Edited by Orthotown staff
PHOENIX—Leading orthodontic experts, industry leaders, and the latest and greatest technologies gathered at the 2017 Henry Schein Orthodontic Excellence and Technology Symposium late last month.
The event, which was held from Feb. 23–25, featured an impressive array of speakers who represented many facets of the orthodontic industry, including Drs. David Paquette and Luis Carriere. Paquette and Carriere served as the event’s program chairperson and keynote speaker, respectively.
“The amazing part of Henry Schein Orthodontics (HSO) is that it is quite new in the world of orthodontics, but they have had the capacity of bringing the best of the industry into the room,” Carriere said. “Now we have a beautiful group that covers all [of] the areas, and this beautiful group is working, constructing a beautiful orthodontic family. So, we are very happy here at the Henry Schein Orthodontic Symposium to welcome many orthodontists from around the world, and we feel that we are all on the same page; On the page of simplification, on the page of quality, on the page of the face of the patient, on the page of the respect to the orthodontic treatment and to the respect of the orthodontic patients.”
Editor’s note: Phoenix-based Orthotown was thrilled to serve as the media partner for this event. With the symposium occurring in our own backyard, we had the opportunity to interview five of the speakers, as well as cover the event and include highlights in our upcoming issue of Orthotown magazine. Please take a look at the video interviews below of five industry-leading orthodontists.
Coming soon: Look for upcoming Dentistry Uncensored podcasts with Dr. Howard Farran speaking with other symposium speakers, recorded live from the show floor.
Rebel with an Orthodontic Cause
Dr. Anil J. Idiculla—or “Dr. I,” as he’s known—is a self-described rebel who isn’t afraid of change. He began to shape his vision for an orthodontic career while in dental school, and after his residency worked for a corporate dental practice before striking out on his own.
While Dr. Idiculla’s practice is always changing and improving, one constant is his altruistic drive to “give back” to patients, schools and his local community. This philanthropy was modeled at a young age thanks to his parents, and today he challenges orthodontists to always include philanthropic work amid their practice goals—because it’s his firm belief that money will always follow.
Dr. Idiculla constantly seeks creative ways to lead by example and make an impact. That includes early adoption of evolving technology such as 3-D scanning, which he says has singlehandedly changed his practice. Costs may make some technologies seem prohibitive at first, but the doctor always determines what’s most beneficial to patients when determining the direction of his practice.
No matter how complex the tools and equipment of his trade, Dr. Idiculla maintains a very simple treatment philosophy: Make patients happy. His formula? Bend a few traditional rules, when necessary, to find a balance between managing patient expectations and being satisfied with the results. “That’s the best finishing technique,” he says. “Period.”
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A Big Family on the Same Page
When Dr. Luis Carrière teamed with Henry Schein® Orthodontics™ (HSO) to bring his vision for a Motion™ appliance and SLX™ bracket system to market, he knew that he had joined forces with a powerful partner that grasped the significance of advanced technology. He also understood that HSO would expertly and brilliantly engineer, market and sell the benefits of his system to doctors and patients.
The ability to forecast outcomes is exactly what was on Dr. Carrière’s mind when he invented a new paradigm for dentofacial correction with the Carriere system. “It was created to simplify orthodontic treatment in a way that is predicted,” he says. The doctor believes that by correcting the sagittal problem first in Class II and Class III malocclusions, he’s solving the most important orthodontic problem. (He notes that Dr. Edward Angle, the “father of orthodontics,” also identified this when he categorized malocclusions in three classes.)
Cooperation is an important element of Carrière’s system, but he says compliance isn’t an issue in his office because all patients hear upfront what will happen: “We explain deeply, simply and clearly what we want, where we go and what we’re going to accomplish.”
The same could be said about Dr. Carrière’s experience working with the HSO team to develop and sell his system. He refers to his association with the company as “one big family,” and said that he believes that HSO’s level of knowledge has been significant in advancing the entire orthodontic field. The company has not only assembled a group of professionals who are on the same page, they’re among the best in the industry.
