Symposium Program

Digital dentistry is here to stay. As clinicians we must know the advantages as well as the limitations of the digital dental procedures. While intraoral scanners and digital designing and production methods are improving the daily clinical practice bringing accuracy and speed to the treatments, we should be aware of what’s predictable, what’s possible and what’s impossible nowadays. We need to ensure successful and predictable treatments to our patients. In this presentation we will talk about digital resources, starting from digital controlled anesthesia to newest jaw track motion devices.

The digital applications began more than twenty years ago in dentistry. So why is dentistry not digital in 100% of the practices? There are three possible answers to this question; the acquisition and confection systems are not yet reliable enough, or they are too complicated to use, or they are too expensive, or all three at once? This presentation proposes to examine these questions, without taboos or commercial accents, in restorative dentistry, prosthetics and aesthetics, with the point of view of a general practitioner at the diagnostic and therapeutic stages. The following topics will be emphasized: 1. Diagnosis phases, smile design and treatment plan 2. Posterior indirect restorations 3. Anterior indirect restorations 4. Choosing the color of the restorations: the e-lab protocol or how to choose and to check the color matching using digital means only (plus some ceramic powder…)

CAD-CAM processes have led to the introduction of a new family of composites materials, which are significantly different from direct light-composites and exhibit higher properties. This lecture aims to review the different subclasses of CAD-CAM composites/hybrid ceramics, their respective properties and indications with respect to modern restorative dentistry and implant prosthodontics. Clinical cases will illustrate their specific contribution to new treatment strategies, such as worn dentition treatment and implant immediate loading. Results of most recent research on those innovative materials will be presented and their future will be discussed with respect to the evolution of dental clinical practice.

Virtual reality is already playing an important complementary role in treatment planning. Advanced 3D imaging and CAD/CAM technologies and their applications in enhancing treatment outcomes in implant dentistry have revolutionized dental implant diagnosis and treatment, creating an interdisciplinary environment in which communication leads to better patient care and outcomes. A team approach to the planning and placement of dental implants, according to a restoratively-driven treatment plan, has become the norm in quality patient care. Teams can now start with the end result - the planned tooth - and then place the implant into the correct position according to the restorative plan. Guided implant surgery utilizing these advanced technologies has significant applications in digital implant dentistry. The accurate and predictable placement of implants according to a computer-generated virtual treatment plan also allows the transformation of virtual surgery to a non-traumatic and micro-invasive real surgery that maintains a high-level esthetic outcome. This lecture will provide information on some of the perceived advantages and disadvantages for planning guided vs. conventional implant surgery, and cover the basic steps involved in digital workflows.

Bone loss following tooth extraction is an inescapable physiological process. The severity of this resorption depends on several factors and the collapse of soft tissues generally follows the bone level. The techniques for bone and soft tissue augmentation are numerous and more or less complex. The size and shape of the defect and the aesthetic constraints of the anterior area will be decisive in the choice of the most appropriate techniques. Digital technology is taking more and more place in our practice and its daily contribution undoubtedly makes our task easier through 3D imaging, implant-prosthetic planning but also through the visualization of bone augmentation and in particular when they are in 3D up to the placement of the implants using static or dynamic surgical guides. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that the operator, his training and experience remain a key point in the success of the aesthetic challenge in cases of severe resorption.

Digital technologies are rapidly advancing in Dentistry. Computers and Digital Devices are making what were previously manual tasks easier, faster, cheaper and more predictable. In the last years, all these new devices are more and more interconnected so that, a total integrated digital workflow, is almost a reality in daily dental practice. In particular, the surgical and prosthetic procedures in implantology are, nowadays, perfectly integrated using different tools and software like CBCT and Intraoral Scanners. A modern dental office cannot be out of this huge transformation as the new technologies clearly offer a more predictable diagnosis, treatment planning and manufacturing. It is extremely important to be informed of the benefits and the limits of the application of these new devices in our daily practice. The digital flow chart from the acquisition of the data to the final prosthesis application will be presented.

3D imaging has evolved greatly in the last twenty years and has found applications in orthodontics. Acquisition of 3D image data of the hard and soft tissues of the patients, diagnostic analysis and treatment prediction, customized orthodontic appliance become the development trend and workflow of the 3D orthodontics. The traditional plaster model has been gradually replacing by 3D digital models. 3D facial soft tissue scan and CBCT Scan have been applied to clinical orthodontics. The diagnostic process is much easier for orthodontists. However, to command this digital workflow and introduce it in clinical practice is not so easy. The use of such modern digital orthodontic technology requires professionally trained team: orthodontist, orthodontic assistant, orthodontic technician.

Related to implantology , the full digital approach is as important as osseointegration was, decades ago. Based on immediate loading and a full digital workflow from the intraoral scanner , a new implant dentistry is coming, devoted to fulfill patients needs. It changes the way we are treating edentulous patients based on same day full arch temporary restorations, Perfect knowledge of all the tools involved on the treatment: Implants, surgery, stability monitoring, intraoral scanning , design and production of the temporary and also all the workflows to accommodate the clinical case, the Di2Arch workflows, will be presented. The full digital workflow from the same day temp restoration to the final bridge has a lot of advantages for the treatment team and for the patient and it can be of routine use thanks to the workflows that will be presented in the lecture.