Dentsply Sirona Clinical Affairs: Training and Education for more than 410,000 dental professionals in 2017

The Clinical Affairs team consists of an international group of employees developing educational curricula, and helping to develop the next generation of innovative solutions for dental professionals. By working with thought leaders, the academic and research communities, and practitioners in their local markets, Clinical Affairs works to both drive innovation as well as empower dental professionals as they work to improve dental care delivery and oral health.

About 300,000 dentists participated in courses offered or supported by Dentsply Sirona in 2017

More than 410,000 dental professionals participated in 2017, most of them were dentists. They were taught in almost 11,000 courses in total, including live lectures, product trainings, self-instructional courses and hands-on trainings in which attendees spend at least 30% of the instructional time practicing skills. The three key course topics were: Endodontics, Implants and Restorative. Additional topics of interest to dental professionals included CAD/CAM, preventive dentistry and ultrasonic instrumentation and imaging.

Combining traditional methods with cutting-edge technology

Designed to further develop the expertise of dental professionals, the training programme's active learning and engagement methods include innovations such as virtual and augmented reality, as well as technology-enabled professional social networking. "Not unlike universities, Dentsply Sirona honors the foundational principles of quality in dental care, but at the same time we are future-thinking and focused on innovation," says Dr. Terri Dolan, the Chief Clinical Officer of Dentsply Sirona. "We are always developing new materials, procedures and technologies that can improve dental care delivery and improve a patient's health. And future programming will focus on dental solutions that empower professionals to provide the best possible dental care to their patients."

What sets Dentsply Sirona Academy apart

As one reason for last year's series of successes, Dr. Dolan names the three categories of the programme's clinical education offerings: clinical excellence, technical excellence and practice excellence.

Clinical excellence educates students about clinical protocols, the understanding of current science and how it underpins clinical decision-making.

Technical excellence introduces new technologies and guides the dentist or technician through the adoption and implementation of these technologies into their own practice.

And finally, the third component of the Academy's focus is practice excellence: "A practice is only successful when all members of the team – dentist, dental hygienist, assistant, office manager, and laboratory technician – work together to support the needs of the patient," says Dr. Dolan. "So, the practice excellence component supports that team-delivery of quality dental care. And we make sure that we have all the expertise and the external specialists to support these three types of education."

About Dentsply Sirona

Dentsply Sirona is the world's largest manufacturer of professional dental products and technologies, with over a century of innovation and service to the dental industry and patients worldwide. Dentsply Sirona develops, manufactures, and markets a comprehensive solutions offering including dental and oral health products as well as other consumable medical devices under a strong portfolio of world class brands. As The Dental Solutions Company™, Dentsply Sirona's products provide innovative, high-quality and effective solutions to advance patient care and deliver better, safer and faster dental care. Dentsply Sirona's global headquarters is located in York, Pennsylvania, and the international headquarters is based in Salzburg, Austria. The company's shares are listed in the United States on NASDAQ under the symbol XRAY.