, it belongs to a class of viruses that are easier to kill than much tougher viruses like Poliovirus or Norovirus.

OPTIM meets the requirements of the EPA’s emerging viral pathogens claim, Health Canada’s Broad Spectrum Virucide claim for the emerging pathogens and the European CEN's overview standard EN 14885 and virucidal standard EN 14476.

OPTIM Blue and OPTIM 33TB have a one-minute virucidal contact time. OPTIM 1 has a 30-second virucidal contact time.* That means that the surface must remain wet for only 1 minute in order to inactivate viruses including Novel Coronavirus.

For the public, this outbreak has heightened awareness around the dangers and spread of viruses, but for health care workers it reinforces the importance of properly completing and monitoring standard infection control protocols.

Oral healthcare workers are to follow standard infection control protocols.

Between patient visits, clean and disinfect all clinical contact surfaces such as the dental chair. Also, make sure to regularly clean and disinfect surfaces that present the highest risk of infection in your SteriCentre (e.g. surfaces that come into contact with contaminated instruments and gloves).

Before you clean or disinfect contaminated surfaces, ensure you are wearing the proper PPE as per local infection control guidelines. As stated on OPTIM disinfectants' Safety Data Sheets, PPE is not required to handle the product because it is not irritating to the skin. However, PPE such as utility gloves must be worn to protect oral health care workers from infectious materials.

OPTIM Instruction for Use:

Before using OPTIM in your office for the very first time, remove any residue left on surfaces from your previous disinfectant by washing all surfaces with soap and warm water. Thoroughly dry them.

1. To use OPTIM wipes, pull out a pre-moistened wipe at a 45-degree angle and close the lid.

2. When using the Ready-to-Use OPTIM liquid, spray the solution onto a SciCan Dry Towelette.

3. Wipe the surface down evenly and thoroughly to clean and disinfect. Evenly apply to surfaces to avoid any unnecessary pooling.

4. Be sure to leave the surface wet for the contact time indicated on the label.

5. When using any disinfectant on surfaces it is best practice to periodically rinse and dry the surfaces with soap and water. Our recommendation is to do this at least once a week.

*OPTIM 33TB is available in Canada, the U.S., and Europe. OPTIM 1 is available in the U.S. and Europe. OPTIM Blue is available In Europe. 

Shahid Aziz has spent hours poring over the case histories of World War I soldiers who returned home with disfiguring facial injuries.

“The world had never seen this type of injury on such a large scale,’’ said Aziz, a professor of oral and maxillofacial surgeon  at the Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, who treats many facial trauma patients. “Because this was trench warfare, the head was exposed, and many of the injuries occurred to the face.’’

The danger of the trenches is portrayed in the Oscar-nominated film "1917,'' which depicts the brutality of the war. The battles, which spanned four years, claimed the lives of  40 million soldiers and left 20 million injured. Peter Jackson, who directed  the "Lord of the Rings"  trilogy, also focused attention on WWI  with his acclaimed documentary, "They Shall Not Grow Old,'' which colorized 100-year-old footage to provide audiences with a visceral connection to history. The film, which included images of facial trauma, was released late last year after airing on the BBC.

Facial injuries took a horrible social and psychological toll on veterans, but modern-day plastic surgery was born as a result. Doctors invented new techniques to repair the damage.  The practices of stabilizing fractures through the use of wires and methods of reducing cheekbone fractures were among the innovations.

“Because there was such a volume of injuries, it laid down the foundations for facial reconstructions and created new ways of thinking about how to handle them,’’ Aziz said. “Anesthesia for facial trauma evolved. New instrumentation was designed. Some of the techniques we’re still using today.’’

The evolution of the field during WWI was international. In Great Britain, pioneering plastic surgeon Harold Gillies helped establish a hospital devoted to treating facial injuries. Most of the patients were soldiers.  German plastic surgeons also achieved breakthroughs, according to Aziz.

Aziz, who has published papers on the subject and has lectured internationally, became interested in WWI as a student at Harvard Dental School, where the dental history museum displayed casts of soldiers who suffered facial injuries. They belonged to alumnus Varaztad H. Kazanjian, one of the founders of modern plastic surgery, who was head of the Harvard dental unit, which was stationed on the front lines in France during WWI.

“I’ve always been fascinated by the history of maxillofacial surgery,’’ said Aziz. “There’s a huge dental component in dealing with trauma.’’

In addition to learning about medical histories, Aziz read letters from injured soldiers. “Just studying the medical end, it can take you away from the personal side of things. Reading the leaders, you really realize the impact this had. They were young men, only 18, 19 or 20. They had to return home with significant deformities and a long road to recovery ahead of them.’’

