In June 2022, more than 600 dental professionals came together to "Integrate, Educate, Celebrate" at Neoss Integrate 2022 in Gothenburg, Sweden. Now it is time for a new Neoss Integrate, this time 100 percent online to make sure you can take part wherever you are located, and participation is FREE.

“After our milestone event this summer in Gothenburg, Sweden, PI Brånemarks hometown and the home of modern implantology, we are now ready for the next memorable event. This time it’s fully online so everyone can participate. The future is bright for Neoss.”

Dr. Robert Gottlander, CEO and President of Neoss Group.

Starting on November 15 at 5:30 p.m. (CET), registered participants for the 24-hour event will be able to access FREE live and on-demand presentations each hour, from 24 world-class speakers. Topics and techniques include Prosthetic Simplicity without Compromise, Immediate Placement, Managing Risk Factors, Digital Flexibility for You and Your Patient, and Accurate Simplicity in Intraoral Scanning. Each presentation will be followed by a Q&A where the audience will be able to ask specific questions to the speaker. Furthermore, each presentation will be available on-demand, ensuring participants from across the globe have access to this great educational content.

Sign up today! To register and information about the program and the speakers go to: www.neossacademy.com.

About Neoss^®

Neoss offers intelligent solutions that are intuitively easy to use. Our products allow dental professionals to provide reliable and cost-effective treatments to their patients with predictable long-term results. Leading the market with ingenuity and integrity, we strive to set new standards. In developing smart treatment solutions andworking closely with each practice, Neoss makes the complex less complicated. We call that Intelligent Simplicity. Headquartered in Harrogate, UK, with research and development based in Gothenburg, Sweden, the company has established a global footprint with a long-standing presence in key markets. To find out more visit https://www.neoss.com

"My Heartland" Documentary Captures Uplifting Story of the People Who Helped the Company Become the Nation's Leading DSO

Heartland Dental, the nation's leading dental support organization (DSO), today released the two-minute trailer for its upcoming documentary, entitled My Heartland.

What began as a passion project to capture Heartland Dental's rich company history, soon turned into an inspirational film that tells the story of the true American dream.

The documentary follows the life and career of Heartland Dental's Founder and Executive Chairman, Rick Workman, DMD, who grew up on a farm in downstate Illinois. Dr. Workman grew a single dental practice into a 25-office group by 1997. When he realized there had to be a better way for dentists to practice, he assembled a team that would grow to today support more than 2,600 dentists in over 1,600 dental offices across 38 states and the District of Columbia.

"Our entire ethos evolves from that intersection of the practicing dentist and their challenges, what is difficult for them and where their opportunities lie. I always viewed our mission at Heartland Dental was to help every supported doctor become as good as they could possibly be to better serve patients," shared Workman.

My Heartland is not just Dr. Workman's story. It is the story of how one person impacted the dental industry and the lives of thousands of people, told through the experiences of Heartland Dental's supported doctors, leaders, and partners.

"As a film maker, I'm always looking for compelling stories. My Heartland shares the story of how a man's vision would grow to have a lasting impact on the dental industry and beyond. Dr. Workman is an innovator and disruptor. He has a great story to tell, and I knew I wanted to be the one to help tell it," shares David Beilinson of RUMUR Inc., director and producer of the documentary.

Heartland Dental celebrated its 25th Anniversary this August, and the Company's doctor-led culture and business model continues to be a differentiator as it grows its network of supported doctors.

In the words of Dr. Workman, "If you work hard, try to do the right thing and are resilient, in America, anything is possible."

The documentary will premiere at the company's Winter Conference in December and public viewership information will follow. With the continued vision for Heartland Dental as strong as ever, it's safe to assume that the company's success will continue long after the final credits roll. 

Hygienist, Thought Leader, and Educator Assumes Expanded Role to Further OraCare’s Growth and Mission

OraCare is excited to name Kristin Goodfellow, RDH to the position of Chief Clinical Officer. OraCare was founded in 2009, by three dentists seeking to improve the standard of care in dentistry, patient hygiene, and overall oral health. Goodfellow became the company’s first full-time employee in 2015, and has been instrumental in driving rapid growth and industry leadership.

