ADX11 Melbourne a success

More than 3000 people attended the annual ADX Australian Dental Exhibition in Melbourne on September 16 and 17. An upbeat move was evident over the two days according to leading dental equipment supplier, A-dec, with foot traffic backed up by strong sales enquiries for dental units and ancillary equipment.

Included among the VIP guests at the event were A-dec's President, Scott Parrish and his wife, Loni from A-dec's headquarters in Newberg, Oregon USA. Australia is a key dental equipment market for A-dec outside of the USA and Europe where A-dec dental units are also very popular.

According to A-dec Australia's General Manager, Craig Young, dentists attending this year's ADX showed interest in new practice set-ups and the equipment needed to improve productivity.

"Dentists were particularly interested in the expanded range of new equipment now available, and the flexibility of delivery systems suited to different working styles and specialties and different size operators.

"For example, orthodontists and paediatric dentists are showing a preference for 'stand-alone' chairs with rear mounted or wall-mounted delivery systems which can be folded away out of sight when not needed."

While traditional delivery systems remained the biggest seller overall, Mr Young said there was a growing interest in 'Continental' style delivery systems which offered so many ergonomic advantages.

New for this year's show was the recently released A-dec 200 entry model chair available for less than $20,000 and also the latest mid-level product comprising the more compact A-dec 300 delivery system on the highly popular A-dec 500 dental chair.

"The A-dec 300 delivery system on the A-dec 500 chair bridges the gap for those wanting additional options like cuspidor and chair-mounted light with full left and right-handed capability.

"This gives them access to features found on the top of the line A-dec 500, but at a more affordable price. The smaller, simplified delivery head also better suits some smaller operators and surgeries," Mr Young said.

Meanwhile, European handpiece and sterilization equipment manufacturer, W&H showcased its newest Lisa Fully Automatic Sterilizer with load sensing and 'Eco Cycle' options for faster drying of small loads.

The advanced Lisa Automatic has full on-board diagnostic and traceability options including password protected load release and integration with the LisaSafe barcode label printer for tracing instruments back to successful sterilization cycles.

Another popular drawcard was the revolutionary Acteon SoproLIFE (light-induced fluorescence evaluator) caries detector and Sopro's range of high quality intraoral cameras.

The SoproLIFE is able to identify areas of demineralised tooth structure and early onset caries, including lesions sometimes missed by X-rays.

"Digital imaging has moved from cutting edge to mainstream technology, with most dentists wanting the speed and convenience of digital X-ray and intraoral images which they can view from the dental chair without leaving the surgery.

"Both the SoproLIFE and Sopro intraoral cameras can be integrated into the A-dec delivery system, providing the convenience of a comprehensive solution built into the delivery system," Mr Young said.

Other new products on the A-dec stand included the lastest 'LED+' handpieces from W&H, featuring superior colour rendering index to accurately show soft tissue and normal tooth colour in the oral cavity.

"W&H introduced LED lighting into dental handpieces and has further refined the technology to give not only the brightest and broadest natural coloured light right at the head of the handpiece, but also natural rendering of red shades in the mouth."

"Other approaches using glass rods and inferior LEDs do not provide the optimum illumination of the work site which is only possible with W&H's LED+ handpieces."

A useful addition to the W&H LED+ offering is the new high speed 'Alegra' handpieces that generate their own electrical current to power the LED light without the need for light-equipped motors or expensive fibre optic tubing.

"This is a great retrofit for any delivery system or coupling type to bring the benefits of the industry's best LED lighting system without the cost often associated with upgrading from a non-illuminated handpiece," Mr Young said.