Hosted by Ivoclar Vivadent, the Symposium, entitled, ‘All-Ceramics meets Implant Esthetics’, discussed the latest restorative materials and their clinical applications.
Josef Richter, member of the Ivoclar Vivadent Corporate Management Team and chief sales officer, said, “The purpose of the International Expert Symposium was to address the topics dentists and dental technicians are concerned with these days. What they want to know is, ‘How can we improve our working technique?’ We invited some of the world’s most distinguished lecturers to present their concepts and methods. The opportunity of exchanging experiences was given, and it proved to be a huge success.”
Highlights of the Symposium included, Professor Nitzan Bichacho from Hebrew University, in Jerusalem, and Arndt Happe from Germany, presenting the treatment protocols they developed to produce highly esthetic restorations, and sharing useful tips with the audience. Andreas Kunz, a dental technician from Berlin, demonstrated his system for achieving customised esthetic results in edentulous patients; whilst Yukio Kusama, from Tokyo, explained the advantages and disadvantages of different abutment types; and August Bruguera, a dental technician, from Barcelona, shared the following tip: The best results, with pressed lithium disilicate (LS2) abutments (glass ceramic) on titanium implants, are achieved with the medium-opacity blocks.
Almost all of the speakers commented on the excellent clinical performance of all-ceramics. Urs Brodbeck, from the Dental Clinic North-Zurich, Switzerland, presented patient cases from his 23-year experience with dental ceramics. He illustrated to the audience their long-term success, lasting esthetics and high marginal integrity over time, with minimised risks of discolouration or chipping.
One UK attendee, Simon Caxton, dental technician at Simplee dental ceramics, commented, “From this event, I learnt so much from discussing how to achieve the best results, using the materials that we have available to us.
“If you ever get the chance to attend one of these events; I highly recommend that you do so. Not only did I find it very educational, but I also drew great inspiration from seeing what can be achieved when using the right system.”
Discussing modern communication, Christian Coachman from Brazil, Eric van Dooren, from Belgium, and Galip Gürel, from Turkey, explained The Digital Smile Design concept. They join forces to treat patients, using online meetings, video conferencing and desktop sharing, without ever having to leave their individual workplaces.
Before the symposium, six specialists took part in a round-table discussion. Together with Armin Ospelt, head of global marketing at Ivoclar Vivadent, they answered audience questions in a panel discussion.
Due to the success of this Symposium, it will now be held every two years, in a different European venue each time.