Thinking Differently About Dentistry
The ethos of One Schein was clearly in evidence last weekend, when Henry Schein Dental, Software of Excellence, MediHoldings and Biohorizons came together to create a brand-new event experience for UK dentists and their teams.
The two-day, Dental Innovation Symposium was held at the contemporary, Pullman St Pancras Hotel in central London and for the first time at a UK dental event, it brought together all the different elements; business, clinical and digital, required to make a dental practice tick.
The premise of the Dental Innovation Symposium was to invite dentists to ‘open their minds and think differently’, and over 300 delegates from practices across the UK did just that. The event was opened by Ben Flewett, Managing Director at Software of Excellence, who launched the two-day event by highlighting the increasing evidence linking oral health to heart attack, stroke, diabetes and dementia, which Ben referred to as the “plagues of our time”.
The audience then listened intently to Friday’s non-dental keynote speakers – Steve Head and Mandy Hickson – who challenged delegates to re-think the way they motivate and engage their teams.
Steve is a motivational speaker and inspirational trainer. His highly entertaining presentation, ‘Making the 1% Difference’, demonstrated the importance of creating a resilient mindset and provided tips on how to manage stress and so improve performance.
Mandy is a former RAF (Royal Air Force) pilot. Through sheer tenacity and dedication, Mandy became only the second woman to fly the Tornado GR4 operationally. The audience sat spellbound as she shared her incredible stories from the front line, providing vivid, first-hand insight into how communication and empowerment can help get the best from people in high pressure situations.
The two-day event incorporated a series of smaller presentations and breakout sessions, covering a wide range of topics including digital dentistry, practice performance, teamwork, dental implants, orthodontics, lasers, marketing and finance. These topics were delicately interwoven to create a blend that offered wide appeal and enabled delegates to choose subjects that were most relevant to their needs.
Featuring a first-class line-up of some of dentistry’s leading experts, these sessions built on what had gone before and offered practical tools and perceptive insight into the many different components that create a successful, efficient, patient-centred practice.
“The event has been fantastic. The speakers have been very relevant and the way they address issues has just been wonderful. I’ve learnt a lot about innovation in dentistry, where dentistry’s going in the next couple of years, about marketing and how to brand your practice. I’ve learnt such a lot in a short time. It’s been brilliant – I’d recommend it absolutely.”
Dr Kolade Orungbemi BDS, Dentist, Globe Dental Practice, Nantwich, Cheshire
As UK dentistry becomes increasingly competitive, the need to differentiate in the minds of patients is crucial. The Dental Innovation Symposium brought new ideas and a fresh way of thinking to dentists and their teams and demonstrated that by utilising new technology and following standard business practices, a smoother, more efficient workflow can be achieved, delivering better clinical outcomes for patients and boosting practice performance. The Dental Innovation Symposium went way beyond expectations, and more than met its billing as the newest and most exciting event in UK dentistry!
“This event is probably the only event in the whole year where innovation and digital dentistry is really put at the forefront. I think it’s a great event that everyone should attend, not only for clinical tips and tricks which are invaluable, but also for management of practices and how you can improve the patient journey. All of these together make this a great event and I’d recommend it to everyone.”
Dr Dev Patel BDS PG Cert (Dip), Principal Dentist, Dental Beauty
www.softwareofexcellence.co.uk