“Kristin first started working in one of my practices as a dental hygienist, and early on, I noticed the take-charge attitude, humor, and positive influence she brought to the clinical department. My team knew she had enormous potential to help shape the trajectory of the brand,” said CEO Dr. Robert Martino who also owns and operates seven dental practices in West Virginia. “In the last several years, Kristin has become the public face of the company. She impresses us daily with her clinical knowledge and her drive to make impactful changes on the industry and has been instrumental in helping OraCare achieve rapid growth.”

Originally, from Pennsylvania, Goodfellow now calls the mountain state of West Virginia home. She graduated from West Virginia University with a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies, then continued on to Allegany College of Maryland where she completed her degree in Dental Hygiene. During her hygiene program, Goodfellow was recognized with the Proctor & Gamble Preventative Dentistry Award, for her outstanding patient communications skills. “I’m so proud of what the OraCare team has accomplished and am honored to assume the Chief Clinical Officer role,” said Goodfellow. “It’s mind blowing to consider where we come from over the last seven years and just how many practices and patients we have touched in that time.”

In addition to her responsibilities at OraCare, Goodfellow is an educator and hygiene thought leader. She has been a contributing author to many dental industry publications and is an accomplished speaker having presented at numerous national conferences and continuing education events. She currently holds positions on the RDH editorial advisory board and is a member of the Cellerant Best of Class Hygiene panel.

“Increasing the standard of care is the core of OraCare. Kristin is a true advocate of this, whether she’s working with provider practices or delivering one-on-one patient care,” said Dr. Martino. “She’s the obvious choice for our Chief Clinical Officer role which expands her responsibilities, reach, and impact in driving OraCare’s mission of improving dental hygiene and oral health.”

About OraCare

OraCare products are dedicated to raising the standard of care in dentistry through the development, production, and delivery of revolutionary products. Our unique partnership with the dental community is built upon the promise that you can only find our products in the dental office setting. Each product in our line is backed by real science and centered around the ingredient-activated chlorine dioxide. Our company was founded for dental professionals by dental professionals, so we understand the doctor-patient dynamic. All of our products reflect a commitment to creating better patient health and advancing the dental profession in partnership with our providers. 

More than 400 Aspen Dental Offices provided free dental care for 3,000+ veterans on June 11, breaking down barriers to care

Aspen Dental and Curley Company won the Best Integration Into Culture category at the 2022 PRWeek Purpose Awards for the annual Day of Service initiative. The Purpose Awards recognize activations and innovations that use creative ideas to further positive causes and to celebrate the agencies, brands, public-sector organizations, non-profits and NGOs behind them.

On Saturday, June 11th, more than 400 Aspen Dental locations opened their doors for the 8th annual Day of Service to provide care to more than 3,000 military veterans and their families, resulting in $1.8 million in free dental services. Medical professionals and care teams in the Aspen Dental network of independent offices broke down barriers to care and treated veterans' most urgent dental needs, from fillings and extractions to hygiene and basic denture repairs.

"Our annual Day of Service is core to our mission and it's something that our team can rally around every year," said Bob Fontana, founder and CEO of Aspen Dental Management, Inc. "I'm honored to receive this recognition on behalf of the teams across the Aspen Dental network who give of their time and expertise to care for veterans, and I'm also proud of the message that our team has sent through this campaign. As an industry, we must do more to connect with vulnerable communities and make sure that all members of society have access to high quality, affordable dental care."

Millions of Americans struggle to access dental care every year, and veterans are no exception – in fact, U.S. veterans are ineligible for dental benefits through the Veterans Administration unless they're 100% disabled, have a service-related mouth injury or were a prisoner of war.

