Happiest place on...

Every two years in dentistry, a very special event takes place on the other side of the world. Over the course of five days, Cologne, Germany transforms into the global epicentre of dental ideas, technology and innovation as typically 150,000+ people descend on the city for the biennial staging of the International Dental Show, better known as IDS. For me, it’s the happiest place on earth!

By Joseph Allbeury

Compared to dental exhibitions in Australia, IDS is on an unimaginable scale with visitors struggling to take it all in even over five days - with no real possibility of engaging with every stand individually! Every manufacturer is represented with massive displays brimming with hospitality, entertainment and products galore - to visit them all in depth would take a month! Plus, there are experts on hand that can answer all of your questions on the spot regarding current products and what’s in the pipeline for the future.

Whilst many people in the dental community pencil in a visit to IDS on their “bucket list”, I’m fortunate to be going for the 12th time this year, visiting every IDS since 1999, only missing the scaled down COVID version in 2021.

If you had to describe IDS in a single word, it would be ENERGY. There is an immediate sense that there is an immense energy attached to the event that you simply never see to the same extent elsewhere. Another word would be PASSION, as there is no shortage of that on hand either.

Hundreds of millions of Euros are invested to ensure visitors have the best possible experience by exhibitors from the corners of the globe... including Australian manufacturers like SDI Limited, Myofunctional Research Co, ASIGA, BioMiniatures, Ozdent, Blender4dental, Partmaker and others.

In times past, before the internet existed and electronic communication became second nature, exhibitors at IDS would launch products that represented years of tireless toil coming up with the next big thing. Product development was literally on a two-year cycle to ensure you had something new and special to talk about in Cologne. And whilst the internet has changed much, there is still a healthy dose of NEW to be found everywhere at IDS.

IDS 2023 is particularly special because it is the 40th staging of the event and its 100 year anniversary. And it’s also the first proper staging of the event after the COVID-19 disruptions of the past few years. Like many, I will be looking forward to seeing this grand event return to normal as it truly is one of the best experiences on offer in the dental world.

And... by the time our own Digital Dentistry & Dental Technology 2023 event is staged in Sydney on June 2-3, we’re hoping to see some of the new tech from IDS filtering down under. So remember to register now for the best time you will have at an Australian dental conference in 2023.

Joseph Allbeury, Editor and Publisher

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