Revolutionizing Dental 3D Printing at IDDA & MOD Symposium

Revolutionizing Dental 3D Printing at IDDA & MOD Symposium

A remote island in the Mediterranean has recently become the place to be for digital dentistry enthusiasts. Last year exocad hosted the first “exocad insights” event in Mallorca attracting hundreds of dentists and technicians inspiring the founding of the first-ever International 3D Printing Symposium, October 2-3.

IDDA and the MOD Institute - Leading 3D Printing Education

A 2-Day event organized by some of the world’s foremost experts in dental 3D printing: the founders of the International Digital Dental Academy, Prof. Adam Nulty, Dr. Quintus Van Tonder, Dr. Chris Leifkaditis, Dr. Patrik Zachrisson and MOD Institute, Prof. Wally Renne.

The five organizers pulled together an event that is unrivaled in its information density and single focus on providing the best patient care utilizing technology, providing the audience plenty of opportunities for hands-on experience with digital imaging, design, 3D printing, and post-processing.

Day 1 - The 3D Printing Revolution

While the sun was shining outside, dentists and technicians from all over the world gathered to listen to Prof. Wally Renne who kicked off the symposium with his presentation on “The 3D Printing Revolution” which showed the audience that immediate prostheses make a difference between someone that had not dared to smile for years and a confident patient walking out with a new smile within the same appointment.

The “3D Printing Revolution” lecture certainly centers around 3D printing, but Prof. Renne correctly starts with what is definitely the most important step before touching a printer: correct scanning protocols and the accuracy of scanning.

He shows that the scan pathway will determine whether or not you will be able to achieve accurate results and mentions that with fully edentulous or partially edentulous patients, the currently available scanners will be able to provide accurate scans, setting dentists and technicians up for successful designs and prints.

(To learn more about scanning, read the comparison of the 5 most popular scanners written by Dr. Michelinakis.)

Prof. Renne, director of the MOD institute, presents mostly full arch prostheses but also touches on the profitability and emotional impact of 3D printed permanent veneers using various resins, including the Pac-Dent Rodin Sculpture on the Ackuretta SOL. 3D printed veneers mean little to no preparation of the teeth will be required, as we can now print at around 200-micron thickness.

(For a full case report using Ackuretta and Pac-Dent Rodin Sculpture, click here.)

The main focus of the lecture may be the importance of healthy teeth and good dental care for patients, however, Prof. Renne also touches on another key point that echoes through each speaker’s presentation: teamwork

The MOD Institute, a leading institution in digital dentistry, is heavily driven by capable dental assistants, hygienists, and associates who embrace the digital workflow and are the true creators of each smile that walks out.

This topic would also be picked up by keynote speaker: Christian Coachman, the founder of Digital Smile Design, a sixth-generation dentist and trained dental technician, who spoke on the concept of “emotion dentistry”. Similarly to what Prof. Renne touched on, Dr. Coachman provided an in-depth background on the emotional importance of healthy & beautiful smiles on patients and how to provide the best care possible for each patient.

What is his solution to providing the best possible care? Teamwork!

Dr. Coachman’s philosophy hinges on one concept: Teamwork can improve every treatment plan - this teamwork doesn’t just consist of the office staff and the dentist, but also the technicians involved, the referred orthodontists, surgeons, endodontists, etc. If everyone signs up for a treatment plan and follows through, patients walk out with exactly what they envisioned even after possibly months of treatment.

Day 1 of the symposium was wrapped by the IDDA founders, Prof. Adam Nulty and Dr. Quintus Van Tonder who just like Dr. Coachman and Prof. Renne, gave the audience a beautiful example of how their teamwork and knowledge of technology achieves what all dentistry is about: happy, healthy patients that carry new confidence.

The event would not be a true IDDA event if it didn’t finish with a beautiful Gala event overseeing the Mallorcan sunset, and raising over $10,000 for the charity Children Fighting Childhood Cancer UK.

Day 2 - Stunning Dental 3D Printing Workflows

The early start on Day 2 was surely not easy for everyone who attended the evening event, but speakers Milos Miladinov and Dr. Milos Ljubcic woke up the crowd with their stunning 3D printed cases and Dr. Giuliano Fragola turned up the volume with his impressive introduction to 3P - Plan Print Place lecture emphasizing that we will all need to embrace technology in our workplace, the question is just: how well will we do it?

Rounding up the instructive 2-day event, Prof. Renne spoke on the power of integrating implant workflows with 3D printing, presenting a guided surgery workflow using TruAbutment, abutment and design tools, and URIS implants.

Ackuretta’s 3D Printing Solution - Validated Dental Workflows

And Prof. Adam Nulty summarized another key component of what was discussed in all lectures during the event: Validated Workflows

While Validated workflows are often forgotten, we can luckily say that the dental 3D printing industry is certainly moving that way. Presenting the Ackuretta 3D Printing solution that integrates validated workflows from the slicing software, ALPHA AI, to the 3D printer, SOL, to the wash station and the curing oven, Prof. Nulty provides a background why validation is required: if you were going to place a 3D printed restoration or removable into your daughter's mouth, you make sure it’s 100% following the instructions for use provided by the resin manufacturer. Validated workflows are the key to patient safety.

(Learn the 1 Hour Crown Workflow written by Prof. Adam Nulty here)

IDDA and MOD Institute provided their audience with an impressive speaker and sponsor line-up bringing together the innovators of the world to a tiny island in the Mediterranean. The organizers went out of their way to teach hands-on, and pass along their knowledge to all attendees and certainly made this an unforgettable experience for everyone involved.

What are the key takeaways from the 2-Day event?

• Teamwork makes the dream work! - Bring in your team to your digital workflows, train together, empower each other and the care you can provide will increase as well as your employee’s happiness!
• Go digital now! - The longer you wait, the harder it will be.
• In all you do, follow validated workflows: patient safety should always be the first priority when introducing new technology
• Come back next year! I speak for all attendees when I say that I hope to come back to Mallorca for another International 3D Printing Symposium