Dental Asia May/June 2020
For more than two decades, Dental Asia is the premium journal in linking dental innovators and manufacturers to its rightful audience. We devote ourselves in showcasing the latest dental technology and share evidence-based clinical philosophies to serve as an educational platform to dental professionals. Our combined portfolio of print and digital media also allows us to reach a wider market and secure our position as the leading dental media in the Asia Pacific region while facilitating global interactions among our readers.
For more than two decades, Dental Asia is the premium journal in linking dental innovators
and manufacturers to its rightful audience. We devote ourselves in showcasing the latest dental technology and share evidence-based clinical philosophies to serve as an educational platform to dental professionals. Our combined portfolio of print and digital media also allows us to reach a wider market and secure our position as the leading dental media in the Asia Pacific region while facilitating global interactions among our readers.
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Under the Spotlight<br />
Besides hands-on sessions and lectures, each student also attends three implant surgeries by highly experienced surgeons to gain insights<br />
When the students in Shanghai have grown<br />
accustomed to the structure of the lectures,<br />
they then head over to Frankfurt where a<br />
programme manager takes care of their<br />
transport and accommodation. This is to<br />
prevent the students from getting lost in<br />
translation and to place their focus on the<br />
rest of the course, which will continue to be<br />
simultaneously interpreted.<br />
“It’s really amazing because even after the<br />
course ended, the Chinese students stay<br />
connected through a WeChat group. Beyond<br />
talking about implantology, they rely on<br />
one another on issues such as marketing<br />
or financing a dental office. If they are in<br />
different cities, they make the effort to fly<br />
over to meet one another. Now, they meet<br />
every year and have their own congress.<br />
It’s a close-knit family,” remarked Dr. Weigl.<br />
Championing innovation<br />
As an innovation champion, his passion goes<br />
back to 1996 when computers cost €60,000<br />
and graphics cards were not as powerful<br />
yet. Dr. Weigl was awarded a grant for a<br />
machine-learning approach to the building<br />
of a software that can produce a crown<br />
or bridge with the push of a button. And<br />
although CEREC was already in existence,<br />
it was not fully automated.<br />
When colleagues said, “The inlays don’t fit<br />
well,” or “It’s not good,” Dr. Weigl stressed<br />
that, “It’s not perfect but this is a start. You<br />
cannot stop.”<br />
His solution was to have a dental technician<br />
“teach” the software. After about 500<br />
iterations and with input from the dental<br />
technician, the software was able to calculate<br />
a crown or even a four-unit bridge, with good<br />
occlusal surface and function.<br />
However, there was limited accessibility to<br />
3D printers and five-axis machines which<br />
resulted in the cost of occlusal surface<br />
grinding being prohibitive.<br />
Today, 3D printers are able to print anything<br />
that is resin-based; from a temporary crown<br />
to a temporary abutment or a surgical<br />
guide. Milling machines have also become<br />
smaller and are able to fit in a dentist’s<br />
office. But printing of the final restoration<br />
in zirconia or glass ceramic is still under<br />
research, and crowns and abutments are<br />
unable to mill ready to be used – some postprocessing,<br />
whether it be cleaning, polishing<br />
or separating, is still required.<br />
20<br />
DENTAL ASIA MAY / JUNE <strong>2020</strong>
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