With so many choices in materials and available cements, chaos may ensue when deciding to lute or bond each restoration. There has to be a better way to understand and ensure long-term success for our restorations. By the end of this course, the attendee should feel more confident in their cement selection and handling of each restoration.

Visualize how preparation design is fundamental for selection of cement

Learn the indications and usage for the various categories of cements

Understand the appropriate handling of both the tooth and restoration prior to final cementation

 Catapult Education designates this continuing education activity for 1 credit

By the end of this course, the attendee should feel more confident in their cement selection and handling of each restoration.

Dental Treatment: Simplifying Cementation Protocols

Register for the course with Catapult Education to 

Videos

[Earn 1 CE Credit via Catapult Education] With so many choices in materials and available cements, chaos may ensue when deciding to lute or bond each restoration. There has to be a better way to understand and ensure long-term success for our restorations. By the end of this course, the attendee should feel more confident in their cement selection and handling of each restoration.

The Crown is Ready for Delivery, Now What? – Simplifying Cementation Protocols for Modern-Day Restorations

Sharing lessons learned throughout his career, Ankur Gupta, DDS, presents simple solutions to some of the most common—and often most frustrating—aspects of being a dentist. With advice on everything from handling aggravating clinical situations to overcoming the challenges of managing a practice, this course has something to teach every general dentist.

Learn how to own mistakes from your past and identify the lessons and opportunities they present

Learn tips and techniques to simplify general dentistry

Understand the importance keeping up with the latest material research

Gain an understanding of the legal responsibilities for diagnosing anything visible in clinical images

Ankur Gupta, DDS, presents simple solutions to some of the most common—and often most frustrating—aspects of being a dentist.

Dental Treatment: Evading the Downsides of Practicing Dentistry

[Earn 1 CE Credit via Catapult Education] Sharing lessons learned throughout his career, Ankur Gupta, DDS, presents simple solutions to some of the most common—and often most frustrating—aspects of being a dentist. With advice on everything from handling aggravating clinical situations to overcoming the challenges of managing a practice, this course has something to teach every general dentist.

Evading the Downsides of Practicing Dentistry – Products, Materials & techniques to Make Everyday Dentistry Enjoyable & Rewarding

Productive Dentist Academy’s New Features Aim to Create Inclusivity and Accessibility for Dental Websites | Image Credit: © Productive Dentist Academy

Productive Dentist Academy (PDA), a leading dental consulting and marketing firm, announced a significant step forward in its commitment to inclusivity and accessibility online. All dental practice websites produced by PDA will now offer improved accessibility options, including reduced motion features and dyslexia-friendly enhancements. These enhancements are designed to ensure an inclusive digital experience for users of all abilities.

“Website accessibility is something I truly take to heart. Having an accessible website means that it is developed for users with disabilities such as vision impairment,” says Kenny Davenport, PDA’s UX Design Engineer, in a press release announcing the new features.

Davenport’s inspiration for this endeavor came from a personal experience in which he observed a family member with severe visual impairment using specialized tools to access a website. This encounter

highlighted the challenges faced by individuals with disabilities in accessing digital content and ignited a commitment to make a difference.

Davenport, who is passionate about this initiative, emphasizes the importance of website accessibility, noting that users with disabilities should be able to navigate websites comfortably. With the introduction of reduced motion and dyslexia-friendly options, PDA hopes to ensure that all website users can access digital content seamlessly.

PDA’s newly implemented features include increased visual contrast, larger text and cursors, highlighted links, and reduced motion options for individuals who are sensitive to motion. These features are designed to also make the content more reader friendly for those with dyslexia, further enhancing overall user experience.

Using rigorous testing and adjustments, PDA meets standard accessibility criteria but also takes additional steps to ensure the inclusivity of its websites. The company is dedicated to continually incorporating new features to improve the user experience for all visitors.

“We have been gradually integrating these new accessibility enhancements to the websites we produce, and they will be available on all PDA-created websites in the coming months,” says PDA Co-founder & CEO Dr. Victoria Peterson in the press release. “At PDA, we believe everyone should have the opportunity to easily engage with dental practices online to learn the information and services each practice provides without any barriers.”

