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 />
He therefore cautions his students against<br />
impulse purchases of the machines if they<br />
are only using it once a week, studying or<br />
have a mortgage.<br />
Still, he has not given up on his dream<br />
for full automation and explained what it<br />
would entail, “When the clinician pushes a<br />
button, the implant; abutment; and crown<br />
are designed by the machine in two or<br />
three seconds. He checks that everything<br />
is in place - the nerve is fine and there<br />
is no perforation - maybe makes a small<br />
adjustment, and pushes the next button to<br />
print the template and mill the abutment.”<br />
In fact, Dr Weigl has also appealed to<br />
Tillmann Steinbrecher, CEO of exocad,<br />
the global leader in the dental CAD/CAM<br />
software market, to build in more automation<br />
software, machine learning and artificial<br />
intelligence.<br />
With only 5% to 10% dental surgeons<br />
in Germany currently using navigated or<br />
guided surgery, he has also made a case<br />
with manufacturers to produce user-friendly<br />
implant planning software as the present<br />
user interface is designed mostly for dental<br />
technicians than clinicians.<br />
Since a clinician’s core competence is placing<br />
an implant, he should not spend half the day<br />
at the monitor with the patient’s digital twin,<br />
Dr Weigl explained. With that being said, he<br />
foresees that manufacturers will soon put<br />
together a box of what a clinician needs,<br />
such as template, implant, and abutment<br />
for a single-tooth restoration based on the<br />
intraoral and CBCT scans of a patient. The<br />
surgeon would only need to follow the steps<br />
indicated without going through a catalogue<br />
of 500 different instruments.<br />
“A surgeon who has had a thousand implants<br />
every year under his belt would be able to<br />
do fine, free-handed,” said Dr. Weigl. “But<br />
for someone who is not as experienced, the<br />
guided surgery will provide a safety net and<br />
allow him to help the increasing number<br />
of patients who only need a single-tooth<br />
restoration.”<br />
Despite championing for innovation,<br />
Dr. Weigl still believes in the human touch.<br />
Even with a push of a button in innovation,<br />
he stressed that the final decision lies with<br />
Once a year Dr. Weigl and Goethe University celebrate the graduation of the Master students in a festive ceremony<br />
MAY / JUNE <strong>2020</strong> DENTAL ASIA 21
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