IDEM Singapore 2018 starts April 13

The 10th edition of the International Dental Exhibition and Meeting (IDEM) will take place from 13-15 April 2018 at Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre. Co-organised by Koelnmesse and the Singapore Dental Association, Asia Pacific's cornerstone event in dentistry celebrates close to 20 years of clinical excellence with a line-up of exciting events, in addition to its exhibition and main scientific conference.

A new workflow for root canal treatment

Root canal treatments are one of the most common procedures in dentistry, but some dentists, especially general practitioners and those who are new to the profession, are still unfamiliar with the process or may miss crucial steps that could save patients' time and money. To help guide these dentists, Professor Simone Grandini, Chair of Endodontics and Restorative Dentistry, Head of the Department of Endodontics and Restorative Dentistry and Dean of the School of Dental Hygienists at the University of Siena in Italy and his colleagues have developed a workflow reference for the treatment. The workflow, which consists of 10 steps and includes two options depending on the tooth's condition, begins with diagnosis and treatment planning. "This is a very important step because you need to assess whether the tooth is restorable. If it is not, there is no point in doing the root canal treatment. It is also essential that dentists decide what to do and what's going to happen to the tooth, before starting treatment," Prof. Grandini. said. The next five steps are, in order: access and interim restoration; shaping; irrigation; dressing and temporary restoration; and obturation. The final four steps depend on whether there is enough tooth structure left. If so, dentists should perform matrix placement, bonding, bulk filling and, finally, capping, finishing and polishing. If not, they should first build up the core of the tooth and place a post in it, then take an impression or scan, and finally conduct temporisation and cementation. Since developing the workflow in 2017, Prof Grandini and his colleagues have presented it to dentists at conferences in Europe, Australia, Africa and Asia, including in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia and Hong Kong. They will also launch it in the United States soon. He said: "Almost everyone whom we've spoken to have been enthusiastic and excited about it and we've also received emails from dentists who have used the workflow with great success. We think it could be very useful for the profession and look forward to presenting it at IDEM in April."

Prof. Grandini will be leading several sessions as well as conducting workshops at the IDEM 2018 Conference in Singapore in April.

Adding value through additive dentistry

Additive dentistry can be used to solve patients' complex dental problems while preserving their existing tooth structure and more dentists should use it, says Dr Christopher Ho, a lecturer at the University of Sydney, Australia, visiting lecturer at King's College London in Britain and faculty member of the Global Institute for Dental Education and Academy of Dental Excellence. "In the past, we had to grind teeth down to provide room for PFMs. Now, we can just bond very thin layers of materials such as ceramic or nano-hybrid composite resin to the remaining tooth structure instead. This is healthier and a superior treatment option because when you remove tooth structure, you are removing the integrity of the tooth and weakening the tooth, and you might also cause inadvertent damage to the pulp in the tooth," he said. Furthermore, such additive techniques help to preserve teeth's remaining enamel. "When you bond materials to enamel, you get a very predictable bond over the long term, which is good for patients." Recent advances in additive materials, such as the nano-hybrids and new versions of lithium disilicates, also have increased strength, excellent longevity and better aesthetics with lustre and fluorescence similar to natural teeth. Dr Ho said that additive dentistry is especially recommended for people whose teeth has been worn down due to the grinding of teeth or acid erosion caused by poor diet or diseases such as anorexia and bulimia. Dentists should also be familiar with both direct and indirect additive restoration techniques, and use them either singly or in combination depending on the patients' needs. "All dentists should have these additive concepts in their back pocket and know when and how to use them."

Dr Ho is presenting "Additive Approach to Complex Rehabilitation: Digital Workflow Meets the Art and Science of Dentistry".