The success of this year's Day of Service builds on the ongoing impact of Aspen's Healthy Mouth Movement (HMM), a community-giving initiative launched in 2014 to deliver free dental care to veterans in need across the country. Since the launch of HMM, dentists and their teams from Aspen Dental-branded offices have donated over $26 million in dentistry services to more than 33,000 veterans and people in need. For more information about Day of Service and HMM, visit www.HealthyMouthMovement.com.

ADA Recognizes Mr. Kess’ Contributions to Helping Elevate the Oral Health Profession, and Accelerating Access to Oral Care for Millions in Underserved Communities

Henry Schein, Inc. (Nasdaq: HSIC) today announced that Steven W. Kess, Vice President of Global Professional Relations, received a Presidential Citation by the American Dental Association (ADA) during its Give Kids A Smile reception at SmileCon 2022, held in Houston, Texas, on October 13.

Presidential Citations from the ADA were developed to commend an individual for significant contributions to advancing the oral health of the public and the profession of dentistry. Given solely at the discretion of the President as a special recognition, the Citation was delivered by Dr. Cesar R. Sabates to Mr. Kess in recognition for his decades-long, collaborative work with the ADA and the ADA Foundation, including his impact on the Give Kids A Smile (GKAS) national program. GKAS has provided more than seven million underserved children with free oral health education and services since its launch in 2003.

“I am humbled to receive such a special recognition from Dr. Sabates and the ADA, an organization that has done so much to elevate the valuable role of oral health professionals, ensure access to oral care for underserved communities, and help improve the overall health of the public,” said Mr. Kess. “At Henry Schein, we will continue to help advance ADA’s mission of providing quality oral care for all patients by ensuring practitioners have access to innovative products and digital solutions. Together with the ADA and public-private partnerships that we have helped develop through the years, we will continue to help foster a healthier future for all while breaking down barriers to care.”

Of the many contributions Mr. Kess has made to dentistry, the GKAS program, one of the largest, charitable dental health programs in the country, is a highlight of his career. Driven by his passion and leadership for the program since its inception, Mr. Kess has helped organize support from Henry Schein’s supplier partners, contributing to the $20 million in oral health care products made available to the program. In addition, Henry Schein’s distribution team has spent thousands of hours preparing and sending more than 40,000 dental kits to help ensure volunteers of the program had the supplies needed to deliver much needed oral health care.

In addition to recognizing Steve Kess at the Give Kids A Smile reception held during SmileCon, Dr. Jeffrey Dalin, co-founder, GKAS, was recognized as the recipient of the ADA’s Humanitarian award.

“Oral health equity is a priority for the ADA and the need for GKAS has never been greater than over the past couple years,” said Cesar R. Sabates, D.D.S., president of the ADA. “It gives me immense pleasure to recognize two individuals during the 20th anniversary celebration reception, who have been incomparable leaders in the successes of this program. Dr. Dalin, named the 2022 recipient of the ADA’s Humanitarian Award, and Mr. Kess, recipient of the ADA’s Presidential Citation Award. Both of these individuals are extremely deserving of these prestigious awards.”

For more information about the Give Kids A Smile program, please visit https://www.henryschein.com/us-en/Corporate/GiveKidsASmile.aspx.

iCoreConnect Integrates with Carestream Dental’s Practice Management Software Used by More Than 15,000 Customers

iCoreConnect Inc., (OTCQB: ICCT), a cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) technology provider for enterprise and healthcare workflow, is pleased to announce its latest integration and partnership with Carestream Dental. Carestream Dental’s brand of practice and patient solutions, Sensei, offers best-in-class operating software and services for general practitioners and specialists.

Carestream Dental is a leading innovator in the dental industry providing cloud solutions and technology for practice and clinical management for dental practices, groups, DSOs and partners. The company is committed to transforming dentistry, simplifying technology and changing lives.

The partnership enables iCoreConnect to integrate with Carestream Dental’s four hosted practice management solutions, including OrthoTrac, SoftDent, WinOMS, and PracticeWorks. iCoreConnect's cloud-based software uniquely supplements their server-based systems improving healthcare workflows, creating efficiencies, enhancing productivity, and streamlining the speed of different workflow solutions within the Carestream Dental integrated platform.