Additional information on PDA and the websites the company creates for its dental-practice clients, can be found online at 

PDA is an award-winning dental business and marketing consulting firm based in Anacortes, Washington. The company built its Investment Grade Practice™ platform to be the advocate and level the playing fields so independent dentists can optimize profitability, improve patient experience, and align teams to the dentist's core vision.

Founded in 2004, employee-owned PDA guides thousands of dentists internationally so they can make confident decisions as a leader, re- engage their passion, and achieve financial and personal satisfaction. PDA provides consulting services and continuing education for dental professionals. PDA’s Dental Coaching, Team Development, and Educational Programs focus on 4 key areas of the dental practice: business, systems, marketing , and culture.

Articles

The company wants anyone who visits a PDA-created website to enjoy the experience and convenience.

Productive Dentist Academy’s New Features Aim to Create Inclusivity and Accessibility for Dental Websites

Dentsply Sirona Updates DS Core with New Features. Image credit: © Dentsply Sirona

Dentsply Sirona’s cloud platform, DS Core, has received an update with a few new features to further strengthen the connection between dental professionals, labs, specialists, and other collaborators. Because of the cloud functionality, DS Core will receive these updates as soon as users log on for the day.

“With DS Core, Dentsply Sirona offers a cloud solution that is device-independent. Users can access and use the functions from anywhere,” Group Vice President Connected Technology Solutions at Dentsply Sirona, Max Milz, says in a press release from the company. “It’s all in 1 place, can be controlled intuitively like a smartphone, and can provide great simplification to the IT infrastructure of practices and labs.”

DS Core’s new enhanced functions provide even more opportunities for dental practices and labs to optimize workflows. The new “Communication Canvas,” enables efficient and illustrative patient communication. Its user interface allows clinicians to arrange patient images such as x-ray images, scans, and photos, in whatever way best illustrates the treatment plan to patients, as well as enabling an annotation tool through this feature. Patients can make informed treatment decisions with this tool and their clinician, per the press release.

Dentsply Sirona has updated its DS Core viewer function as well, adding support STL and PLY data formats to expand user capabilities, especially in regards to third-party intraoral scanners. Along with the viewer update, DS Core will also receive a new function in the form of a unified ordering system. This simplified ordering system will let clinicians communicate directly with their preferred dental lab, placing and managing orders, according to the press release. It will also allow labs to export worksheets as PDFs, further standardizing communication and making it easier to meet dental practice’s–and by extension, patient’s–needs.

DS Core is designed specifically to integrate into any clinician’s workflow, tailored to fit whatever their needs may be. These updates will only strengthen this customizability for clinicians like Dr Eugene Lee of Sydney, Australia, whose testimony in Dentsply Sirona’s press release praised the product’s various features.

“With DS Core, having my milling machine at one practice and a scanner in the other is no longer a problem,” Dr Lee says in the press release. “DS Core allows me to send data almost instantaneously between the 2, and the ease of use allows either me or my staff to scan and then mill or print, which helps me save time and effort.”

DS Core touts an open format, with the ability to bring in data from all intraoral scanners as well as the most frequently used file formats like STL and DICOM. A monthly prescription will net users full access to DS Core and all of its features, including automatic software updates and freedom from licenses and manual updates. To learn more about DS Core or its new, enhanced features, visit the 

Dentsply Sirona’s cloud-based platform has received a slew of new features, further boosting digital workflows and communication between dental labs and practices. 

Dentsply Sirona Updates DS Core with New Features

Overjet Unveils FDA Approval for Innovative PARL Segmentation Capability | Image Credit: © Overjet

Dental artificial intelligence (AI) frontrunner Overjet has announced FDA 501(k) clearance for its groundbreaking Periapical Radiolucency (PARL) Assist device. PARL Assist is designed to aid dentists by identifying and segmenting instances of PARL on periapical radiographs. This milestone marks the company's fifth FDA Clearance, setting a record in the Dental AI space, according to Overjet.

