With a Focus on Using Technology to Enhance Clinical Outcomes, the 2023 American Academy of Implant Dentistry Annual Conference is under way in Las Vegas

Densah Burs from Versah (top), ICam4D from IMetric4D (middle), Vortex Screw (bottom).

Dental Professionals with a passion for implants descended upon Las Vegas this week to attend the 2023 American Academy of Implant Dentistry (AAID) Annual Conference.

With dentists, team members, and lab technicians from around the country and globe in attendance the 4-day meeting is featuring a wide array of in-depth and hands-on educational opportunities on topics such as implant technology and techniques, as well as dental sleep medicine, business, and more. But while the classrooms and exhibit hall have certainly been busy, the real action seems to be happening in between the events, as the hallways have been plenty busy as well with networking dental professionals.

While numerous topics were being discussed on the stages and throughout the Caesar’s Palace conference center hallways, some of the hottest topics included the digitalization of dental treatment planning, and the need for the most precise scanning technologies available, especially for full-arch cases, which were another hot topic at the event. While workflows and technologies powering single implant cases have become more streamlined and standardized, implant specialists throughout the show discussed the increasing demand for full-arch, implant-supported restorations.

While these restorations can make a huge impact on patients, there is growing concern about the long-term success of these restorations when they are not designed to properly manage the ways the patient’s bite will apply forces to the restoration. As these restorations are more common clinicians spoke about seeing an increase in broken screws and restorations.

To overcome this challenge, clinicians are adding photogrammetry solutions to their armamentariums. These systems use special cameras and specially marked scanning abutments to capture a highly precise record of the implant positions in 3 dimensions. While many practices use intraoral scanning and CBCT 3D imaging to accomplish this task, implant specialist are now saying more accuracy is needed to plan restorations with a true passive fit that can withstand long-term use by the patient.

Exhibit Hall Finds

In the exhibit hall, dubbed the Implant World Expo, implant and implant-adjacent dental companies were busy showing their latest innovations to dental professionals, and while education seems to be the focus for most attendees, the Expo always felt active and never felt overcrowded, even during the on-site lunch and Thursday night cocktail reception. Among the newer and notable innovations on display, and being discussed from the podium included Versah’s Densah Burs, the IMetric ICam4D photogrammetry system, and while it wasn’t specifically on display, several speakers mentioned Vortex implant.

Designed for a range of clinical applications, Densah burs are designed for osseodensification drilling. This means that instead of removing bone tissue while drilling like a standard bur, Densah burs are designed to redistribute the bone material within the socket, to provide less invasive surgical procedures and shorter healing times.

The ICam photogrammetry system has become a necessary piece of equipment for many clinicians specializing in full-arch implant cases. The solution provides greater precision for 3D positioning information than other technologies, while saving time for both the clinician and the dental lab when it comes to designing and placing full-arch restorations.

The Vortex screw was developed by Danny Domingue, DDS, FAAID, DABOI/ID, to overcome an issue with standard implant screws. While a standard screw is designed in a way that leaves small gaps beneath the screw and space between the wall of the restoration and the outside of the screw, Vortex screws are shaped with a tapered side and without a defined ledge beneath the screw head. This design aims to reduce forces that can break or damage full-arch implant restorations.

Check back with DPR in the coming days for more coverage from the 2023 AAID Annual Conference.