The annual Chicago Dental Society meeting at McCormick Place in February is always a little overwhelming. I attribute it partly because the sales people outnumber dentists by a few thousand, partly because the marketing is way overboard, but also because it demonstrates how far dentistry has come and how quickly it will change.
After a few years, I’ve been jaded by some of the “innovations.” Some of the equipment, materials, and software are just butter in a new wrapper, and some are change for the sake of change. But some of the technology is genuinely amazing and exciting and sometimes controversial. Maybe only a dentist could appreciate it.
Some of the in-office bonding materials are approaching esthetics and durability similar to lab-fabricated veneers and crowns. These systems can save time for both the dentist and patient. Implant boundaries are stretching to wider availability and applications. It is conceivable that more root canal therapy could be replaced by removal and implant restoration. No one has an excuse for a poorly functioning full denture, the solution is here. Microscopes are making details more important and problems more visible.
Of course, the digital age is pushing other areas of dentistry forward. Advances such as scanning teeth instead of impressions, CAD/CAM crowns, and cavity-detection systems are improving all of the time, and getting very good. Digital imaging (x-ray) technology is showing more details, making treatment more predictable. The use of cloud computing makes patient records more thorough and readily available wherever the patient is.
Keeping up with the rapid advances is becoming a bigger part of dental practice.
My favorite story from the meeting was a dentist who did implants on a 102-year-old grandmother. She did not want to scare her grandchildren with her teeth. She still was excited about her new smile at her 106th birthday party he attended.