Aziz hopes to some day write a book on the subject. But simply learning about the history has helped make him a better surgeon, he believes. “I always felt you need to learn about the past to move forward.’’

Structo, a dental 3D printing solutions provider and the manufacturer behind Velox has announced a partnership with uLab Systems. This integration will see uLab’s AI-powered aligner treatment planning software being integrated into the ever-growing Structo Velox in-office 3D printing ecosystem. After the recent announcement of the integration with materials manufacturer Pro3dure, Structo aims its sights on orthodontics with this latest partnership announcement. 

“In-office and same day aligners has been the trend in orthodontics in recent times. We want to give Velox users the option of capitalizing on this trend for less complicated clinical cases,” explains Huub van Esbroeck, Founder at Structo. “Structo and uLab have developed a strong working relationship, and we are excited to continue this fruitful partnership that will benefit both Structo and uLab users”. 

ULab will be the first direct integration of appliance design software in the Velox ecosystem. Paired with the the Velox 3D printer that integrates the print, wash, and cure of the 3D printing process, users will now be able to insource some of their clear aligner cases for more control over clinical outcomes and quicker appliance turnaround time. 

“Last year we announced an integration with Structo’s high throughput DentaForm 3D printer. We are excited to continue working with the team at Structo to provide more 3D printing options to uLab users worldwide,” said Joe Breeland, uLab’s Chief Commercial Officer. 

One doctor who was given an early preview of this integration is Dr. Eric Wu of Wu Orthodontics in Palo Alto, California. “We have a DentaForm and a Velox at the back of our office and all our cases go through uLab’s treatment planning software,” said Dr. Wu. “After we’ve scanned a patient in the morning, we plan the entire treatment in uLab’s software, and we print the first two aligners for the patient immediately using our Velox,” explains Dr. Wu. “That way, we get to deliver the first set of aligners to the patient by lunch, while we have the high throughput DentaForm print the rest of the case in the background. That is how we get to offer same day aligners to our partients in Palo Alto.”

Technology for a smart mouthguard from the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) has been licensed by University of Maryland School of Dentistry (UMSOD) alumnus Michael Wright, DDS, MS, into his new startup company, The WrightGuard Innovation Corporation.

Developed by UMSOD faculty member, Radi Masri, DDS, MS, PhD, along with Wright and James E. Whitney II, MS, PhD, of Amalfi Acoustics, LLC, the technology is a smart mouthguard with physiological tracking capabilities that  provides real-time monitoring for a variety of biometrics, such as force of impact, pH and hydration levels, and body temperature.

“We are thrilled to begin this new commercialization venture, with a preeminent medical and research partner like the University of Maryland School of Dentistry; and are looking forward to continuing our collaborative work to improve athletic protection and performance,” commented Wright.

Wright intends to commercialize this technology into an athletic mouthguard that captures and processes this valuable biometric data, offering real-time protection to athletes – both professional and amateur – and potentially enhancing their athletic performance.

“It is my team’s belief that the potential of mouthguards has not yet been realized. With our collective knowledge, prowess, and vision we are poised to take a leadership role in the “smart” mouthguard market,” said Wright. “Dental professionals are arguably the most qualified to direct matters involving oral safety and health. Our expertise can and should be brought to bear to fully address the potential of the mouthguard for preventive, protective, and performance enhancement while addressing a wider range of potential applications and target audiences.”

“This innovative mouthguard provides a novel platform for capturing and transmitting real-time data on physiological parameters such as body temperature and offering the potential to greatly enhance athletes’ well-being and performance, said Mark A. Reynolds, DDS, PhD, UMSOD dean and professor.

“I am pleased that this collaboration between Dr. Wright, a dental school alumnus; Dr. Masri, a UMSOD professor; and Dr. Whitney has resulted in this transformative mouthguard.”

Wright, based outside of the nation’s capital, provides enhanced cosmetic and reconstructive services, beyond the scope of general dentistry. The owner of two US patents, previous innovations include The WrightGuard, a brand of sports mouthguards that feature the world’s first magnetic tethering system. After years of treating traumatic injuries on professional and amateur athletes, Dr. Wright began fabricating customized protective and performance mouthguards directly for professional players. The WrightGuard’s custom line, which is fabricated based on an individual’s unique mouth and jaw structure, has been worn by elite National Basketball Association (NBA), National Football League (NFL), and professional boxers to name a few.

