Dentistry attended 3shape’s inaugural Care symposium to find out how the Trios scanner is innovating the field of digital workflow and the many benefits of adopting one into your practice.
3shape hosted an intimate and enlightening symposium for its valued Trios customers last month in its UK headquarters in Reading. From dental nursing to dental technology, an elite group of professionals from different areas of dentistry came together to share their expertise on the tools and benefits of the Trios scanner.
Opening the event, Lee McIver, 3shape’s country manager UK and Ireland, said: ‘The whole event is about education, and it’s really our way of giving back.’ Prior to the symposium, he recalled someone telling him that they’ve had a Trios scanner for a while, but it feels like they’ve got a Lamborghini parked on their driveway and are only doing five miles per hour in it.
‘There’s so much more that can be done with Trios,’ he said. ‘But you just don’t know what you don’t know. We want to make sure that we give them as much insight and experience as possible to encourage them to use the Trios.’
The symposium saw a full day of workshops and lectures covering a variety of topics with something for every member of the dental team, such as implant planning, tips and tricks for using a Trios scanner, how to make the most out of it, and its benefits for clinic and lab collaboration.
‘Digital dentistry is here and now’
Charlie Laity, senior clinical training and application specialist for 3shape, kicked off the first lecture by introducing the 3shape world and the impact it’s had on the profession.
He also demonstrated how digital dentistry is not the future – it’s the present. He shared that over a million scans are being done on a Trios scanner each month, highlighting the importance of adopting a digital scanner and the concern that those without one are ‘going to be left behind’.
This feeling was shared by a lot of the delegates, such as Cathal Hayes, commercial strategy manager at Portman Dental Care, who attended the event to understand the products from 3shape and the new updates in their system.
He said: ‘Events like these are important because digital dentistry is here and now, it’s not about the future. We need to make sure that we’re getting on that digital journey as quickly as possible.’
Maximising its potential
Ian Buckle, a leading clinician and principal at Buckle Advanced Dental Care, gave an entertaining lecture on how he uses digital dentistry in every aspect of his working day. There are so many things built into the scanners for dental professionals to make use of for every step of treatment, such as examination, records, implants, patient engagement and dentures.
Ian’s talk highlighted how making the most of these tools will make you more predictable, efficient, and productive, while also helping you get a return on your investment.
He said: ‘Something I see often is that people pay a lot of money for their scanners, and then don’t really use them to their full potential.’
In another insightful workshop on making the most of your scanner, Charlotte Wall, clinical lead dental nurse at Euston Place Dental Practice, discussed patient communication. She said: ‘This topic is really important for the consent process. In dentistry, there are many things that are hard to explain to patients. But by using scans, X-rays and Powerpoint presentations, patients can really visualise everything and see exactly what you’re proposing.’
‘I also hope delegates took away how nurses can get involved with the scanning process and the important role they can play, as well as how to properly utilise scans for treatment. It’s important to showcase that.’
Essential apps
3shape’s Trios scanners also come equipped with a number of user-friendly, essential apps to assist in all aspects of dentistry – from smile design to patient monitoring. Ian Buckle and Chris McConnell, BACD past president and principal of two private practices, delved into two of these apps, highlighting how well they improve both productivity and predictability.
Chris McConnell discussed the Implant Studio app, which plans, designs and prints custom surgical guides and temporary screw-retained crowns in one workflow. ‘Implant Studio allows you to plan your implant cases right from the start, so you’re making sure that everything goes smoothly and discovering any problems before you start the treatment,’ he said.
‘It also allows you to take ownership of your work – you can’t just pop an implant in anywhere and hope for the best. You want to know the pitfalls and the areas you’ll have problems with before you start so you’re well prepared.’
Similarly, Ian’s workshop explored the Splint Studio, which provides a fast and efficient workflow for all major single-jaw occlusal splint types. He said: ‘Splints can sometimes be quite difficult, so people don’t adopt them.
‘But being able to design and print splints in the digital world has enabled us to do that treatment much more effectively and predictably. ‘Now, instead of spending half a day making a splint, we can probably do it in an hour or so. Sharing this app with people not only helps them make better splints, but it also makes the patient’s treatment better.’
Valuable insights and skills
While the delegates each had different motivations for attending the symposium, there is no doubt that it provided them all with guidance, knowledge and newfound appreciation for their Trios scanners. Each of them left with valuable insight and skills, ready to apply to their practice.
The team at Rodney Street Dental Clinic in Liverpool made the journey down to Reading after recently purchasing the Trios 5 scanner, 3shape’s newest product. They were keen to find out how to maximise the scanner and how it can benefit their clinic. Dental nurse Kate Starkey said her highlight of the day was ‘discovering that it’s not just a scanner, and finding out everything you can do with it and how to get the most out of it for our practice’.
Hetal B Patel, a general practitioner at Streatfield Dental Surgery, also came to the event to learn how to get the most out of his Trios scanner. He said: ‘More than anything, I’ve learned to maximise the use of the tech that we have and see what else we can do with it.
‘I’ve recently bought a 3D printer as well, so I wanted to work out the best workflow. I would recommend this event for new 3shape users to ensure that you’re using and maximising this from the beginning and accelerating yourself. I wish I had this opportunity five years ago!’
Impressive turnout
The Sprintray team were also at the symposium, showcasing how their system provides the missing link in the 3shape digital workflow. Gavin Burrows, business development manager for Sprintray in the UK and Ireland, was thoroughly impressed with the event and the delegates who attended, saying: ‘It’s been one of the busiest events that I’ve been to – it’s been fantastic!
‘The information and the knowledge that the delegates have already got is really impressive, and the conversations are of such a high level.’
His highlight of the event was the understanding that digital dentistry is available today. ‘The scanners and materials are here and the workflows are available – it’s now ready for people to use.’
Reflecting on the day, Lee said: ‘It’s been really good fun. The turnout was amazing, and it’s the first time that we’ve ever done something like this as well. I’d love to see this become an annual event.’
If you have any queries, get in touch with the 3shape UK team via [email protected] or 01183 151 300
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