Heraeus symposium presentations

SOUTH BEND, Indiana—Of the 14 presentations given at the Fourth International Heraeus Symposium, most focused on advanced thinking regarding the use of dental composites, adhesives and desensitizers. But two dealt with much less conventional topics: the use of botox, lasers, and fillers to achieve facial rejuvenation, and the use of social media in dental practice marketing. The symposium, which was attended by 68 dentists, laboratory owners and researchers, was sponsored by Heraeus Kulzer, a leader in dental esthetics.In a presentation entitled “A Wal-Mart Frame Around a Picasso Smile?,” Warren Roberts, DMD, challenged dentists to pay attention to not only a patient’s teeth, but to his or her face and neck when performing a “smile makeover.” By focusing solely on intraoral esthetic perfection, Dr. Roberts argued, dentists are merely creating “tooth makeovers” rather than true “smile makeovers.” He discussed how botox, lasers, and fillers can be used to achieve facial rejuvenation by enhancing peri-oral lines, folds, and lip position. The result is much more effective smile design than would be the case if only the teeth were esthetically enhanced.A University of British Columbia School of Dentistry graduate with more than 30 years of dental experience, Dr. Roberts is a certified botox cosmetic and dental fillers instructor and provider. He and his wife, Jane Roberts, DMD, founded and run the Pacific Training Institute for Facial Aesthetics in Vancouver, British Columbia.Heraeus to sponsor four seminars at Yankee Dental Congress 2012Rather than enhancing smiles, a presentation by Kaleim Manji focused on enhancing the ability of dental practices to communicate with current and prospective patients. In a presentation entitled “Is Social Media a Fad?,” the answer suggested by Manji was an emphatic “No!” Manji provided surprising facts and illustrations of how dental practices are increasingly using social media such as Twitter, YouTube, and especially Facebook as cost-effective means of patient communications. For example, Manji pointed out that Facebook is rapidly becoming a major factor in online advertising, and that more and more dental practices are experimenting with this advertising medium.Manji, who holds an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, is the president of Spear Education. For more information, visit www.heraeusdentalusa.com.To comment on this subject, go to community.pennwelldentalgroup.com/.