ADA 2017: 1st day highlights include projects and new products

ATLANTA - A busy exhibit hall and full sessions highlighted the first day of the 2017 ADA annual meeting. DrBicuspid.com brings you a look at some of the notable industry projects, clinical sessions, and new products on display at the Georgia World Congress Center.

CRET opens 3rd center

The Center for Research & Education in Technology (CRET) recently opened its third center at the West Virginia University School of Dentistry in Morgantown, WV. Two of CRET's leaders talked about the program's strengths and opportunities on Thursday at the 2017 ADA annual meeting.

The center is a nonprofit association of dental industry leaders that partners with academic institutions to develop technology education programs for dental students. The aim of the center is to promote knowledge and competency in the industries' latest technologies while providing quality oral care at no cost to the universities other than space. The operatories can contain equipment worth $500,000 or more.

The other schools involved are the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Dentistry in Kansas City, MO, and the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry in Loma Linda, CA.

The program brings together industry competitors in a bid to train the next generation of dental students and residents, CRET President Edward Rossomando, DDS, PhD, told DrBicuspid.com.

Don Hobbs and Dr. Edward Rossomando at the 2017 ADA Annual meeting.

"The program provides a fully functional treatment room, each from a different CRET member," said Dr. Rossomando, also a professor emeritus at the University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine.

Getting companies that usually compete fiercely with each other to cooperate is not easy, but it's worth it to help train the next generation of dentists, said Don Hobbs, vice president of equipment and technology sales for Henry Schein Dental.

"We have to help them realize that we're stronger together," he told DrBicuspid.com.

Students are required to rotate through each operatory, usually in their fourth year. The students are working with the latest, high-end technology from different companies in the dental industries.

Participating companies include Benco, Air Techniques, Dentsply Sirona, Carestream Dental, Henry Schein, and more.

Sleep apnea screening to become ADA policy?

Ken Berley, DDS, JD, a dentist and lawyer from Arkansas, spoke on Thursday about the importance of dentists screening patients for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), recommending that all dentists do so and take a course to learn more about it if necessary.

The ADA will be voting soon on whether to pass a policy statement encouraging dentists to screen for sleep-related breathing disorders, Dr. Berley noted.

Read more about his presentation here.

New products

Carestream Dental launches updated CS SoftDent

Carestream Dental has launched the newest version of its CS SoftDent practice management software.

The CS SoftDent software v17 features a new clinical overview tab that groups all patient information in one place. It also includes a patient banner for easier access to patient information and allows more than one user at a time to work in a patient record.

View the new software at Carestream's ADA booth, No. 1745.

Patient-retention firm highlights practitioner videos

Patient-retention marketing company Hi5 Practice is highlighting a new video production device and service for dental and other healthcare practices at the ADA meeting.

The device, known as the On Location Interactive Video Experience (OLIVE) is a remote-access video device that includes a built-in high-definition video camera, microphone, speakers for two-way communication, lighting, and teleprompter.

Clients can book the equipment for specific video marketing campaigns, working with Hi5. The practitioner reads the script, instead of memorizing it, and the video and equipment are shipped back to the company for editing.

The company expects to begin to offer the service in December.

An example of the OLIVE in use. Image courtesy of Hi5 Practice.

Solvay debuts new polymer for partial denture frames

The Ultaire AKP without teeth. Image courtesy of Solvay Dental 360.

Solvay Dental 360 has introduced a new polymer for removalable partial denture frames.

The Ultaire AKP is a high-performance polymer designed to fill the gap between metal removable partial denture frames and too-flexible polymer frame materials. The frame is made of aryl ketone polymer, which is biocompatible, about a third of the weight of other frames, metal-free, and nonirritating, according to the company. The material is compatible with the CAD/CAM process, saving time and money.

See the new polymer at the company's ADA booth, No. 2653.