With this recent clearance, Overjet secures its position as the first and only Dental AI provider capable of detecting and outlining instances of PARL on periapical radiographs for patients ages 12 and above. This achievement follows Overjet's trend of innovation, having become the inaugural FDA-cleared provider of AI-powered Bone Level measurements in 2021, and the sole FDA-cleared provider of AI-powered Caries Segmentation in 2022.

In the development of PARL Assist, Overjet harnessed substantial clinical expertise, rigorous testing, and validation. Expert clinicians annotated tens of thousands of clinically validated instances of periapical radiolucencies across a diverse range of clinical scenarios to train Overjet's algorithms. The reference standard testing set, establishing the quality bar for its AI, was meticulously created with multi-consensus agreement by expert US licensed endodontists, the company states.

“Dentists, for the first time in their clinical lifetimes, will be able to leverage AI in order to identify teeth that require endodontic testing and observation or potentially treatment, and utilize the precise segmentation (outlines) of the lesion to drastically improve patient communication and understanding,” Teresa Dolan, DDS, chief dental officer at Overjet, says in a press release

Periapical lesions can be caused by tooth decay, trauma to the tooth, or a previous dental procedure, and are often ‘silent’ with patients presenting without symptoms, while potentially active infection is persisting. Beyond the clear benefits of accuracy and consistency, Overjet’s technology plays a critical role in helping doctors educate patients about their oral health,” Dr Dolan adds in the press release.

Overjet's PARL Assist product will identify and alert clinicians in various clinical scenarios, building on pre-existing clearances. Two illustrative scenarios include explicitly calling out teeth with carious lesions extending into the pulp alongside a PARL lesion and flagging teeth with pre-existing root canal therapy that potentially has unresolved PARL, prompting the clinician to investigate and test clinically.

The efficiency of the AI model and testing led to the most expeditious clearance in the dental AI space to date, spearheaded by Dr. Deepthi Paknikar, leveraging her dual expertise as an AI regulatory expert and a US licensed dentist. Dr Paknikar remarks in the press release, "We're honored to see the successful and speedy FDA clearance for PARL Assist. More innovation is on its way from Overjet, and I'm excited to support our development efforts and put new capabilities through appropriate regulatory scrutiny."

Wardah Inam, PhD, founder and CEO of Overjet, underscores the company's commitment to delivering optimal patient outcomes, saying this in the press release: "From day one, our focus has been on delivering the best outcomes for patients. That's why we continue to invest in building AI that gives dentists the best possible insights and packages these learnings in a format that patients can understand. Today, we're proud to share the world's first PARL Segmentation AI and announce its FDA clearance."

Aligned with its past major FDA-cleared solutions, Overjet collaborated closely with practicing dentists and its in-house clinical team of over 10 clinicians during the development of PARL Assist. Several Overjet customers participated in a BETA program, providing valuable feedback ahead of the official announcement.

Dentists in the BETA program noted the technology's impactful nature, especially given the challenges of detecting and diagnosing instances of PARL compared to caries. Regarding the accuracy of Overjet's detection and segmentation, a BETA dentist shared in the press release, "It was really spot on, even caught instances of PARL which I did not even pay attention to."

Overjet's new PARL Assist product is already in active use with leading dental service organizations (DSOs) and dental practices. In the coming weeks, Overjet plans to release the functionality for all its customers as a standard component in its Clinical Intelligence Platform.

Dental artificial intelligence company’s PARL Assist is designed to detect and outline instances of PARL on periapical radiographs for patients ages 12 and above.

Overjet Unveils FDA Approval for Innovative PARL Segmentation Capability

Retainer Club to Launch Analytics and Revenue Growth Platform RC2. Image credit: © Retainer Club

Retainer Club has announced the launch of its new RC2 platform, a product that is designed specifically to serve dental service organizations (DSOs), orthodontists, and individual practices in post-treatment retainer delivery and care, according to a press release from the company. With the tools on the RC2 platform, Retainer Club wants to help practices boost revenue and expand patient care, according to president and co-founder, Dr Blair Feldman.

