‘We all need as much help as we can get in these crazy times’: As he heads home full of new ideas and itching to get back to his lab, Ashley Byrne discusses why overseas conferences are worth the time, money and hangovers.
I’m writing this on a plane heading back from several days in sunny Mallorca, after being at a congress for a leading CAD software company.
I have a hangover, I’m exhausted, and yet I’m utterly inspired and hungry to get back to the lab.
We need to have more discussions
Overseas conferences have generally been poorly attended by the UK lab scene.
We have several conferences in the UK, and we have a history of securing some incredible UK and overseas speakers.
So why spend a bunch of money to head overseas if it’s nothing more than just a bit of fun and a jolly?
As I have mentioned in many of my articles, our industry is as much full of opportunity as it is full of problems and issues.
Huge sales potential but an ageing and dwindling workforce, with a negligible number of young people entering the trade.
We know technology is drastically helping us, but which technologies are right?
What’s working? What’s not?
How are labs making the best out of this incredibly turbulent time? It’s not an easy answer to find out.
There are social media groups, but they are reducing in numbers. And of course there are the dental exhibitions and congresses in the UK.
However, it’s often a small group of UK lab owners and technicians attending, so the pool of knowledge we crave is limited.
Sharing knowledge, advice and motivation
For me, overseas conferences have been life changing – and trust me, I don’t say that lightly.
Just this morning I was talking to a Scandinavian lab owner about how they use digital dentures to assist in immediate loading because they can no longer get dental technicians.
Next I’m talking to a world leading dentist about how they communicate with their labs using Whatsapp groups.
And then I’m sharing how we motivate our team to increase production.
The pool of technicians, lab owners, dentists, and suppliers, is vastly bigger at these overseas events.
This weekend in the Balearic Islands attracted a pool of industry connections from a staggering 45 countries!
I talked software, CAD, CAM, team, articulators, communication, materials, leadership, developments…you get the picture.
I’m not even halfway through my list.
I heard about cutting edge software developments on the big screen, direct from the person who designed it.
In addition, I watched a dentist and technician team up to show cases using digital dentures and new materials.
I even watched Christian Coachman telling the audience that dental technicians will take over the industry and, in all honesty, I believed him.
The sharing of knowledge and advice was incredibly open and honest, and every lab owner and technician I met was happy to share both problems and solutions.
It was a powerhouse of concepts and ideas that ran from dawn till dusk.
Dentistry loves a party
Overseas conferences also offer other benefits, besides the most incredible education and shared knowledge. And that is the social scene.
It’s nice to head out a day or two early and have some well-earned rest and relaxation.
But one thing I’ve always noticed is that dentistry really likes to party – especially technicians.
It was in the early hours of the morning that my good friend Steve Campbell and I were, with an Icelandic lab, putting the world to rights on the digital revolution and a Swedish supplier agreeing with what we said.
In the words of the infamous Wham, it was very much Club Tropicana with a roof top party, palm trees, and – you guessed it – the drinks were free!
The party and social scene at these events goes much deeper than simply R&R and a few beers.
Source of inspiration
We laugh, we build lifelong relationships, and the offers to visit labs from around the world have been key inspiration for my lab.
They are also a great source of help as we all look to solve our own internal issues.
I woke with a half-eaten kebab on the balcony, a pocket full of business cards, and my mind buzzing with ideas and concepts.
Of course, there was a little slowness at the conference the next day. And I am sure I didn’t need those last two bottles of Heineken with a jolly New Zealand colleague at some random bar at 3am…
But we did have a good laugh about the previous night’s madness.
We all talk openly and freely, and at every overseas conference I have greatly increased my network of lab owners, techs, dentists, and suppliers.
I cannot recommend it enough
If you’ve never been to an overseas conference, I cannot recommend it enough.
I really am exhausted and tomorrow at the lab will be a long day.
But I’m hungry to get in and implement some of this new knowledge.
I hope the labs that I offered solutions to are just as enthused and doing the same.
Embrace it!
We all need as much help as we can get in these crazy times and an overseas trip like this may just be want you need for your dental career.
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