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Reality Check: Moving Teeth Faster and Better
The rate of change in the orthodontics field is accelerating quickly—and so are the techniques that help move teeth faster. This makes perfect sense to Dr. Thomas Shipley, who views acceleration as a way to help finish a case more quickly, as well as to get patients out of treatment sooner.
Clinicians have many efficient techniques to help accelerate cases, but Dr. Shipley considers micro- osteoperforations (MOPs) to be one of the best. He uses a Propel device to deliver the MOPs in a procedure that’s relatively painless, inexpensive and less time-consuming than more complex approaches when it comes to remodeling bone tissue. (Dr. Shipley’s patients refer to the procedure known as “dimple day.”)
He’s also a fan of using Carriere Motion and Carriere SLX self-ligating brackets to move teeth efficiently.
Implementing the Carriere Philosphy has allowed him to easily integrate acceleration into his practice, and now says the process is constantly on his mind: “I dream about how to finish cases faster,” he says with a laugh.
Dr. Shipley says he’s able to confirm how the perforations are healing during the refinement stage. Plus, he’s conducting research on how final CBCTs don’t show root absorption, bone loss or any negative sequelae associated with MOPs.
To him, it’s all part of a synergistic approach to move teeth better and more quickly: “It’s what patients desire—and what they deserve,” he says.
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The Digital Future Is Happening Now
Dr. Sean Carlson sees the future of orthodontics, and digital technology is on its horizon. That’s why he partnered with Henry Schein Orthodontics (HSO), which has the same perspective on where the industry is headed.
“My relationship with HSO is an organic relationship built with people, rather than a product. I’m in alignment with that thinking, and I want to be around people who are like that,” he says. In his role as clinical advisor for HSO, he recently developed a course on low-dose CBCT as the new standard of care.
Dr. Carlson credits HSO with helping him and his teaching partner, Dr. J.C. Quintero, bring their vision of cone beam education to the forefront long before they were involved with the company. He’s also thankful for HSO’s support in creating digital teaching opportunities that didn’t exist before—particularly regarding the dosage safety of 3-D X-rays, as opposed to traditional scans. “We weren’t able to have that conversation 10 years ago, and now we have more opportunities where people can discuss it,” he says.
While the doctors approached several companies about their cone beam vision, HSO was the first company who showed interest in developing the idea. “Those involved with our case were interested in what we were trying to teach, not just what we could sell,” says Dr. Carlson. “That’s what has kept me here.
“I want to be around good people, and I’m going to go where good people are, wherever that happens.”
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Building a Technically Efficient Practice
As an early adopter of digital technology, Dr. James “Jep” Paschal is routinely experiencing maximum efficiency in his practice. He recently acquired the 3Shape scanner, that has HSO’s Carriere SLX Brackets available in its library, which enables him to virtually debond brackets with a scan and receive a fixed retainer based on the image. He says the process makes “removal day” a snap for patients, since it’s far less traumatic and requires less time than in the past.
Dr. Paschal is also a proponent of combo therapy, using 3Shape OrthoAnalyzer software to get patients out of braces earlier—a pathway he suggests all clinicians can implement from Day 1. (In fact, change management is a way of life for his practice and he recommends others adopt this culture to stay on the cutting edge of technology.)
While he used a competitor's bracket system for years, he has switched to the Carriere Philosophy incorporating the SLX bracket system and Motion Appliances and realizes that his treatment times have decreased by up to 40 percent. “Bracket positioning is far easier than it used to be,” Dr. Paschal says. “It’s such a breath of fresh air.”
The i-CAT 3-D imager also has increased the doctor’s clinical competency, making case predictability much easier. “All those things we were trained in, like measurements, disappear with the i-CAT,” he says. “It’s one of those technologies I don’t ever see getting rid of.”
Dr. Paschal credits his relationship with HSO for his success in integrating technology into his practice. “They are a true partner of the clinician—interested in making our practices better and more efficient and bringing products to the market that already have efficiencies built in.”