The Thomas P. Hinman Dental Meeting – one of the nation’s largest dental meetings – hosted its first hybrid meeting March 12-13. The conference attracted nearly 7,000 dentists, hygienists, assistants, students and other dental professionals and industry personnel. A little more than 2,000 attended the meeting in person at the Omni Hotel. The remaining 5,000 attended virtually, participating in courses and events that were both livestreamed and recorded for on-demand access. The theme, “Feel at Home with Hinman,” emphasized the goal to make everyone feel comfortable, whether they attended in person or virtually.
“We couldn’t be happier with the results of our very first hybrid meeting. I believe Hinman created the perfect balance of a safe, in-person educational meeting and a virtual learning environment that was rich in content and promoted active engagement,” said Dr. Robert J. O’Donnell, General Chair of Hinman 2021. “We surveyed our previous attendees and realized last summer that we must offer something for everyone during these challenging times. We have a responsibility to our patients to stay abreast of the latest developments in the dental profession.”
Hinman 2021’s educational program offered more than 45 in-person courses and more than 40 virtual courses, including live Q&A with the speakers. There were 48 world-class speakers featured and 10 in-person participation courses, as well as Hinman’s very first live virtual participation course led by Dr. David Clark. The meeting drew a total of 2,463 dentists, 2,278 hygienists, 419 assistants and 233 office staff. Hinman 2021 also attracted both in-person and virtual exhibitors (473), dental and pre-dental students (143), educators (32), laboratory technicians (22) and other dental guests (54). According to Hinman’s survey, 28% of those who participated were first-time Hinman attendees.
In addition to the courses offered, the Keynote Session was livestreamed and featured Air Force Colonel (Ret.) Nicole Malachowski, the first female Thunderbird pilot and one of the first women to fly modern fighters in combat. More than 800 attendees either viewed it in person or online. The onsite exhibit hall, which hosted 70 industry companies, was also a big draw. It offered eight two-hour timeslots for attendees to choose from on Friday and Saturday and limited attendance to 225 people per two-hour slot to ensure social distancing. Online exhibitors, such as Crest+Oral B, Atlanta Dental Supply, Philips Sonicare, 3M and more, also had traffic with 2,669 total digital visitors.
The in-person courses limited attendance to a maximum of 148 people. Some of the most popular courses included:
- Dr. Harold Crossley’s “Opioid Use, Misuse, Abuse and Addiction: Appropriate Opioid and Non-Opioid Prescribing”
- Dr. Randy Huffines’ “Autoimmune Disease and Dentistry”
- Dr. Thomas McDonald’s “Staging Complex Restorative Cases: Putting Things in the Proper Order”
- Dr. Glenn Maron’s “Blood Thinners”
- Ms. Olivia Wann’s “Top OSHA Violations During the COVID-19 Pandemic”
- Dr. Jay Smith’s “Enhanced Esthetics with Crowns and Veneers”
- Dr. Todd Davis’ “Predictability in Restorative Care”
More than 6,200 new and returning attendees logged into livestreamed courses on Friday, March 12 or Saturday, March 13. The most popular online courses were:
- Mr. Kirk Behrendt’s “Practice Leadership During COVID,” which drew 1,220 participants
- "New Product Demonstrations” attracted 1,171 attendees
- Dr. Kenneth Hargreaves’ “Dental Implications of COVID” drew 1,167 participants
- Dr. Constantine Politis’ “Red, Swollen, Glossy and Boggy: Fixing Those Broken Gums” welcomed 1,098 attendees
- Dr. John Svirsky’s “Mama Said There Would Be Days Like This” attracted 1,043 participants
Hinman’s virtual courses were available on-demand through April 12 and more than 83% of attendees planned to access the courses if they had not already. This year, Hinman also introduced several new elements that were well received. The online networking community, “Networking Powered by Grip,” allowed event participants to connect and schedule meetings. The all-new “Hinman Studio” broadcasted live from Atlanta and featured interviews with industry experts and influencers.
Planning has already begun for Hinman 2022, which will be held March 17-19 at the Georgia World Congress Center and Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta. In the post-meeting attendee survey, Hinman discovered that 87% would like to see a hybrid meeting component continue in the future. “This is exciting to see - the advantage of having some virtual courses is that we can offer Hinman’s unique brand of quality education to even more dentists and dental professionals who may not otherwise experience Hinman due to health concerns, time out of the office or long distances,” added Dr. O’Donnell.
The Hinman Tradition
The Hinman Dental Meeting is designed with a commitment to quality and professionalism and a high regard for the value of continuing education. The Meeting is sponsored by the Hinman Dental Society, a non-profit organization, and excess revenue is invested and gifted in the form of individual scholarships to dental, hygiene and assisting students and in contributions to institutions that foster dental education. For additional information about the Thomas P. Hinman Dental Meeting, visit Hinman.org or contact Hinman at (404) 231-1663.
