Interview: It’s time to get on board with digital technology

What changes have you witnessed in the last decade of dentistry and how have they changed the way that you practise?
One big thing is the trend towards the realistic implementation of minimally invasive dentistry. This trend has involved several things: better restorative materials, better adhesives and a blurring of the boundaries between general and specialist practice.

Composite and ceramic products have improved enormously. Twenty years ago, if you were lucky enough to come across a ‘superstar’ dentist who delivered amazing results with composites, you knew it was because of their unique skills and not their materials. Now, a general dentist with an above-average level of skill and motivation can easily achieve a good level of restoration in a clinically realistic period of time. This has been achieved thanks to advances in material technologies, through better ceramics, composites and adhesives. These improved materials allow for better outcomes and offer new possibilities for general dentists.

The aim of this GDP Forum is to guide general dentists to embrace these changes and move away from what they have been traditionally doing with a view to improving their clinical skills, their practice workflow, and developing an optimal patient journey whilst making their working environment a less stressful one. Through digital dentistry, GDPs can anticipate complications, manage them before they arise and minimise any invasive interventions.

Minimally invasive dentistry and digital smile design will be a key focus at the GDP Forum. What’s your take on these, and what future trends do you foresee for GDPs?
I envisage that GDPs will be elevated to the level of ‘doctor of the whole mouth’ as a result of embracing a concept of comprehensive care where aesthetics and function evolve and merge to eventually be seen as normal dentistry.

GDPs are being given genuine opportunities to move away from doing dentistry in an analogue world, since the price point for digital technologies is now right, and it is hard to argue against the idea that its impact on the dental workflow will benefit both the dentist and patient.

Digital scanning makes it easier for patients to see the potential outcomes of their treatment, and, as a result, they have a better understanding of the implications. It also helps them reach a decision about their treatment faster. GDPs adopting digital technology have a big advantage over others, so it is definitely time to get on board now, and not five years from now. As for Invisalign, almost every patient would say yes to not having to wear braces, so it really is a no-brainer.

What will be the main objectives of your presentation at the Align Technology GDP Forum? What are the key points that you would like attendees to take away and implement?
If you step back and look at where we are now, as opposed to where we were 15 years ago when Align first entered the British market, everyone would concur that the changes have been fairly substantial.

In the past, if adult patients had crooked teeth, for example, they would have been offered fixed appliances. However, in many cases the length of the treatment or visibility of the braces would have put these people off. Their only alternative would have been to have their teeth extensively prepared for a restorative approach.

Now the mainstream philosophy is to create a nice smile whilst being kinder to the patient’s teeth, with more awareness about what happens to these teeth much further down the line. Dentists most certainly need to see the bigger picture now, incorporating their patients’ views, their health, as well as the aesthetics and the function of their mouths, which are becoming fundamental components of what everyday dentistry should be about.

The Align Technology GDP Forum provides me with an opportunity to talk about comprehensive dentistry, looking at a patient’s lifetime care, coordinating the work between teams and across all disciplines. In my presentation, I will be highlighting the importance of predictability in outcomes as well as managing patients’ expectations by anticipating any issues. I will inform attendees about possible limitations, complications or different outcomes prior to them embarking on any treatment.

I will look at ways that minimise the stress of the dentist to create a more synergetic and beneficial approach with the patient, again focusing on lifetime care and prevention, and preferring holistic treatments, which may not be as fast as some patients would want, but treatments that work better at the rate the body allows.

More specifically, I will expand on the future trends of dentistry and how dentists are now embracing treatments that used to be the preserve of specialists, and that is truly exciting.

Thank you very much for the interview.

Note: More information about the UK GDP Forum can be found here.

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