Robert McDermott, President and CEO of iCoreConnect, commented, “We are excited about our partnership with Carestream Dental as we work together to serve our mutual clients, increase sales and augment deliverables. Our partnership is a significant step forward in the industry, allowing more dental practices to focus on their core expertise, enabling Carestream Dental and iCoreConnect to focus on advanced business analytics and improved practice management solutions that enhance practice proficiency and profitability."  

Amazon Doctors (Doutores da Amazônia) aims to transform access to healthcare for the indigenous population of Brazil, providing modern and advanced care while respecting the cultural heritage and values of each tribe. The partnership between Dentsply Sirona and Amazon Doctors began in 2017. Over the last five years, Dentsply Sirona has donated specialized equipment and materials for the expeditions, with a number of employees also participating as volunteers.

In June 2022, a team of 50 volunteers set off on a three-week expedition to provide medical and dental care to tribes in the Xingu Indigenous Territory. A total of 650 dental consultations were performed during the expedition, including 230 root canals, 126 prostheses, and 156 crowns with the CEREC CAD/CAM system. The next expedition is scheduled for October 2022.

“I believe that we, health professionals, have the duty and obligation to help people who do not have access to adequate health care, using our practical and theoretical knowledge to help make a better world,” said Dr. Caio E. C. L. Machado, founding partner of Amazon Doctors .

With access to state-of-the-art dental equipment and materials donated by Dentsply Sirona – including digital CEREC technology – the volunteers can perform restorations, implants, and endodontic treatments in remote areas of the rainforest. More than 8,000 dental procedures have been carried out since the start of the Amazon Doctors program.

“It's amazing how well aligned the mission of Amazon Doctors is with Dentsply Sirona’s own mission, which is to improve oral health globally. It is a worthy cause to provide care to the indigenous populations here in Brazil,” said Rodrigo Canelhas, RCO Vice President, Dentsply Sirona Latin America.

“Being part of this project fills us with immense pride,” said Tiago Veiga Souza, Marketing Director, Dentsply Sirona Latin America. “Along with the excellent work of Amazon Doctors, our equipment, consumables, and implants technology can provide a service to indigenous people that would perhaps never be possible.”

Taking action to increase access to oral health

Dentsply Sirona’s partnership with Amazon Doctors is part of its wider efforts to increase access to oral health globally and help communities in need – as outlined in the “Healthy Smiles” pillar of the company’s sustainability strategy BEYOND: Taking action for a brighter world.

Dentsply Sirona partners with a variety of organizations around the world, including Amazon Doctors, to bring better oral health and well-being to local communities. Last year, Dentsply Sirona launched a partnership with Smile Train, the world’s largest cleft organization, to provide high-quality cleft care for children, financial support for families, and ongoing clinical education for dental professionals in local communities. Other initiatives include the Nine Miles of Smiles program in Jamaica, where 1,000 patients were treated in 10 days; a partnership with Let Love International to support dentistry clinics in underserved areas of Peru; and an eight-day mission to Uganda with the Build Your Smile Dental Foundation.

For more information about Amazon Doctors, visit https://en.doutoresdaamazonia.org.br/ 

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez visited the Meliá hotel in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, during the first week of October, but it was the conference at the adjacent Palma Congress Center that drew the largest crowds of the day: exocad Insights 2022.

In its first year in the resort town after two previous events in Darmstadt, Germany, the two-day educational event featured more than 700 attendees from over 45 countries, along with 53 exhibitors. “It is really a very international event,” exocad CEO Tillmann Steinbrecher said. “This is something I am very happy about. That was the idea.” The event featured noncommercial lectures—some even focusing more on analog dentistry than digital—interspersed with information about exocad and its partners. “We want the community to see the full range of possibilities that digital technology provides in dentistry,” Steinbrecher said. “The audience consisted of people who were already tech-savvy and use digital technology, but we wanted to put them in position to make the most of it—to fit the different pieces together and create workflows that are efficient and consistent. This is really something that our open-architecture platform enables: combining different technologies from different vendors in a seamless way that ultimately provides the best possible opportunity both in the laboratory and in the clinic.”

