School of Dentistry hosts 19 dental schools for Digital Dentistry Educators Workshop
UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry served as the host of the 2023 Digital Dentistry Educators Workshop in February.
Held Feb. 6-7, School of Dentistry faculty, laboratory technicians, and information technology members joined those from 19 other dental institutions across the U.S. to discuss digital dentistry. The workshop was comprised of a series of lectures and interactive discussions about the essential steps for integration of computer assisted design/computer assisted manufacturing (CAD/CAM) in the predoctoral dental curriculum.
“To be able to host and teach people how we are using digital dentistry at UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry is both humbling and rewarding,” said Assistant Professor Michelle Thompson, DDS, director of digital dentistry. “Everyone is at different stages with digital dentistry. Some schools have not implemented, and others have already but are looking for new ideas or ways digital dentistry can be applied. We are one of those. It’s been more than 3.5 years since we integrated, so this workshop allows us to help others while also learning how we can continue to grow our efforts.”
The Digital Dentistry Educators Workshop was designed for dental faculty, information technology personnel, and laboratory technicians involved in instruction of digital restorative workflow in a dental school setting. Sixty attendees discussed potential digital workflows for fixed restorations, dentures, implant planning, and smile design in an educational setting. Continuing dental education was also offered to participants.
The workshop covered a wide spectrum of topics through live-lecture presentations and included:
- “Integrating Digital Dentistry into Preclinical/Simulation Education”
- Marilia Sly, DDS, MSD, UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry
- “Integrating Digital Dentistry into Clinical Education”
- Stephen Laman, DDS, UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry
- “Behind the Scenes: The Ins and Outs of IT”
- Kristine Estes, UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry
- “Ready, Set, Calibrate!”
- Michelle Thompson, DDS, UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry
- “Partnering with our Laboratory Technicians”
- William “Wil” Darling, UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry
- Andrea Velasquez, UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry
- “Prevent Enamel Cruelty: Teaching Tooth Preparation for Conservative CAD/CAM Restorations”
- Steven Gold, DDS, Western University College of Dental Medicine
- “A Practical Evidence-Based Decision Tree for Preparation of All-Ceramic Partial Restorations: A Teaching Tool”
- Camila Zamperini, DDS, PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Dentistry
- “Faculty Resistance to Digital Implementation Group Discussion”
- David Brock, DDS, MS, University of Kentucky College of Dentistry
- “Scanners, Haptics & Software at Temple Dental”
- Geraldine Weinstein, DDS, Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry
- “Implementation of Digital Dentistry into Predoctoral Curriculum”
- Sompop Bencharit, DDS, MS, PhD, Medical University of South Carolina
- “Implementation Success and Failures”
- Robert Kramer, DMD, Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine - Arizona
- “The Ship is Ready: How Do We Get Everyone Onboard? Implementation Group Discussion”
- Michelle Thompson, DDS; Marilia Sly, DDS, MSD; Stephen Laman, DDS; Shalizeh “Shelly” Patel, DDS, UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry
- “Have you H.I.R.D. about Tissue Management and Laser Dentistry?”
- Vinu Sista, DDS, and Juliana Barros, DDS, MS, UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry
- “Smile Design Clinic”
- Richard Zimmerman, DDS, UT Health San Antonio School of Dentistry
- “The Predoctoral Experience in Implant Dentistry”
- Amy Ridall, DDS, MS, PhD, UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry
- “What’s Next? Where Do We Go from Here?”
- Michelle Thompson, DDS; Marilia Sly, DDS, MSD; Stephen Laman, DDS; Shalizeh “Shelly” Patel, DDS, UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry
Other activities included breakout sessions for IT staff and laboratory technicians, as well as a tour of UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry.
The 2023 offering marked the third Digital Dentistry Education Workshop. First held in 2018 and 2019 by Midwestern University College of Dental Medicine - Arizona, the workshop was postponed for three years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.