Dr. Larry Emmott, Amy Morgan and Dr. Lou Shuman. Together, they helped select the 11 "Best of Class" Honorees and make the idea of the Technology Fair a reality.
It’s easy to ask, “What is all the fuss about?” People have been lecturing about technology at dental conferences for years.
Technology is not a new topic, but it is an ever-evolving topic, and the Pride Institute’s 1st Annual Technology Fair, held here at the Greater New York Dental Meeting (GNYDM), it a direct outgrowth of that evolution. Conceived of by Dr. Lou Shuman, President of Pride, the “event within an event” is meant to provide a more education, less sales-driven approach to technology education with a hands-on component that is difficult to offer from the podium. Shuman knew this was a needed third way in technology education since he had experienced the information disconnect from both the dentist’s and manufacturer’s sides.
“The Technology Fair came out of a clear understanding that there was not a trusted voice for the dental community to go to at a critical time,” Shuman explains. “Manufacturers realized that it was hard to effectively, comprehensively educate dentists. Dentists were fearful of many new technologies — will it last? is it right for my practice? etc.
“I already had a wonderful relationship with the Greater New York Dental Meeting and knew they were progressive in visionary in their organization of the show,” he continues. “So I proposed offering true, hands-on technology education that is unbiased and without sales pressure.”
Dr. Robert R. Edwab, Executive Director for GNYDM and Dr. Joseph Schachner, the Sponsorship and Advertising Manager for GNYDM, felt something like this was necessary—it hadn’t been done before—and what better place to do that then GNYDM? According to Shuman, GNYDM felt the time was right and, even as the first year starts small, the organizers see how its impact will grow. The see this as an ongoing initiative, not a one-time event, which is the mindset that allows concepts such as these to truly benefit the dental team.
WHY PRIDE?
With all parties agreeing that a new approach to technology education was needed, the Pride Institute was not necessarily the obvious choice as the group to deliver it. But, along with Shuman, Pride CEO Amy Morgan realized early on that this was a perfect fit.
“The Pride Institute’s goal is to create in each dental practice a culture that supports the dentist’s vision, values and strategy. There is no question that new technology plays a significant role in creating that culture. It is not uncommon for us to meet dentists who have purchased technology without thinking through to how it will actually integrate into the practice. That leads to a lot of good technology gathering dust,” Morgan explaina. “Pride has nothing to gain from this other than the satisfaction of avoiding the pain of disenchanted dentists using resources for what they consider to be nothing in return.”
“The technology can be terrific, but if it’s not integrated into the practice—through staff training, ROI, marketing and as a true enhancement to the diagnosis and treatment planning—then it will only be a toy,” Shuman adds. “Pride offers the ability to help dentists integrate, not just purchase. Moving forward, we believe all technology should have a practice management component built into its approach for integration—regardless of Pride’s involvement.”
Pride also brings an unbiased, credible approach to its selection of the “Best of Class” Honorees. Check back for more on the selection process tomorrow.
WHY YOU?
The average dentist has not been shy about voicing his or her desire for product evaluation and, in general, greater direction and credible advice in how to make the best purchasing decisions. No where is that more true than with technology products.
“Technology right now is a bullet train exploding out of the station,” Shuman says. “I was concerned that it was leaving without dentists on board.”
With so much change happening so quickly, it can feel as though innovation is surpassing integration in such a way that no one benefits — not the dentist, not the manufacturer. Is the Technology Fair the answer? Only time will tell. But in the meantime, no one can dispute the benefits of hands-on demonstrations, quality education and the ability to learn without fear of being oversold.
We’ll have interviews with dentists participating in the Technology Fair later this week, so keep checking for more information.
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