Specialist prosthodontist Dr Michael Mynt reflects on his experience attending Avant Garde Dentistry’s 3D Sprint course and explains why its combination of clinical excellence, digital innovation and commercial understanding left such a lasting impression.
As clinicians, we often leave courses with pages of notes, new techniques to consider and ideas we hope to introduce into practice. Occasionally, however, a course delivers something more.
For Dr Michael Mynt, attending Avant Garde Dentistry’s 3D Sprint course provided not only a practical introduction to 3D printing, but a valuable insight into how modern dental education can be delivered when clinical expertise, laboratory knowledge and business awareness work together.
Having already seen Avant Garde founder Dr Robbie Hughes and his team online, Michael was familiar with the brand and its reputation. However, it was the execution of the course itself that immediately stood out.
‘I was really impressed by the whole experience,’ he says. ‘The team understood hospitality and service, but they also knew how to deliver education genuinely well. From the moment you walked in, it felt like a five star hotel, but it was easy, relaxed and completely natural.’
Innovation with clinical purpose
As dentistry continues to move towards digital workflows and 3D printing, it can be easy for new technology to become the focus rather than the patient. What impressed Michael about the 3D Sprint course was Avant Garde’s ability to cut through the noise and assess innovation based on its genuine clinical value.
‘Robbie, Kuwer and Jameel are incredibly talented clinicians,’ he explains. ‘They are skilful, knowledgeable and have worked hard to screen out the unnecessary noise to understand what actually works.
‘It wasn’t about what looked the most exciting or impressive. It was about what patients genuinely need and how these workflows can create better, more predictable outcomes.’
Throughout the course, delegates were encouraged to consider the complete restorative journey rather than viewing each stage in isolation. Clinical decisions, digital workflows, laboratory processes and the commercial realities of running a dental practice were presented as interconnected parts of the same system.
‘They understood the clinical side, the laboratory side and the business side, and how all three can work in harmony,’ Michael says. ‘There wasn’t too much weight placed on one particular area. The equation worked because everything was balanced.’
Turning innovation into implementation
For Avant Garde Dentistry, innovation is not simply about adopting the latest equipment or producing an impressive demonstration. It is about turning technology into workflows that are clinically effective, repeatable and commercially sustainable. Michael attended the course to gain a clearer understanding of 3D printing and establish a practical starting point for introducing it into his own work.
‘I came away with exactly what I needed,’ he says. ‘I wanted to learn about 3D printing and start that journey. I genuinely felt that I had something to work on and something I could begin to implement.’
He was particularly impressed by the level of scrutiny the Avant Garde team had applied to every stage of the workflow.
‘They had questioned every small detail that many of us might simply take for granted,’ he says. ‘They had learned from their mistakes, refined the workflows and built up a wealth of experience that they were willing to share.’
By combining education with its digital laboratory infrastructure, Avant Garde can demonstrate not only how technology works, but how it translates into daily clinical practice. This includes planning, scanning, CAD design, 3D printing, laboratory communication, patient expectations and the financial viability of introducing new workflows.
The result is an education model designed to help clinicians move from curiosity to implementation with greater confidence and fewer unknowns.
A team working in synergy
While the clinical content made a strong impression, Michael believes the people behind the course were equally important. From the warm welcome and attentive service to the depth of knowledge across the wider support team, every detail contributed to a seamless delegate experience. Michael was particularly impressed by John’s understanding of CAD workflows and his ability to communicate complex concepts clearly.
‘John isn’t a dental technician, but he is one of the people I have spoken to about CAD who really understands it,’ Michael says. ‘He understood my perspective, answered the right questions and could demonstrate everything clearly.’
That breadth of knowledge across the wider team reflects Avant Garde’s commitment to creating a fully integrated education and laboratory ecosystem.
‘What inspired me most was how Robbie and the entire team worked in synergy,’ Michael adds. ‘They understood the mission, they understood the assignment and everyone worked together towards it.’
Education without ego
Michael left the course with practical knowledge, a clearer starting point for his 3D printing journey and new ideas for improving his own approach as an educator. However, the lasting impression was the culture of the organisation.
‘There was genuinely no ego,’ he says. ‘There was confidence, but no arrogance. Everyone was down to earth, open and willing to share what they had learned.
‘It was one of the best courses I have attended.’
For clinicians looking to understand how 3D printing can be applied beyond the theory, Avant Garde Dentistry’s 3D Sprint course offers a glimpse into the future of dental education: collaborative, clinically grounded, digitally enabled and focused on creating predictable outcomes for patients, practices and laboratories alike.
This article is sponsored by Avant Garde Dentistry.
