On Friday 31st August and Saturday 1st September ORTHOMAX held their “Modern Treatment Advances Using Palatal Anchorage” seminar and 2nd Australian Benefit Users Group Meeting at the Park Hyatt in Melbourne with over 80 delegates attending from all states of Australia (and New Zealand too) to hear the latest international and local developments in Palatal Anchorage.
Day One featured Professor Benedict Wilmes (Germany) explaining the history and rationale of TADs in orthodontics before moving into clinical applications and mechanics and addressing many of the common issues and problems which arise during treatment. A lot has changed in Palatal Anchorage over a very short time – in particular the sizes of TADs which are used compared to a few years ago as well as the significantly increased usage of digital technology for placement and appliance design. A number of new products which complement the existing BENEfit system were introduced and the day concluded with a Happy Hour kindly sponsored by Dental Axcess and Suresmile Orametrix.
There were several highlights on Day 2. A live insertion of a Benefit palatal TAD by Dr Susanne Beykirch (Germany) on a volunteer amazed the crowd with the ease of insertion and the (lucky?) patient reporting no discomfort during the procedure – however unfortunately his request for a diamond abutment could not be fulfilled !
After the morning tea break our Australian presenters took the podium and showed why they are right at the forefront of Palatal Anchorage. Drs Nour Eldin Tarraf (Sydney), Siva Vasudavan (Perth) and Patty Medland (Gold Coast) all presented an array of challenging (and beautifully finished) cases concluded by Dr Sunil Hettige (Sunshine Coast) encapsulating how Palatal Anchorage has positively changed his approach to orthodontics. The last session – featuring Dr Simon Graf (Switzerland) demonstrated how the use of the latest digital technologies in orthodontics can make the use of palatal TADs more precise … and the in-house manufacture of appliances using metal-3D printing – simply amazing !
ORTHOMAX would like to take this opportunity to thank all the speakers and delegates for being part of the weekend !