“RC2 is a game-changer for practices,” Dr Feldman says in the press release. “Our mission is to provide the tools and support to enhance patient care and boost revenue. We are taking a giant leap towards that goal, and are excited to see the positive impact it will have on the industry.”

RC2 aims to “change the game” using 6 key features on the platform, each one designed for both profitability and patient value. The features include:

A custom smile care plan that includes post-treatment support

New patient marketing such as digital advertising

Patient management and engagement to ensure practice patients are aware of treatment plans, updates, and other important communications.

Patients can order a retainer that fits them with the confidence that their treatment journey is in good hands through the new RC2 platform, according to dental practice consultant and orthodontist Dr Dustin Burleson.

“I’ve been following Retainer Club for 4 years now–and the new RC2 platform will revolutionize the retainer model,” Dr Burleson expressed excitement in the press release. “Dental groups will either be all-in early–or playing catch-up a year from now.”

To learn more about the new RC2 platform or Retainer Club, visit the 

This new platform from Retainer Club has 6 key features designed to streamline the retainer process for dental service organizations and individual practices. 

Retainer Club to Launch Analytics and Revenue Growth Platform RC2

Stephen DiBenedotto, DDS, FAGD, talks about dental artificial intelligence and the capabilities he's unlocked using software from Videa AI.

Discussing Dental Artificial Intelligence with Stephen DiBenedotto, DDS, FAGD

 interview, Steven DiBenedetto, DDS, FAGD, explains how he uses VideaAI software and how this VideaHealth artificial intelligence dental solution is helping both patients and clinicians in several practices, including those within 42 North Dental, the largest dental service organization in the Northeast. Dr DiBenedetto is the dental director for Southern Connecticut Dental Group in Southbury, Connecticut, and is also the regional clinical director for 42 North Dental.

Hi everyone. My name is Dr Steven DiBenedetto. I am the dental director for Southern Connecticut Dental Group in Southbury, Connecticut. I'm also the regional Clinical Director for 42 North Dental based out of Waltham, Massachusetts.

I began with VideaHealth probably about a year ago, when we were just kind of getting things off the ground, and really got to see it evolve from, you know, pretty much straightforward caries detection with interproximal lesions to all the way to seeing periodontal issues, radiographic bone loss, and periapical pathologies. I can honestly say it's truly transformed my practice for myself and for my associates and specialists in the office. It has helped us as it allows us to evaluate x-rays in real time. As you know, we're speaking to a patient, educating them on what our findings are and what their treatment needs are. As we go through the process of showing them on the x-ray, what we see in the VideaHealth system is really nice because it really directs folks to what they need to be looking at and focusing on.

For me, it's been really helpful in finding some smaller lesions that I might have dismissed or thought maybe we would watch, and it's really drawn my eyes to those areas that ended up being something [and] that I was really happy that I treated.

For my associates, the same thing…we've picked up on more pathology for same-day treatment, and it's just a really nice asset to have within our practice. I really look forward to some of the future ideas with VideaHealth. I know the folks at the office are really working to try to dial in any improved accuracies and how we can narrow in on certain areas and attach education points to these areas in terms of what treatments are needed and what follow-up care would be necessary.

Again, it's really been a game-changer for my office. I've really seen an increase in productivity among myself and providers. I think I'm improving the quality of care that I'm able to offer to my patients, and I really look forward to the future with VideaHealth integrated within our offices. You know, to add VideaHealth is very easy to onboard within a practice. We had great support from the VideaHealth team. They were onsite if needed, virtually anytime that we needed any questions answered. The software is pretty seamless with most practice management software

 right off the bat so it makes things nice and easy to really integrate with your workflow. I can't say enough how much the support is really important to us and how much we're appreciative that they're able to be there and help us out.

Stephen DiBenedotto, DDS, FAGD, talks about dental artificial intelligence and the capabilities he's unlocked using software from VideaAI. [3 minutes]

What Should They Teach More of in Dental School? | Image Credit: © andrey_orlov - stock.adobe.com

Dental school is jam-packed with courses that teach essential clinical skills. But what if there was room for another course? What would be the most beneficial to today’s clinicians? We asked our editorial advisory board to weigh in, and here’s what they suggest.

