Back to Vegas... with Nobel Biocare

When you cover dental conferences, you spend a lot of time in Vegas. In fact it's starting to feel like a second, and very strange, home. But each time I'm here, it's because that's where the top clinicians are. And wherever they are, I am.

Today I'm attending the Nobel Biocare World Conference, a gathering of 10,000 attendees, with many more attending, lecturing and performing live techniques from around the world via satellite. It is, by far, the most technologically advanced and exciting dental event yet seen in the United States. Even more exciting that the technology is the international flair. To walk the halls is to experience a United Nations of dental excellence, the halls and conference rooms buzzing with several languages at once. (Again, it's technology that makes it all understandable.)

If you want to see what you're missing, go here.

The focus of the five-day event is exploring the latest techniques and products from one of world leaders in oral health technology. The World Conference is a unique opportunity for dental professionals to receive state of the art education on innovative, scientifically based solutions for their patients.

The Nobel Biocare World Conference 2007, the world's largest dental educational and personalized forum, features a program with 35 live treatments televised via satellite from around the world, many of which are being shown live for the first time ever, including the first live real time broadcast from the University of Peking in China. Close to 340 internationally recognized dental experts will be giving lectures and conducting hundreds of hands-on sessions, workshops and seminars.

In a breakthrough in dental events, women speakers will have over 215 appearances. Another first at the conference is "Bring Your Own Case" discussions that provide participants an opportunity to bring in a patient case and discuss treatment solutions "one-on-one" with dental experts. Participants have booked more than 15,000 sessions. In total, Nobel Biocare is featuring 300 new products and solutions at the World Conference. Here are some of the most exciting:

The Nobel Biocare Maxillofacial Concept, premiers at the World Conference and supports the research and work of Professor P-I Branemark. This concept will assist specialized surgeons in providing smiles to those who need them most. Maxillofacial surgeries can correct a number of deformities in the hard and soft tissues of the oral and maxillofacial regions, caused by disease, trauma and genetic defects.

The concept will use the complete Branemark System of dental implants (in lengths from 7mm to 52mm) and the broad line of prosthetic components for anchoring final prostheses.

When necessary, treating physicians can submit specifications for the production of customized products from the Nobel Biocare Karlskoga precision production facility.

The new concept will also employ a state-of-the-art 3D computer software package for diagnosing and planning maxillofacial surgeries. Nobel Biocare plans to offer future training courses on the software.

With the Maxillofacial Concept, Nobel Biocare will offer the market's most complete selection of fixed solutions for reconstructing a person's face, both inside and outside the mouth.

NobelActive: This world premier features a new implant design with an innovative thread pattern. The one-stage implant features a unique shape and a new thread design with a "self-drilling" capability to facilitate drilling protocols in areas of narrower osteotomy. The product is easy to use and provides high initial stability and good outcomes. NobelActive(tm) has been designed for increased soft tissue volume at the head of the implant, resulting in improved esthetics.

Curvy Abutment: Supporting its core concepts of Soft Tissue Integration and Easy Esthetics for Beautiful Teeth Now, Nobel Biocare introduces the Curvy Abutment. This implant abutment features an hourglass shape at its base and a curved margin, which have been designed to stabilize and promote an excellent soft tissue seal. This product will work with all two-stage Nobel Biocare implants.

I will have more every day from the Nobel Biocare World Conference, both here and at www.dentalcompare.com. We will have podcasts, articles and interviews with as many leading clinicians as we can corral.