# Keynote Case Study: Ontario Dental Association — Dentistry Was Entering an Era of Accelerated Science
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You might assume dentistry changes slowly. It doesn’t. That was the message I brought to a few thousand dentists at the Ontario Dental Association conference in Toronto. The keynote was scheduled for 8 a.m. The future, apparently, starts early. My goal was to challenge the profession to look beyond the day-to-day realities of practice and understand how quickly the science, materials, technologies and patient expectations surrounding dentistry were changing. The acceleration was already visible. 3D printing was moving into dental implants and prosthetics. New materials were continually changing what could be manufactured and placed inside the human body. Digital workflows were transforming design and production. Connected technologies were beginning to create the possibility of dental devices that could monitor or report on their own performance. And patients were becoming more informed, more demanding and more connected. That combination creates an important strategic challenge for any profession. What happens when the knowledge, technology and expectations surrounding your work change faster than the traditional habits of the profession? The danger is inertia. Professionals can become very good at what worked yesterday. But expertise itself can become a trap if it prevents people from seeing what comes next. That was the core of the keynote. People and professions need insight into the future because without it they risk falling behind or drifting into irrelevance. Six trends framed the discussion: 3D Printing. Additive manufacturing was accelerating the design and production of implants, prosthetics and other dental components. Advanced Materials. New biomaterials were continually improving durability, performance and treatment possibilities. Digital Dentistry. Scanning, modeling and computer-driven workflows were making more of the dental process digital from end to end. Connected Dental Devices. The Internet of Things was creating the possibility of dentures, molars and other devices that could monitor and communicate performance. Accelerating Knowledge. New procedures, techniques and scientific insight meant that professional knowledge had a shorter shelf life. Changing Patient Expectations. More informed and connected patients expected faster, better and more personalized care. The technology story was important. But the bigger story was professional adaptation. Every profession faces a point at which the assumptions that defined success begin to change. The response cannot simply be to work harder at yesterday’s model. It requires curiosity. Continuous learning. A willingness to experiment. And an active effort to understand what might be coming next. That is especially true in healthcare, where advances in science and materials can move from research to practical application surprisingly quickly. My message to the Ontario Dental Association audience was straightforward: Insight into the future is not optional. It is part of remaining relevant. The profession that understands what is changing can prepare. The practice that understands what patients will expect can adapt. And the individual who keeps learning can turn acceleration into opportunity. The future of dentistry is not static. It is digital, connected, science-driven and fast.

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Source: https://jimcarroll.com/2018/05/keynote-case-study-ontario-dental-association-dentistry-was-entering-an-era-of-accelerated-science/