John Flucke, DDS, technology editor and chief dental editor at 

, says that his generation could have used more business advice. While he could do OK dentistry when he graduated, Dr Flucke knew nothing about running a business. Luckily, Dr Flucke’s dad did, which helped enormously.

“How to write a business plan and determine expenses and revenue are essential for dentists to understand, particularly when it’s time to go to the bank for a loan,” Dr Flucke says.

Speaker and educator Jeffrey Lineberry, DDS, AAACD, has a private practice in North Carolina and agrees that business, specifically a business planning course, would help young clinicians. For example, dental schools could give objective pros and cons regarding the different ways a clinician can practice.

“What I am finding now is some schools talk more about the corporate world and others about the private practice world, and, like everything else in life, one size doesn’t fit all,” Dr Lineberry says.

Dr Flucke also likes the idea of dental schools presenting career options. Sometimes dentists don’t realize the implications of their decisions right out of school.

For example, young doctors with dental school debt want to earn money as soon as possible. An attractive option is to work as an associate for a dental service organization (DSO). However, once they start making money, it can be difficult to leave. If a DSO career is what a dentist wants, then there is no problem, but if not, it could be a different story. Having those scenarios presented early can help avoid conflicts later.

“Not to be anticorporate, because they have their place, and there is room for everything,” Dr Flucke says. “But I think it would be nice to know how to manage these situations if that career path is not your long-term goal.”

Jason Goodchild, DMD, has a different perspective regarding business training in dental school. In addition to being a practicing dentist and the vice president of clinical affairs at Premier Dental Products Company, he is also an associate clinical professor in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Creighton University School of Dentistry, in Omaha, Nebraska, and an adjunct assistant professor in the Department of Diagnostic Sciences, Rutgers School of Dental Medicine, in Newark, New Jersey. He thinks that on the one hand, learning about business is not the purpose of dental school, but on the other, saying nothing about it isn’t right either. 

Dr Goodchild thinks offering business courses as electives could be a practical way to address the subject. However, they shouldn’t be part of the mandatory curriculum that everyone takes.

“Some people might want to be in public health or research, so those courses wouldn’t necessarily apply to them,” Dr Goodchild explains.

Soft Skills Shouldn’t Get the Hard Pass, Either

Sarah Jebreil, DDS, AAACD, says psychology and the art of managing patient personalities is an area where dental schools could spend more time with dental students. She says that clinicians’ communication styles can make or break a patient’s experience, and an understanding of psychology facilitates that. Moreover, it helps a clinician understand why patients who seem difficult might behave the way they do and how to manage interactions with them.

“A lot of psychological work is needed to understand these different patient psyches and to communicate with them. We always talk about different ways to communicate effectively,” Dr Jebreil explains, “but ‘effectively’ is different for each patient’s personality.”

 editorial advisory board, thinks soft skills training might also enhance team member selection and management. It also helps clinicians identify patients who might not be a match for their practice and clinical style and gives dentists the language to help them direct the patient to find a better fit. While programs for clinicians cover these areas after graduation, Dr Jebreil would like to see dental schools teach this from the beginning to avoid newbie mistakes in case selection.

“As a new dentist, we are so excited to do work and get to practice. But you want to be careful about who you commit yourself to,” she explains.

“You can be a technically good dentist, but if you can’t form relationships and build rapport and make people feel comfortable and work with a team, it’s hard to translate those clinical skills into something meaningful in practice—unless you’re working on unconscious patients all day,” Dr Goodchild affirms. “But since patients walk in with fears and anxieties and expectations and past experiences, being able to deal with them as people could really help.”

Managing debt is a concern for newly graduated dental students. International speaker and mentor Ankur Gupta, DDS— also a member of the 

 editorial advisory board—graduated 20 years ago with a significant amount of debt, which he describes as high for the time. Today, it is not unusual for people to graduate with even more debt than he did.

The situation was also compounded by his other financial obligations at the time. Dr Gupta took out a practice start-up loan from the bank and bought a house with his wife. The debt was stressful for him.