About The WrightGuard Innovation Corporation

The WrightGuard, the precursor to The WrightGuard Innovations Corporation (TWGIC) was established in 2011. The early work of this entity involved successfully translating patented technology, and the learning from iterative product development completed in close cooperation with professional athletes, into a mass market product. TWGIC is working each day to advance the protection and performance of athletes across settings, sports, and skill levels. The company’s foundation is built on decades of advanced dental practice, and rigorous medical research testing. Beyond their everyday usage, TWGIC innovations have the potential to ultimately change the way injuries are diagnosed and treated.

About University of Maryland School of Dentistry

The University of Maryland School of Dentistry, the world’s first dental college, offers superlative educational programs in oral health. As one of six professional schools and an interdisciplinary Graduate School on the University of Maryland, Baltimore’s 71-acre campus, it is part of a thriving academic health center that combines groundbreaking biomedical research and exceptional patient care. The school is Maryland’s predominant provider of comprehensive and emergency oral health services. For more information, visit www.dental.umaryland.edu.

Creates New Paradigm in Precision, Efficiency, and Speed

Axsys Dental Solutions announced the dental industry’s first-ever automated appliance trimming solution for a variety of dental appliances. In as little as 30 seconds, dentists and dental labs can now easily create and trim clear appliances with the highest quality trim edges.

“TrimExpert™ is a modular solution designed to operate within existing workflows and meet any production requirements. It’s the first of its kind to offer a modular and scalable solution for the trimming of all dental appliances,” said Axsys CEO and President, Steve Braykovich.

Designed to work within any budget, dentists and dental labs can choose their desired level of automation and expand their capabilities as their businesses grow and production requirements or processes change. There are no additional on-going "aligner fees" or "licensing fees" to decrease profitability.

TrimExpert is designed to work within existing production workflows. Modular software components provide trim line definition, machine code calculation, verification, part identification and more. Its modularity minimizes costs as well as production disruptment.

"Our extensive experience in automating these types of processes in the automotive and aircraft industries allowed us to develop this game-changing trimming solution with no significant design, technological, fabrication, installation, or operational challenges," explained Braykovich. Axsys has been a manufacturing solution provider for over 25 years and has served a variety of industries from aerospace to dental. They have manufactured everything from aircraft and automotive parts to crowns, bridges, bars and dentures.

Axsys also offers a fully-automated solution with a simple robot which can service multiple machines, thereby eliminating manual case identification, loading and unloading, and operation initiation. To further facilitate the process, Axsys fabricated a fixture for the thermoformer and their milling machine that assures easy loading as well as positional accuracy.

The final deliverable can be customized to fit a lab or doctor's needs as well as their IT infrastructure and desired level of automation at the various stages of the design and fabrication processes. The system is scalable and automation "components" can be added incrementally as needs arise.

The TrimExpert will be showcased at both the Midwinter and Lab Day events in Chicago, IL between February 20-22. For more information visit trimexpert.com.

The Axsys Dental Solutions division of Axsys Incorporated focuses on providing open, digital dental solutions to dental professionals throughout North and South America. Their products include a full-line of CAD/CAM software, scanners, milling machines, tooling, furnaces, hard & soft materials and FDA cleared implant components.

They have the unique ability to leverage over 25 years of CAD, CAM, and manufacturing experience across a wide variety of industries. Their relationships with software, material and machine suppliers provide clinicians, dental labs and milling centers with the open products and services necessary to compete and be profitable in today's digital dentistry world.

New One DS 2.0 and Clinical Accelerator programs to be announced at the 2020 Chicago Midwinter Dental Meeting.

Dentsply Sirona is excited to announce two programs, One DS 2.0 and the Clinical Accelerator – Advanced Training Kits, as part of its continued commitment to creating Healthy Smiles by building Healthy Practices.

One DS 2.0 Rewards Program - Better Than Ever

Dentsply Sirona is introducing an update to its successful 2019 One DS Rewards Program. One DS 2.0 is Dentsply Sirona’s way of thanking its customers’ loyalty by helping them save money on DS products that help put a smile on patients’ faces every day.

Doctors simply purchase new qualifying equipment or join as a current owner of qualifying equipment, making the program easy and risk-free to join. When eligible practices reach $20,000 in Dentsply Sirona consumables spend each year, they can earn up to $20,000 in cash rebates over three years.

“We want to help doctors save more and earn more, so the larger the purchase, the greater the reward,” said Nick Harrison, Director of Clinical Development Marketing.

Exclusively for One DS 2.0, eligible practices will receive a price guarantee on qualifying equipment purchases for the remainder of 2020.

