Trained in prosthodontics, implant therapy and oral surgery, Prof. Dr Ronald "Rony" Jung, one of the presenters at Osteology Barcelona in April, is now taking on the role of helping the Osteology Foundation communicate with members and the dental profession at large as well as working on the new Geistlich learning platform.
Hi, Rony. Thank you for your time today. I understand you're heading up the new Osteology Foundation's Communications Committee?
Hi, Joseph. Thank you very much for taking the time here with us to discuss this. I'm actually very excited about taking on this role. Osteology is trying to strategically reorientate itself for the future and we've seen how important it is to place emphasis on how we communicate. We have Research and Education committees and there was once a Communications committee in the past. So now with the importance of communication today, it was a strategic decision by the Board to reopen that position again and I'm very happy and thankful to be able to take it on.
And what will be your first order of business?
The first thing is to strategically orientate ourselves and set out the major strategies we want to communicate. I think that today, the problem is no longer having enough opportunities. The problem is really finding the right ways to communicate, as there are so many. We need to see which of these we want to emphasize more on than others. And I think that's a process which we need to do as an entire Board to see where our strengths are and then which types of communication we would want to invest in more and others which need a little less investment than we did in the past.
I'm sure that it will be an interesting and important journey. And I understand you've also been working on the new learning platform for Geistlich as well?
Yes. So, as I mentioned, there are so many more opportunities to communicate with clinicians today. So just as Osteology needs to look at new ways to communicate, Geistlich also needs to have different formats for the education in its portfolio. And one of these for Geistlich is a new platform for providing very specific product information. What we focus on at Osteology is more about the science and evidence whereas Geistlich is filling the gap between patient indications and its products.
So is it correct that the Geistlich education platform will be about how to use Geistlich products?
Yes. The whole setup is based on patient indications. Clinician will be learning therapeutic approaches that are specific to a patient with a problem that is based on a specific indication. The learning platform will educate the user on treatment pathways that include the relevant Geistlich products.
That makes sense. And what do you think has come out as the best way for people to learn what are essentially quite complex procedures?
I think today we have a much better understanding of how we learn. During the pandemic, the importance of the practical part and the importance of having this practical interaction became clear. I just came out of a workshop which I did for Osteology and I think that this is the most ideal format in order to transition the textbook knowledge into applied knowledge. This format can really teach not just the science behind it, but how you apply these principles. And for me, the workshop is one of the most efficient ways to bring this information to the dentist. And also, there is the emotionalising of the teaching process that people are very excited and happy about which also helps in order to really bring this knowledge into dental practices.
And what is the biggest thing that people are missing out on using online learning?
Online learning received a dramatic boost during the pandemic, but we can clearly see its limitations. And again, when we talk about the different types of learning, textbook knowledge today can be transferred online where there is traditionally no interaction with the dentist. But again, when it comes to the part where you want to apply this information, then you need to have this practical part and this can never be replaced by any kind of online format.
On top of that comes the social part. You need to benchmark with your peers and that's also kind of one of the beauties we have with the congress. At the end of the day, what we have learned from the pandemic is that we just need to play the right instrument for the right situation and one size doesn't fit all. The online format has its place, the congress format has its place and also this type of practical workshop has its place.
It's certainly very exciting to see thousands of clinicians back in Barcelona for Osteology and that all of the workshops are full.
Absolutely. We could get some idea how it would be based on last year with the first congresses that were held again in a normal format since the pandemic. And I think everybody clearly sees the benefit. I think people really appreciate being together with each other again and having this exchange, which never takes place on the same level in online education. Online education is still important, but it's only one part of the overall structure of an education program. And I think Osteology is really trying to incorporate this into one format where we really try to play all the instruments in the right order to make nice music.
Well said. And I understand you've been recently published some research on 25 years of GBR techniques? Can you tell us about that please?
Of course. This is a study which has been conducted over 25 years in the University of Zurich, which began before I was there in a faculty position. And we took great effort to get all these patients back to the clinic. And what made it really very special is that we could get a cone-beam CT of every patient. And therefore, the study is actually the only study on the one hand which shows what happens on the buccal aspect, where bone augmenting has taken place. What is also special for that study is that it's a study where you have a comparison between two types of membrane, a collagen membrane and resorbed membrane compared to implants which have been placed in sufficient native bone without the use of GBR. So this is the only study comparing GBR procedures with implants where there was no need for a GBR procedure. And the outcomes were very important for us because I think that's the study which is most important for our patients where we have the same behaviour of the implants, which have been regenerated with our methods of GBR compared to implants which have been placed without the need for GBR. This has been a very important outcome when it comes to safety and predictability of the treatment we do on a daily basis.
Thank you very much for your time.
Thank you.
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Friday, 17 January, 2025