Dr Gupta would like dental schools to address debt management with students before they graduate, so they don’t feel the psychological pressure he did about his debt after graduation.

“A lot of kids are graduating and they’re going to have quite a bucket of money that they owe,” he says. “There are so many nice strategies on how to live life in such a way where you can be financially free and never feel financially desperate.”

Dr Gupta learned a spending strategy from a podcast that helped him get out of debt. He often thinks about how different his life would be today if he hadn’t stumbled upon that episode and embraced paying off debt. He would like to see dental students today get more formal counseling from financial experts rather than leaving it up to chance.

“One class in dental school where a reasonable adult could tell students what their options are in terms of lifestyle would help,” Dr Gupta says.

Along those lines, Dr Lineberry would love to see mentor programs embedded in dental schools to deepen dental students’ education faster. A mentor can help point a clinician in the right direction for education, practice management, and career path. Dr Lineberry says dental school doesn’t cover all the things that come up in real dental practices. Young clinicians could benefit from having someone to contact for help or guidance when needed.

“It’s like going to someone who has ridden a bike many times, and you have never ridden one or only ridden it once. The mentor can help further the student’s education quicker,” he says. “A good mentor can also be there to support them not only from the standpoint of teaching them dental but also bouncing ideas off somebody who has had various experiences.”

Emphasize the Lifelong Learning Aspect of Dentistry

Dr Lineberry thinks dental students should consider dental school as the beginning of their education. Education is a process for the entirety of the clinician’s career.

“Your license is like a permit that lets you learn for the rest of your life,” Dr Flucke agrees.

“Dental school is just the beginning, and then you have to continue to move forward,” Dr Goodchild adds.

Dr Lineberry thinks dental schools could facilitate this concept by introducing their final-year students to educational opportunities outside of dental school.

“Expose them to things like the Academy of General [Dentistry], Spear Education, the Pankey Institute, or any other educational opportunities out there,” Dr Lineberry says.

Dr Flucke thinks mapping continuing education paths for newly graduated dentists with specific clinical goals could also help. For example, if a dentist wants to do root canals or get into dental implants, schools could provide a continuing plan to get them there from vetted programs.

“You have to continue learning, which I am a huge believer in. But things can be so overwhelming, like what to learn or how to learn,” Dr Flucke says. “It would help if [schools] would guide them.”

Dr Lineberry says a dental reality class could also be excellent for dental students. He wants new clinicians to know that nobody is a perfect dentist, and everyone makes mistakes. Embracing that fallibility early in their career and learning to support other clinicians, who, for the most part, try to do the right things for the right reasons, are areas that could benefit young dentists.

“We need to embrace one another,” Dr Lineberry says, “not try to tear each other down when we make mistakes. What we should do as a profession is work toward furthering the overall education and the profession, not criticizing other clinicians’ work.”

“A lot of dentists are very quick to comment on previous work,” Dr Jebreil states. “It is important to back up your profession, and we shouldn’t assume anything.”

Dr Lineberry says in the absence of a class like that, dental school students should create a network of people who support them and help young clinicians get through a bad clinical day.

“If what God put in there doesn’t last, how can I, as a human, do better? You can’t. Things fail,” Dr Flucke says in agreement. “Physicians are taught that no matter how well you perform, your patient will die sometimes. Because of that, they learn what they can from that and then move on. Dentistry could use a lot more of that.”

Clinically, Dr Flucke would like dental schools to explore caries detection more with young clinicians. From the technology available to leveraging the utility of various software systems to determine a proper treatment plan, he thinks these skills benefit the inexperienced. Additionally, these conversations are essential to young clinicians to help them prepare for innovation and disruption in the standards of care.

“It’s important at some point to talk about where things are going in dentistry,” Dr Flucke says.

Also, writing good clinical notes is vital. Dr Flucke has served as a state peer review chairman for over 20 years and has reviewed many cases where things were problematic. He noticed often that the notes were either illegible or minimal. He says clear notes with a diagnosis and details about the procedure and any discussions with the patient can be critical.