To learn more, please visit www.dentsplysirona.com/one-ds-2.com.

Unprecedented Clinical Accelerator Training Kits

Dentsply Sirona is proud to launch its brand-new Clinical Accelerator – Advanced Training Kits.

This program will dramatically change the U.S. dental industry by empowering doctors to build healthy, thriving practices by expanding their abilities and procedural offerings by combining DS technologies and consumables with advanced education designed to accelerate practice growth and new workflow adoption.

A Clinical Accelerator is comprised of four days of hands-on education through CDOCS.com (formerly cerecdoctors.com), plus up to $2,500 in Dentsply Sirona consumables credits or products.

Doctors can choose from four Clinical Accelerator offerings, including Implants, Orthodontics, Endodontics and Restoratives. Each Accelerator includes two 2-day CDOCS.com education vouchers along with up to $2,500 in DS consumable credits or products. Doctors can redeem the educational vouchers for any CDOCS.com procedural areas or educational tracks.

The Clinical Accelerators are valued at $10,000 and will be included with the purchase of Dentsply Sirona qualifying capital equipment starting at the Chicago Midwinter Dental Meeting.

Through a comprehensive educational agreement with CDOCS.com, Dentsply Sirona is offering expanded advanced education for CAD/CAM, cone beam, dental implants, endodontics, restorations and clear aligner therapy. The education will take place at the CDOCS.com campus in Scottsdale, AZ, as well as in the Dentsply Sirona Academy in Charlotte, NC.

To learn more, please visit https://dentsplysirona.com/clinical-accelerator.

ABOUT DENTSPLY SIRONA:

Dentsply Sirona is the world’s largest manufacturer of professional dental products and technologies, with a 130-year history of innovation and service to the dental industry and patients worldwide. Dentsply Sirona develops, manufactures, and markets a comprehensive solutions offering including dental and oral health products as well as other consumable medical devices under a strong portfolio of world class brands. As The Dental Solutions Company™, Dentsply Sirona’s products provide innovative, high-quality and effective solutions to advance patient care and deliver better, safer and faster dentistry. Dentsply Sirona’s global headquarters is located in York, Pennsylvania, and the international headquarters is based in Salzburg, Austria. The company’s shares are listed in the United States on NASDAQ under the symbol XRAY. Visit www.dentsplysirona.com for more information about Dentsply Sirona and its products.

Cellerant Consulting Group is excited to announce that Russ Bonafede is joining the company as a Senior Executive Consultant.

“Russ brings a wealth of dental device experience to Cellerant spanning the dental implant, biomaterials, and orthodontic segments,” said Dr. Lou Shuman, CEO and founder of Cellerant Consulting Group. “We are eager to see his 30 years of commercial and C-suite experience leveraged for the benefit of Cellerant clientele.”

Most recently, Russ served as Chief Executive Officer of Keystone Dental Inc. Prior to that, he held Chief Commercial Officer/President roles with Zest Dental Solutions and also served as President of Henry Schein Orthodontics during a pivotal growth phase. Preceding his leadership roles, Russ came up through a marketing track, having served as Vice-President of Global Marketing for both Zimmer Dental and Biomet 3i prior to their merger. He has held nearly every position in the marketing function over his career and holds a BS in Marketing from S.U.N.Y Plattsburgh as well as an MBA from San Diego State University, graduating from both institutions with honors.

“I’m fortunate to be able to join such a capable group with growing momentum in the dental industry” said Mr. Bonafede. “The ability to help clients, from startups to established dental companies, accelerate their progress and success by tapping into the collective abilities and knowledge of the Cellerant team is going to be a very rewarding experience.”

“Cellerant’s growing reputation, results-based track record, and client referrals are enabling the firm to prosper,” said Dr. Shuman. “Having Russ as part of the group complements the experience set of the existing team and allows us to take on an even more diversified client base.”

About Cellerant Consulting Group

Founded and led by CEO Lou Shuman, DMD, CAGS Cellerant provides strategic dental market insights, clinical expertise, and implementation resources to accelerate growth for client dental companies. Cellerant services include product development, accelerated market awareness due to intimate relationships with the media community, new concept incubation, clinical product evaluation, manufacturing, seed funding, continuing education program development and CE sponsorship, 510k support, strategic branding and marketing, corporate social media, website development and online marketing resources, lead generation and dental media relations management. As an orthodontist and former owner of a 10-doctor multi-specialty private group practice, Dr. Shuman guides clients to develop offerings that connect with and engage dental customers on a relationship level that provides sustained differentiation. Cellerant operates under a unique model that merges leading voices in clinical product evaluation and strategic partner companies to provide a menu of services from one easily accessible network.

