The ‘inspirational’ GBT community

EMS held the UK leg of its World Tour this month. Dentistry went along to see why this growing community is so passionate about GBT..

EMS held the UK leg of its World Tour this month. Dentistry went along to see why this growing community is so passionate about GBT.

The dental profession can sometimes feel like it’s moving at a snail’s pace, which makes innovations that truly shake up dentistry few and far between.

Which is why success stories, like the last five years since Guided Biofilm Therapy (GBT) was introduced in the UK, all the more impressive.

The GBT Summit World Tour kicked off recently in Germany before heading to London for the UK’s visit in September.

And the ability to not only run a world tour, but also sell out tickets across the globe shows the true impact GBT is having and how it has shaken up the traditional scale and polish.

‘The culture of medicine today is treat, treat, treat and not prevent,’ Celso da Costa, global director of the SDA and global director of marketing at EMS for dental and medical, told us.

‘What we aim for is to prevent disease, when we treat it is already too late. Sometimes we cannot prevent everything so let’s treat in a less invasive way.

‘That’s what GBT is all about – minimal invasiveness but the most effective possible.

‘We use it to prevent disease and we use it to treat periodontal diseases.

‘Our aim is to change the mindset of dentistry, change to a more holistic approach and prevent more diseases.’

A mix of speakers

Held at the The Royal College of Physicians, the UK leg of the tour hosted leading lecturers from a range of specialties in dentistry.

‘We wanted to get a good mix of speakers, we wanted to cover as many areas of dentistry that you can in one day,’ Harry Morris, UK and Ireland GBT sales manager, said.

‘The day will give everyone here something generic that they may be interested in, but with some specifics too.

‘Alfonso with the implant maintenance, a real leading voice. But also pairing Alfonso with our SDA trainers, who are experts in GBT, who give their own insight into what it’s like.’

And this was reflected in the wide-ranging speaker line up.

Lecturers delegates could hear from included:

  • Victoria Sampson – The oral microbiome; what is it and why is it so important?
  • Faye Donald – A GBT clinical case study
  • Anna Middleton – Using GBT to build direct access
  • Celso da Cost – Why invest in prophylaxis
  • Reena Wadia – Periodontal therapy
  • George Cheetham – Making hygiene appointments a priority within the practice workflow.

‘All the speakers have different perspectives on GBT,’ Derek Hampton, general manager UK and Ireland, said.

‘For instance, we have DHTs that are using GBT, we have an implant dentist who is finding out how much better the outcomes are using GBT.

‘We also have speakers discussing the financial benefits.’

EMS held the UK leg of its World Tour this month. Dentistry went along to see why this growing community is so passionate about GBT.

The business case

Functionality and favourable treatment outcomes will always be the priority between treatment and business decisions.

However, one of the stand out lectures for those still unsure on the benefits of GBT from a business perspective came from Celso da Costa.

Being the global director of the Swiss Dental Academy (SDA) meant he could lean on examples from across Europe showcasing the benefits of GBT.

Throughout his 45-minute lecture he demonstrated how practices have increased revenue, increased referrals and improved treatment outcomes by leaning on GBT.

And how it enables clinicians to offer bespoke treatments to patients.

He summarised by saying: ‘Offering GBT in the practice means practices can avoid disease, whilst becoming more profitable – it’s an ethical way of running a dental practice.’

‘The main focus of today is that everyone has a really fun day,’ Harry Morris continues.

‘That’s what we want GBT to be, we want it to be inclusive and we want it to be fun.

‘We want everyone to be able to take what they want from it and go away feeling confident in themselves as clinicians to take this information back to their practices.’

‘The way forward is GBT’

GBT’s reach continues to grow and the community movement it’s creating was obvious throughout the day.

Delegates didn’t just come to hear from leading lecturers on the best ways to increase their practice’s profitability and treatment outcomes.

The breaks throughout the day gave attendees an opportunity to catch up, which everyone took full advantage of.

And with the World Tour selling out, it’s clear this community isn’t just limited to the UK.

‘The speakers have been really good, I particularly enjoyed the speech from Celso da Costa,’ Reece Isaac, dental therapist, said.

‘He was inspirational, as was Anna Middleton and Faye Donald. It was nice to see a different side and how you can have such an impact on a patient’s lifestyle.

‘I have experience using GBT, but based on today I’ve not been reaching its full potential.

‘It’s important to get trained in the protocol so I can use it in the most efficient way and pass on the ethos of pain-free treatment and more patient education.

‘This will definitely help enhance what I offer. As well as help build revenue for the practice too.’

Jane Laks from Bridgeview Dental Practice added: ‘The day has been so interesting.

‘The first lecture from Victoria Sampson was really different on a subject we don’t usually hear about. It has certainly changed our way of thinking.’

The takeaway message from the day is that the hygienist is a hugely important part of the patient journey. And GBT is their tool to help build a patient base, referrals for treatments and improve treatment outcomes.

‘The way forward is GBT over traditional methods,’ Derek Hampton concluded.

For more information on GBT, visit ems-dental.com/en/guided-biofilm-therapy.


Follow Dentistry.co.uk on Instagram to keep up with all the latest dental news and trends.

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