“Even something as simple as [a note like] ‘caries was 

 deep, no exposure but advised the patient that this tooth may need a root canal in the future’ can help immensely in the future,” Dr Flucke says.

Also, dental students and every clinician should know their limitations and when to refer a case. Per Dr Flucke, even a clinician with the best intentions tries to help by pushing the envelope of what they can do and ends up “in the soup.”

“We all have an inner voice that we usually listen to,” he says. “But, occasionally, we override it. Doctors should know when they hear that voice, or if they have doubts in their ability to provide the best outcome, there is no shame in handing the case off to others.”

Dr Gupta would also like to see dental schools teach new dentists about implant overdentures. He likes how accessible they are for patients and how much they improve the patient experience over traditional dentures.

However, Dr Gupta says few dentists feel comfortable doing them because they didn’t learn how in dental school. As a result, few patients even know they exist and instead only hear about traditional dentures or an all-on-6 implant system that few patients can afford.

“Anybody who is facing partial or full edentulism should at least know this option exists, and there [are] too many people who don’t because the dentist doesn’t feel comfortable with them,” Dr Gupta says.

Dr Gupta wants every dental student to know how to do implant overdentures because of the improvements these treatments make in patients’ lives. Delivering them to his patients has made him feel personally and professionally uplifted.

“There’s not been one procedure in my entire career that’s been as gratifying as this or that has made me feel like I made this person’s life better,” Dr Gupta says. “I don’t think that it is OK that just a random group of people who happen to come upon a CE course about them are the ones who know how to do this. Everybody should know how to do them.”

Dental schools have integrated digital dentistry technology into the curriculum, but there remain areas recent graduates have told Dr Goodchild they would like to learn more about. For example, one graduate said he would like to understand how to read CBCTs and the material science that explains how to achieve a better bond in specific situations.

“If you can understand the why of using something, you can match up for the best possible outcome,” Dr Goodchild says.

That said, curriculum planning is a complex process, and one Dr Goodchild has seen firsthand. When you add something in, you have to take something out or pack more in less time.

“Then it becomes incumbent upon the learner to then fill in the gaps because they can’t do everything,” he explains.

That said, Dr Goodchild would have dental schools explain some of the other pathways in dentistry. For example, careers in public health, teaching, and research could use more class time. Additionally, he would have them teach dentists how to be better public servants and treat the underprivileged through federally qualified health centers.

“The world is big. There [are] lots of things to do in dentistry, and that’s exciting,” Dr Goodchild says. “We need teachers and people working in public service, and those are important parts, too.”

Let’s imagine a world where dental schools want suggestions on what to include in their curriculums. What would benefit new dentists most? We asked our editorial advisory board to weigh in, and here’s what they said. 

What Should They Teach More of in Dental School?

3D Systems announced that it has received FDA 510(k) clearance for the manufacturing of denture bases, supporting artificial teeth for the creation of full or partial removable dentures using the NextDent® Base material.

NextDent Base is the third generation of the company's denture base material which has been optimized to offer desired mechanical properties including high break resistance and precise and repeatable printability. This material’s durable and impact-resistant physical properties make it a suitable alternative to traditional denture base materials and production workflows. With optimal esthetic outcomes in mind, NextDent Base is available in 4 common gingiva shades.

In a press release announcing the FDA 510(k) clearance, 3D Systems says incorporating NextDent Base into te company’s digital dental workflow enhances speed, productivity, efficiency, and precision. The release also included positive feedback from dental professionals who tested the material.

“This new material is truly amazing! No support bar across the heels, lovely delicate supports which are easy to remove, and the fit of the teeth to denture and denture to bar show just how stable this is,” says Steven Campbell, RDT, FCGDent,from Nexus Dental Laboratory in Harrogate, UK. “We have just started trials with it, but already I can see the strength of this is going to make it an incredible material to keep an eye on. We are so confident in the strength we see on early prints that we are going to run some test partials with it.”

The press release also included a quote from Kunal Lal, DDS, MS, Board Certified Prosthodontist at LAL Dental in New York, who emphasized the benfits of the material’s flexibility in thinner sections and suitability for same-day interim RPD fabrication.

