What we learned at Dentistry Show London 2022

We were at Dentistry Show London this month, and it was a blast! We got to meet amazing clinicians looking to start or improve their clear aligner provision, and owners interested in building their practice.
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We introduced hundreds of healthcare professionals to our vision of providing the best treatment possible to patients. In the process, we learnt a lot about the challenges and opportunities people are facing generally - and some really interesting themes came out.
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So, here’s our key takeaways from the show - what dentists are currently talking about.

“I want to get better at clear aligners, but I don’t really know how to”

Dentists are fed up with unexpected clear aligner outcomes. Many have fallen victim to unrealistic technician-driven treatment plans, and scrounging forums to fix occlusions. This is a major barrier to entry for those interested in providing clear aligners. And for current providers, it means a poor experience has become the norm.
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The dentists we met aren’t asking for much - they want to have greater freedom, and expert guided support when it comes to planning and treating their cases. They also want access to comprehensive clinical training in clear aligners to build a proper understanding of the treatment they are providing - this is true even for experienced providers.
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This was music to our ears, because we’ve built a platform to fix this problem! We provide 1:1 mentorship from a specialist orthodontist with each case, and support throughout the treatment. This means clinicians take the reins on their treatment plans - our dentists feel like they’re properly upskilling with 32Co. 
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We’ve worked with hundreds of dentists to understand their key knowledge gaps - and our orthodontists have written dozens of free minicourses to support dentists using 32Co, with more produced every week. We’ve used our unique insights to build a free, CPD-verified 4-week Clear Aligner Starter Course (sign up to the course here).

“I’m having real issues getting the supplies I need”

One of the knock-on effects of the current economic climate is the ongoing challenge of equipment procurement. With the British Pound slumping and supply chains deteriorating, clinicians have been hit hard - multiple dentists cited this as an issue when we spoke to them - typically for items like chairs and scanners. From rising overheads in practice to long delays in the delivery of dental products, dentists are feeling the brunt of this historic recession.
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Many clinicians we spoke to have been solving this with high quality, refurbished chairs and scanners, from the likes of Belmont and Kavo.
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We’re launching an IPR Kit, containing everything you need to get going, and we’ll send this to you directly - get in touch with us if you’re interested by emailing hello@32co.com.

“Tech is starting to make my job easier, not harder - dentistry is catching up!”

We asked dentists what they were excited about - and lots of them mentioned at least one digital product they have started using recently. It’s taken a while, but finally, technological advancements are coming to dentistry. Dentists mentioned Medit & 3Shape scanners, TapNote’s predictive note-taking app, as well as Pearl’s AI-driven radiographic reports.
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These companies are targeting the next generation of dentists engaged with time-saving products.
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One of the reasons we started 32Co was because we saw a big opportunity to build a technology solution that helps clinicians train & grow by connecting with specialist orthodontists. We have a long way to go before the wider dentistry space catches up with other tech-enabled industries, but it’s starting to look promising!