Dentsply Sirona works with professionals across the industry and academia, collaborating on both research and education. These efforts help to bring new solutions to market as well as to provide training on the latest techniques.

Dentsply Sirona’s Clinical Affairs activities fall under two categories – DS Research and DS Academy. DS Research focuses on activities that engage dental professionals to understand their needs and how to better empower them, as well as test innovations and next-generation solutions to prove their effectiveness. DS Academy helps dental professionals get the clinical and technical knowledge, skills and inspiration needed for their professional development, both personally and in their practices, and to provide the best possible care to their patients. The combined activities of DS Research and DS Academy help to empower our customers with new solutions and the support to best realize the benefits of these new innovations.

Readers of Spotlight are familiar with some of the activities of the DS Academy as well as recent openings of new showroom and educations facilities but may be less familiar with the research aspects of Dentsply Sirona Clinical Affairs. Indeed, at any given time, the Company is involved in approximately 50 clinical studies. These activities span the range of research phases including discovery, evaluation, development, and validation.

Dentsply Sirona has over 600 hard-working scientists and engineers developing new products and solutions. To augment their efforts, the Company collaborates with a broad range of dental professionals to acquire the insight and knowledge needed to develop next-generation solutions and scientifically prove their effectiveness. Engaging practicing dental professionals is imperative for understanding their needs as well as testing innovations and next-generation solutions to prove they help provide better, safer, faster dental care. This is why the Company strives to be in contact with as many clinicians and other professionals in the industry as possible. Additionally, partnerships with universities and researchers improve the depth and breadth of research, while research grants and competitions give new opportunities to researchers and students – the next generation of professionals. There is a clear link between all of these collaborations and the ability to empower customers. 

Throughout the year, the Company performs market research both to learn about the areas in which innovative solutions are needed to improve oral health and at the opposite side of the lifecycle through user evaluations. These help teams to evaluate product performance in practice in order to make improvements in subsequent releases.

Scientifically sound clinical studies are crucial to proving the benefits that solutions deliver. Dentsply Sirona performs both in-vitro and in-vivo clinical studies. In-vitro studies help push cutting-edge innovations, and ensure the safety and efficacy of new solutions while in-vivo and clinical studies test that these solutions deliver their expected benefits. Working with a variety of stakeholders including schools, dental associations, and industry partners not only benefits the research itself but also the trust in that research. 

Academic connections

Dentsply Sirona partners with universities and academic researchers, providing grants and hosting competitions. Doing so has the double benefit of supporting research relevant to the vision and mission of the Company and exposing the next generation of dental professionals to the research process. These experiences can inspire students to look for new ways to have a positive impact on dental care and oral health. One very notable example is the Student Competition for Advancing Dental Research and its Application Awards (SCADA) program. Launched as a joint venture between the American Dental 

Association and Dentsply Sirona (then DENTSPLY International) in 1959, SCADA has engaged students to discover the importance of dental research for nearly 60 years. Each year, pre-doctoral students from around the world compete at local and national levels. The respective winners attend a global competition to present their research. SCADA now includes programs across 19 countries. Throughout its 60 year history, approximately 7,500 students have participated in SCADA competitions spanning across 39 countries.

In addition to studies, DS Research plays a role in the dissemination of new research findings and contributes scientific articles and whitepapers in support of advancements in the industry.

Clinical Education

Last year, Dentsply Sirona provided training and education to nearly 432,000 dental professionals in 99 countries through its approximately 12,000 courses under the umbrella of the DS Academy. Courses included both non-accredited and accredited clinical education without specific product promotion or commercial bias. The coursework can be categorized to promote excellence Clinical, Technical, and Practice areas and focus on moving all aspects of dental care forward. Indeed, clinical education is a pillar of the Company’s foundation for future growth and success. 

To continue growing its already strong clinical education outreach, the Company is investing in new Education Centers around the world as part of an overall strategy to create demand for innovations and to build connections with the marketplace. Recent openings in Asia as well as an expansion in Central Europe detailed in another article within this issue of Spotlight represent a key part of the approach to broadening the Company’s reach and helping train dental professionals on state-of-the-art solutions and techniques to provide the best care for their patients. 

In addition to courses taking place at the state-of-the-art Education Centers run by Dentsply Sirona around the world, courses are often given at dental events and at facilities run by some of our partners such as the ICI (International CEREC Institute) facility in Daejeon, South Korea and the CAD/CAM Training Center in Taipei, Taiwan. The DS Academy website is also host to a plenitude of webinars and online courses making the outstanding Academy faculty comprised of accomplished professionals accessible to people all over the world.