Exocad used the meeting to introduce its new DentalCAD Rijeka 3.1, with 45 new features and more than 85 improvements. There was also a sneak preview of the yet-to-be-released exoplan Rijeka. “Our main focus has been on productivity,” Steinbrecher said. “When we talk to laboratories and clinicians, one of the challenges that they are facing is finding and retaining qualified staff, so anything that helps technicians and dentists to be more efficient and to do more with the staff they have is something that is of importance to us.” Integrations also were announced with iTero™ intraoral camera and NIRI images as well as with Ivoclar’s Ivotion™ Denture System—among other new capabilities within the software. “As a newcomer to exocad, I find it really exciting because there is as much as you want to use or as little as you want to use,” said Lori Trost, DMD, of Red Bud, Illinois. “The nuances allow you to really create an accurate, transformational product for your patient. It helps make you a better dentist, and at the end of the day, that’s why we are all here.” Various other companies discussed their new or existing integrations with exocad as well. "In a world of information overload, it is a refresing perspective to attend a product-centric event to see how industry partners specifically integrate their products with the focal product," said Inside Dental Technology Editorial Advisory Board member Chris Brown, BSEE, owner of Michigan-based Aclivi Consulting. "Additionally, Insights always provides great opportunities to chat with and hear perspectives from other high-level users from around the world. It is a truly unique and wonderful program to attend."

The main stage featured six lectures—three by technicians, two by dentists, and one by a dentist-technician team. Dentists and technicians walked side-by-side on the exhibit floor, chatted with each other during breaks, and learned together in the main-stage and breakout sessions. “I saw more dental technicians here alongside the dentists than at other shows recently, which gets me excited,” said Sean Han, CDT, CEO of Master’s Arch in Phoenix, Arizona. Trost, who lectured on the main stage about digital dentures, agreed that the laboratory presence was noticeable. “I find the joint education to be very motivating because I believe that we need to have an amazing relationship with our laboratory partners in order to deliver great care to our patients,” Trost said. “There has never been a better time to be in dentistry. This level of digital collaboration has allowed laboratories to help dentists more in delivering incredible products—better, longer-lasting restorations with more efficient workflows. Being here with so many great minds, teasing out great information, and learning so many pearls of wisdom is really fun.”

Exocad Chief Commercial Officer Novica Savic said the collaborative nature of the event was no accident. “It is all about collaboration,” Savic said. “Let’s collaborate and let’s move together.” Savic added that one of his team’s objectives this year was to vary the content of the education beyond just showing cases. For example, renowned technician Sascha Hein, MDT, presented on the intricacies of color in general and how it impacts shade matching. “It is nice to see fantastic cases, but for two full days, it can get boring,” Savic said. “We wanted a different approach. We asked every speaker to share their path. How did you manage to become digital? What were the barriers? How did you overcome them?”

Savic set the tone for the entire meeting during his introductory remarks when he humorously stripped off his dress shirt to reveal a new t-shirt that the company is selling for charity. “I love the idea that we can laugh,” Trost said. “The opening video was so motivating. I was smiling the entire time because it spurs those on who may be sitting on the fence about joining the party; they should join the party because there are a lot of good guests. I talked to some amazing people here who just see a path, and they want to work together for the common good of delivering better products to patients.” Indeed, Savic noted that the goal of the event was simple. “We have one vision: to push digital dentistry to the next steps,” Savic said.

The American Dental Association (ADA) and the American Association for Dental, Oral & Craniofacial Research (AADOCR) today announced the winners of the annual Evidence-Based Dentistry (EBD) Faculty & Practice Awards. The awards are supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Colgate and are presented to educators and clinicians who have made significant contributions to implement and advance EBD. The winners will be recognized at a reception hosted by the ADA Science & Research Institute at SmileCon™ 2022, a joint meeting of the ADA, Texas Dental Association, and Greater Houston Dental Society.

