Professional Courtesy Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD Editorial Director, Dentaltown Magazine

 
Expanding Your Skill Set
– by Thomas Giacobbi, DDS, FAGD, Editorial Director, Dentaltown Magazine

In my opinion, there are two clinical topics in dentistry that have been very hot for the last 10 years – CAD/CAM and implants. When times are tough or business is slow, the common advice is to take the free time to add services to your practice or expand on existing offerings. Many of us have thought about incorporating new services, but don’t quite know where or how to get started. I’d like to share a couple of resources that I consider to be a good jumping-off point if you are interested in CAD/CAM or implants.

CAD/CAM Parties
If you are even casually interested in purchasing a CAD/CAM system for in-office restorations, why not attend one of the following first-class events? You can immerse yourself in the information and spend time one-on-one with current users of the technology. Spend some time on Dentaltown.com to get prepared for the meetings. You will be surprised, after reading through some of the CAD/CAM message boards, how many questions you can generate in advance. This is an opportunity to do research the right way before making a significant purchase, and have a good time all at once.

CADapalooza ‘10 • June 17-19, 2010 • Dallas, Texas
D4D Technologies is hosting this second annual event with its partners Henry Schein, 3M ESPE, Ivoclar Vivadent, Premier and more. The full day event on Friday will be held in the brand new Cowboys Stadium, the largest domed structure in the world. You will view lectures and presentations on the largest high definition video screen above the field. Visit www.cadapalooza.com for more details.

CEREC25 • August 26-28, 2010 • Las Vegas, Nevada
Sirona and their partners are hosting a big bash in Las Vegas to celebrate the 25th birthday of CEREC. There will be a number of CAD/CAM related lectures, networking with existing users and celebrity entertainment. Visit www.cerec25.com for details and registration.

If you cannot make it to either one of these meetings, contact the companies directly as they have many unique and informative events throughout the year. Many dentists are having tremendous success with these technologies in their practice, but you must be prepared to do the training properly.

Some Implants Can Be Easy
One of Dentaltown.com’s early contributors, August de Oliveira, DDS, recently released a book, Implants Made Easy, which provides dentists with an entry-level text that describes the placement of implants from start to finish. While the book uses particular resources and brands for illustrations, the information will translate well across all brands. There are full color illustrations on the majority of pages and they clearly demonstrate the steps for implant placement that may not be as easily absorbed watching a surgical video. Let me be clear: I would never suggest that a single resource will make you proficient in a dental procedure. Find a great hands-on surgical course for the implant brand that you wish to use, and read this book before you go and then refer to it when you return to the office.

Thank you for your continued support. Your comments are always welcome: tom@dentaltown.com.
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