This is your first time attending IDS, the largest international trade fair for the dentistry community. What is your initial impression?

This is an incredible experience and a truly global one. There are dental professionals from across the globe. The amount of knowledge and innovation and the enthusiasm for dentistry of every single person I have encountered since arriving is truly inspiring.

I’d also like to give a shout out to the team that has worked on this for years to put on a footprint like this while still focusing on sustainability: 80% of our booth is made from reusable and recyclable materials. Our actions are as loud as our words.

You joined Dentsply Sirona on 12 September. Why is the company’s presence at the show so crucial today, in your opinion, given your experience?

Being present at IDS, one of the most relevant dental trade shows in the world, is a must for a company such as Dentsply Sirona. It is a unique opportunity to showcase our latest innovations, meet with partners, customers and leading dental professionals, and learn first-hand more about what is going on in the industry, including future trends, and of course a chance to continue shaping the future of dentistry in topics as relevant as digital dentistry or sustainability, our two key focuses this year at IDS.

The dental profession is a craft, and it is also very tactile. IDS is an opportunity for professionals to compare and experience products and solutions before making a purchasing decision, be that on an implant they’re looking at for the first time, an endodontic file or an intra-oral scanner.

Similarly, it is important for us to meet customers in person and get the kind of feedback that is only possible at this type of event, for example after a hands-on demonstration, while seeing everything else the whole market has to offer in comparison.

It is tradition for Dentsply Sirona to be situated in Hall 11.2, which sees the most traffic. What surprise programmes does Dentsply Sirona have for dental professionals at the Dentsply Sirona booth this year?

We have a full programme of activities planned: 550 Dentsply Sirona employees are participating in the trade show, organising product demonstrations and a live stage within the booth with over 40 hours of sessions led by key opinion leaders.

We have also brought together leading voices from both inside and outside the dental industry for thought-provoking panel discussions on crucial topics: digital dentistry and sustainability. IDS is the ideal place to unite voices and discuss issues such as how the latest digital innovations will shape dentistry in the future, how cloud solutions can drive practices and labs forward, how we can collectively have an impact on better treatment outcomes, what sustainability means for dentistry and what actions practices can adopt in their journey towards being more sustainable.

All of this is encompassed under our theme, “United for better dentistry”, which is front and centre of every aspect of our participation as a reminder that more connection, collaboration and partnership is the best way in which the industry can move forward and oral health can improve globally.

Dentsply Sirona’s BEYOND sustainability plan is well presented at IDS. Which of these sustainability measures are available to us right now?

Sustainability in dentistry is now a key challenge for the oral healthcare industry. A large majority of dentists—seven out of ten participants—express that the dental industry is lagging when it comes to sustainability, while 80% say that it is really important that our industry reduces its environmental impact.

These are key findings of the Global Sustainability in Dentistry Study, which was commissioned by Dentsply Sirona in 2022. We undertook this study to understand how dentists around the world view sustainability and where they look to us and the industry for support.

Sustainability is one of the most prominent and important topics in society today, and Dentsply Sirona, as a member of the dental industry, must play its part in protecting the planet and improving quality of life around the globe.

To address the existing knowledge gap among dentists and to support them in their journey towards becoming more sustainable, Dentsply Sirona has now launched the first course of its comprehensive Sustainability Educational Curriculum. Delivered online and free through the Dentsply Sirona Academy, each of the five interactive courses is led by experienced experts and will focus on a different aspect of sustainability. The curriculum introduces dentists to the biggest challenges and opportunities for the dental industry, industry-wide initiatives, and ideas and resources that dentists can use to help further sustainability in their practices and beyond. I encourage every dental professional to take the curriculum to understand more about sustainability for dentistry.

What do you think about artificial intelligence (AI) in dentistry? My interest is based on the sheer volume of data and software available, as well as hardware performance. What are the risks and limitations? How can AI benefit oral healthcare?

AI will play a key role in the future of dentistry, which is digital—and the future is already here. We are still unlocking the vast potential that digital dentistry has for professionals and patients alike, but without a doubt, digital solutions make treatment easier, safer and better in terms of accuracy and patient satisfaction.

Dentsply Sirona’s digital universe—with DS Core at the heart of it—has a high level of automation that helps reduce handling times, allows delegation and enables increased productivity, making dental professionals’ work easier, faster and more secure. This is our edge and what sets us apart as the digital pioneer of the dental industry.

Making the strategic shift to digital dentistry is an investment, but one with a proven return. Digitalisation enables many general dental practitioners to provide specialist treatment, and tools have become simpler and easier to use. That is exactly our focus at IDS: how do we make it much easier for the dentist, how do we help patients remain in treatment, how do we link all our software together to create a single source for dentists to utilise to better talk to patients, improve outcomes and bring more people into dental practices?

In this sense, we now have DS Core and its subsequent additional services, but the possibilities of digital are almost endless and are growing with each passing day. No company is better situated to support clinicians in providing optimal oral health to patients than Dentsply Sirona. We will continue to shape the technology behind our innovative solutions, to conduct high-quality research and to create up-to-date resources to help dental professionals expand their clinical knowledge and digital skills. That is where we are going as we lead the charge into the future.

Dentsply Sirona underwent a significant leadership transition in 2022. What recent changes have been made to the company’s positions and what is the company’s new strategy?

Indeed, 2022 was a year of change at Dentsply Sirona, but our goal remains the same: we want to drive transformative innovations and advance dentistry to positively impact our customers, their patients and our planet.

In this sense, we view 2023 as a new start and as an opportunity to ensure that we deliver strongly and transparently to all our stakeholders. As we further evolve to transform dentistry and improve oral health globally, we will continue to focus our efforts on developing solutions and offering support that meet customers’ most critical needs: patient satisfaction, predictable outcomes, practice efficiency and business growth.

We aim to strengthen our role as a digital solutions provider and to enhance our already loyal and solid customer base by providing a unique customer experience, focusing on education and innovation and, of course, supporting customers in their practice growth.

I believe that Dentsply Sirona will grow in the long term by delivering superior, integrated workflows and critical procedures. These workflows will be built around diagnostic excellence, easy-to-use treatment planning and essential consumable products. When we do this, Dentsply Sirona will become the essential solution provider that improves outcomes for patients while delivering better efficiency and economics for dental professionals.