Gregg H. Gilbert, D.D.S., M.B.A., will receive the 2022 EBD Accomplished Faculty Award. Dr. Gilbert is Distinguished Professor and chair of the department of clinical and community sciences at the University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Dentistry. He also serves as founding director of the National Dental Practice-Based Research Network (NationalDentalPBRN.org). The National Dental PBRN connects clinical researchers with dental practitioners, creating partnerships that allow working dental offices with real-life patients to be used in the evaluation of existing and novel strategies for improving oral health. To date, the network has conducted more than 50 studies and published more than 190 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles that advance the scientific basis for clinical decision-making and foster the movement of scientific evidence into routine clinical practice. These studies have investigated a broad range of clinical topics using a wide variety of study designs. Of the studies that have completed enrollment, a total of 70,665 patients and 19,827 practitioners have been enrolled, and the electronic records of an additional 790,493 patients have been included in two data-only studies.

JoAnna M. Scott, Ph.D., will receive the 2022 EBD Mid-career Faculty Award. Dr. Scott is an associate professor in the Office of Research & Graduate Programs at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry. Dr. Scott is one of a few biostatisticians in the country with a primary appointment in a dental school, and she has used her position to support more than 100 faculty members, postdoctoral fellows, residents, and students in conducting high-quality oral health research that advances the evidence-base of dental professions. In the classroom, Dr. Scott teaches residents and graduate students the critical thinking skills needed to assess research articles (and their statistical analysis methods), thereby producing clinicians capable of providing evidence-based oral health care.

Martha Ann Keels, D.D.S., Ph.D., will receive the 2022 EBD Practice Award. Dr. Keels is a full-time practicing dentist at Duke Street Pediatric Dentistry in Durham, North Carolina, and a provider of general anesthesia services at nearby Duke Health. She also serves as an adjunct associate professor of pediatrics and an associate consulting professor of surgery at Duke University Medical Center; an adjunct professor of pediatric dentistry at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and an adjunct associate professor of dentistry at the University of Rochester. During her tenure as a member of the ADA Council on Scientific Affairs, Dr. Keels chaired the subcommittee that oversaw the ADA’s EBD program. She currently serves on the expert panel developing the upcoming ADA guideline on restorative caries treatments, in addition to serving on the expert panel that is updating the ADA and Food & Drug Administration’s recommendations for dental radiographic examinations. Dr. Keels was a coauthor of the 2019 ADA book How to Use Evidence-Based Dental Practices to Improve Your Clinical Decision-Making.

For more information about evidence-based resources from ADASRI, visit EBD.ADA.org.

Pac-Dent, Inc., announced the launch of the iVac™ Apical Negative Pressure Irrigation and Activation System during the Greater New York Dental Meeting 2022. The addition of this new irrigation system broadens Pac-Dent’s growing dental portfolio, further solidifying Pac-Dent as a leading force in endodontics.

The iVac™ System is designed to be used during the root canal treatment irrigation phase, preferably connected to a piezo ultrasonic handpiece. The system was created using the three most important concepts established by endodontic research for root canal irrigation and disinfection: ultrasonic vibration, negative pressure, and concomitant irrigation. The iVac system boosts root canal irrigation and disinfection efficacy by uniting these three irrigation fundamentals into one single device that pairs with most piezo ultrasonic units.

Features and Benefits of the iVac System:

1. 30 times less irrigant extrusion compared with classic irrigation, according to preliminary tests.

2. Concomitant irrigation always leads to the use of fresh irrigant.

3. Allows the irrigating fluid to travel through the entire canal to the working length.

4. High debris removal by ultrasonic fluid microstreaming effects.

5. Polymer cannula with high resistance and flexibility for canal navigation.

6. Compatible with most common types of piezo ultrasonic units.

7. Adaptable to the majority of final irrigation protocols.

8. Intuitive and low cost per procedure.

For more information on the iVac System, visit the product page.