NextDent Base joins 3D Systems' extensive lineup of NextDent resins. With 30 different Nextdent resins, 3D Systems offers the largest resin selection available from any dental 3D printing material supplier.

“Our goal is to ensure we are addressing our customers’ needs with our solutions, and this is yet another step in achieving that goal,” Chuck Stapleton, vice president and general manager, dental, 3D Systems, says in the press release. “With the clearance of NextDent Base, we continue to add to our portfolio of dental 3D printing materials that are enabling dental laboratories and clinics to address a wide range of applications. These offerings are helping our customers accelerate the adoption of additive manufacturing as part of their workflows and drive new levels of speed, productivity, efficiency, and precision while also providing opportunities to improve the patient experience.”

NextDent Base is also approved for use in the European Union, Canada, and other regions of the globe. NextDent 3D printing materials for medical devices, including NextDent Base, are biocompatible and CE-certified in accordance with Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC. These materials are listed with the FDA and registered in various other countries.

This durable resin material is designed for the efficient production of esthetic denture bases.

3D Systems Gains FDA Clearance for 3rd Generation NextDent® Base 3D Printing Resin

At last week’s international Formnext event in Frankfurt, Germany, Nexa3D, launched the xCURE Desktop UV curing system designed to reduce post-processing time by as much as 80% and to bring ultrafast post-processing to the desktop.

The ultrafast 3D printing company also introduced 3 new industrial resins at the additive manufacturing and industrial 3D printing conference, providing new applications for the dental industry as well as automotive, aerospace, and electronics markets.

Designed to redefine UV curing for all resin printers, the versatile xCURE Desktop is a high-powered UV curing system that supports 3 diﬀerent wavelengths (365nm, 385nm, and 405nm). The unit is housed in a rugged, anodized metal enclosure for optimal durability. According to the manufacturer, the xCURE Desktop reduces cure times by up to 80% with most parts curing in less than 10 minutes. This allows for efficient workflows as users can post-process parts faster, and Nexa3D’s predeﬁned curing workﬂows are said to guarantee consistent mechanical properties and predictable part performance.

Saremco Print CROWNTEC is a new composite resin specially formulated for biocompatible permanent dental restorations. The most common use for the resin is for temporary and permanent crowns, but it oﬀers a wide range of applications, including inlays, onlays, veneers, dentures, and temporary bridges. With multiple shades and optimal esthetics, it is formulated to ensure a perfect match for any dental restoration.

Also new from Nexa3D, xPRO9400-FR is produced in partnership with BASF ForwardAM and sets a new standard in ﬂame retardant 3D printing materials. This rigid material with a UL94V-0 rating is halogen-free and features an exceptionally high heat deﬂection temperature (HDT) above250°C.

PRO9499 White from Henkel® is described as a cost-eﬀective modeling material that delivers superb feature resolution and accuracy. It maintains a brilliant matte white ﬁnish even after post-curing and features exceptional detail, making it ideal for a wide variety of modeling applications.

Nexa3D says these new products are a testament to the company’s commitment to innovation, quality, and versatility for ultrafast, high-throughput 3D printing. The company is passionate about digitizing supply chains sustainably by pushing the limits of additive manufacturing.

Earlier this year, Nexa3D announced an expansion of its digital dentistry portfolio with the release of 2 new dental resins and a dental workflow at Lab Day 2023 in Chicago, Illinois.

The 2 new resins joined a portfolio of 8 validated dental resins from the ultrafast polymer 3D printing leader bringing the total number at that time to 10, further breaking dental 3D printing productivity barriers by increasing production throughput by as much as 50 percent, according to the company.

Partnerships with world-class material suppliers and its open materials platform are designed to unlock the full potential of additively manufactured polymers for volume production. Automated software tools optimize the entire production cycle using process interplay algorithms that ensure part performance and production consistency while reducing waste, energy, and minimizing carbon footprint, the company states.

New desktop system designed to dramatically reduce curing time; new photopolymer resins expand applications in dental markets and other industries.