So much going on...

Twenty twenty three has continued along at a cracking pace with plenty of activity in the dental community globally in the first half of the year.

Even though the WHO only declared an end to COVID-19 as a global health emergency on May 5, it’s hard to believe the world ever “stopped” for a time as it’s pretty much back to business as usual as it was before the pandemic.

Back in April 2019, before that madness started, I was fortunate enough to find myself in Barcelona, Spain, for the International Osteology Symposium and after that, visiting the manufacturing facility of Geistlich Pharma in Wolhusen, Switzerland. It was during school holidays and my family came along for the ride as well and we all had an amazing adventure as part of a broader European vacation.

Fast forward to April 2023 and it was a case of Déjà vu I was back in Barcelona for the International Osteology Symposium 2023 and post-pandemic, it was exactly like I remembered it, perhaps even bigger and better than before.

In another clear demonstration of the professions’ preference for face-to-face learning over webinars, virtual events and online learning, Osteology attracted 2400 delegates from the four corners of the globe, many the best and brightest in the world of tissue regeneration.

Over 50 Australians, the majority of who were periodontists, were also in town for the event and when you consider the costs of business class airfares, accommodation in Barcelona in the summer and registration for the event, as well as 48 hours of travel, it’s a testament to the value of this tour de force event... but more on that from page 40.

Barcelona was again at its best, with great weather, plenty of great food and amazing sights to see (BTW... Sagrada Familia still has a ways to go).

Following Osteology, I again joined 30 clinicians from Australia and New Zealand in visiting the Geistlich HQ in Switzerland which was again an amazing experience. Geistlich are wonderful hosts, offering access to both their manufacturing facility to provide insight into how they research, develop and manufacture their cutting edge regenerative products and also their senior management team. This edition includes insightful interviews with their CEO and CSO, with more to follow in future editions. My sincere thanks to Torben, Jitka and Geistlich for facilitating this.

In another case of Déjà vu, our largest annual event, Digital Dentistry & Dental Technology 2023, was another great success with hundreds of delegates attending for the two-day program. This year, Digital Dentistry and Dental Technology 2023 presented delegates with a choice of over 90 education sessions - 94 hours of content - in 8 concurrent streams presented by 46 speakers, making it one of the largest events in Australia in 2023, perhaps second only to the upcoming FDI Congress in September at ICC Sydney.

Enjoy the ediion...

Joseph Allbeury, Editor and Publisher

AI to address shortage of CAD technicians

H3D is an Australian PhD research spinout whose mission is to make custom-fit medical devices accessible for everyday people through their AI CAD product, AutoDesign. Based in Copenhagen, H3D is developing dental AI CAD in partnership with Modern Dental Pacific and Andent. H3D’s entry into dental follows their strong success in the audio industry where they have become the AI CAD market leader. Mimicking their successful approach in Audio, H3D are focusing on dental labs rather than clinics. The company’s motto is “built with labs, for labs” and there is a strong emphasis on quality. This is welcome news for dental labs, who have been increasingly neglected as dental CAD companies prioritise clinics and chairside. “Labs are the gold standard in terms of quality levels and our ambition is to create the world’s best AI CAD, so partnering with them was a natural choice for us,” said Damian Png, Director of the Dental Business Unit. H3D’s AI CAD boasts an order acceptance rate of >90% in the audio market, enthusiastic product reviews and a 100% customer retention rate. They work with iconic brands, such as Sennheiser, Amplifon and Formlabs. “H3D’s AI CAD designs look very promising - high quality standards, fast turnaround times and competitive pricing,” explained Matt Smith, General Manager at Andent. Labs see H3D’s AI CAD as a solution to the labour shortage of CAD technicians, which will ultimately help them scale their businesses. Currently, design takes a CAD technician 10-20 minutes per order. However, there is an industry-wide shortage of CAD technicians, so labs are forced to reject new business. “H3D’s AI CAD has the potential to be hugely impactful for our industry. It will enable us to significantly increase our production and overcome the capacity issues caused by the shortage of CAD designers. It will also facilitate the transition from thermoformed to digital splints, resulting in better quality products for dentists and patients,” said James Squirrell, CEO of Modern Dental Pacific. With H3D’s AI CAD, 100s of orders can be processed within 5 minutes. It’s so simple to use that it can be operated any lab staff. As the dental industry continues to embrace digital dentistry, H3D sees AI CAD further accelerating the trend towards intraoral scanners and 3D printing. “We’re regularly approached by 3D printing companies, IoS companies and resellers. For them, CAD is holding back the industry, so solving this bottleneck is hugely important,” said Iain Mcleod, CEO at H3D. H3D’s AI CAD for splints will be released in Q3 2023, with crowns, dentures and aligners following shortly. The company is currently accepting expressions of interest for their Innovators program (visit https://tinyurl.com/53nvncz7), which provides early access to the AI CAD product, as well as discounted pricing. For more info, visit www.h3d.ai