After the great success of the Nobel Biocare Global Symposium a few months ago, Dr. Peter Wöhrle is a speaker and moderator at the upcoming Global Symposium 2020 in Las Vegas, US. One of a few doctors worldwide with formal specialty training in the interrelating areas of implant surgery, implant prosthodontics and dental implant technology, here he gives insights into what implant professionals can expect at this world-class event.

Dr. Wöhrle, what inspires this event and what can dental professionals expect when they attend?

What motivates us is helping dental implant professionals around the world treat more patients better, with a better outcome and patient experience, and with a more streamlined, scientifically proven protocol. What challenges do they need to solve on a daily basis? How can they advance their skills and practice implant dentistry at the highest level? At the Global Symposium, you can gain practical knowledge to improve treatment success and skill sets with a mix of hands-on sessions, discussions and presentations from many experts.

What are the key topics that attendees can expect?

The program is truly diverse because, as every clinician knows, we are faced with countless indications and treatment options. Immediate Function and esthetic outcomes are central topics covered in numerous sessions. Other topics of interest include hard and soft tissue regeneration, treatment planning, managing complications, extreme cases, ceramic implants, and more. And, of course, digital dentistry is fundamental to the future of our field, so we cover this topic across many sessions as well. But most importantly, the scientific principles upon which these solutions are based, are presented in a logical and convincing way.

How can the sessions help clinicians grow their practice?

The patient experience is at the center of what we do. A positive patient experience is probably the most effective way to raise patient awareness, increase exposure and thus profile for the practice. Delivering predictable esthetic outcomes, combined with shorter time-to-teeth, is paramount in today’s market place. Therefore, these treatment approaches are reflected in many of the sessions.

What I always find exciting about Nobel Biocare symposia are the first revelations of innovative new solutions that have real potential to improve the way we can treat patients, and subsequently make my practice stand out from the rest. This year is no exception.

Can you tell us about the panel of speakers?

It’s a diverse group of experts from different specialties, both from clinical practice and scientific research, many of whom have been world-renowned for many years. What I find really exciting though, is that the next generation of experts are taking part in this symposium. They have already excelled in implant dentistry and are bringing a new approach and perspective to the field. This is your chance to experience the future leaders in implant dentistry.

How is this symposium different from the previous Symposia?

Today, Nobel Biocare cooperates closely with the other Envista companies, all of which will be joining Nobel Biocare in Las Vegas. Attendees will experience an even bigger range of solutions this time, including the latest equipment from KaVo Kerr and the clear aligners from Ormco.

For you personally, what do you like most about taking part in the Nobel Biocare Global Symposia?

I always like discovering the latest cutting-edge innovations from Nobel Biocare. But on a personal level, it’s extremely rewarding to network with other dental professionals. I learn so much from the experiences my colleagues are having, we compare the challenges we have to deal with, share different opinions about this exciting and rapidly evolving market. It can be challenging for a lot of practitioners and technicians to find the time to interact with their peers, but don’t underestimate how much you can learn from networking and socializing. I find this such a valuable part of the symposia experience.

Explore the Program

Biography

Dr Peter Wöhrle received DMD and MMedSc (oral biology) degrees from Harvard University School of Dental Medicine, in addition to a specialty certificate in prosthodontics and a specialty certificate in implant dentistry. Prior to his studies in Boston, he completed a four-year dental technician program in Switzerland. At Harvard, he worked with others on developing the concept of Immediate Loading with Brånemark implants. Later, he applied these principles to the single tooth and the concept of immediate tooth replacement. He lectures worldwide, and his practice in Newport Beach, California, focuses exclusively on dental implants.

ABOUT NOBEL BIOCARE

Nobel Biocare is a world leader in the field of innovative implant-based dental restorations. The company's portfolio offers solutions from single tooth to fully edentulous indications with dental implant systems (including key brands NobelActive® and NobelParallel™ and ceramic implant NobelPearl™*) a comprehensive range of high-precision individualized prosthetics and CAD/CAM systems (NobelProcera®), digital solutions for treatment planning and guided surgery (NobelClinician® and DTX Studio™ suite) as well as biomaterials. Nobel Biocare supports its customers through all phases of professional development, offering world-class training and education along with practice support and patient information materials. The company is headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. Production takes place at four sites located in the United States, Sweden and Japan. Products and services are available in over 80 countries through subsidiaries and distributors.

*Distributed by Nobel Biocare. Manufactured by Dentalpoint AG