Led by AAO President Dr. Brent Larson, the 2019 Annual Session Planning Committee took note of the many changes and quickly growing trends in the specialty as they planned continuing education programs for the meeting. The Planning Committee worked to integrate new trends in collaboration among orthodontists to solve clinical problems and communicate with each other.

“The popularity of Facebook groups that facilitate online discussions among orthodontists was one trend that drew our attention,” says Planning Committee member Dr. Matt Larson. “We developed a collaboration with one of the most popular groups, Orthodontic Pearls, for the half-day Clinical Pearls series in the Doctors Scientific Program on Monday.  The lecturers will be members of the Facebook group who will present a selection of the best clinical pearls from the past year.”

New Lecture Series Include Clinical Pearls, 3D Printing

Dr. Neal Kravitz will kick off the new series speaking on “Clinical Pearls for Lasting Esthetics.” The lecture track will then transition to a series of 20-minute “TED Talk”*-style lectures that will present quick, easy-to-implement clinical pearls. Dr. Brian Anderson and Dr. Chris Teeters, co-founders of Orthodontic Pearls, will discuss Phase 1 treatment tips. The session will conclude with Dr. Bob Miller presenting “Adolescent Class II Correction Using the Crossbow Appliance,” and Dr. Dwight Frey speaking on Smile Arc Protection.

Another growing trend within the specialty is the adoption of in-office 3D printing. Reflecting this trend, a new half-day series, 3D Printing/In-House Aligners, will debut on Sunday, May 5.

“We think a lot of people will be excited about this topic,” says Dr. Matt Larson. “The series brings new and unique lecturers to Annual Session who are leaders in this developing technology. They will address the digital workflow and material selection needed to implement 3D printing and how to use the technology for complex case management and building your practice’s brand. The first lecturer in the series, Dr. Christian Groth, provides an excellent summary of current printing technology whether you are just looking to add a 3-D printer or are an experienced user. Additional lectures on this topic will be given on Monday afternoon in the Technology Practice Trends series, including utilization of CAD-CAM technology with implant anchorage and directly printing metal appliances.”

* The non-profit organization TED (Technology, Entertainment, and Design) is well-known for semiannual conferences that bring together celebrated thinkers who deliver short presentations on their areas of expertise.

Sleep Apnea, Pre-adolescent Treatment, Finishing Receive Strong Emphasis in the Scientific Program

“Sleep apnea is a topic of high interest to our members, and we have put together a half-day series of lectures that will provide information members can use in their practice, and use to address their colleagues on the subject,”  says Dr. Steven Marshall of the Annual Session Planning Committee.

As part of the sleep apnea series Dr. Rolf Behrents, chair of the AAO Task Force on Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Orthodontics, will present “Orthodontics and Sleep Apnea: Guidelines for Practice,” the newly published white paper developed by the task force. The lecture series will also include a presentation by David Gozal, MD, MBA, Chair of the Department of Child Health at the University of Missouri School of Medicine. Dr. Gozal is a pioneer in the study of childhood sleep problems and the relationships between sleep disorders and neurobehavioral, cardiovascular and metabolic disease. He will present, ‘The Habitually Snoring Child: Much More Than Just Noise.’”

Pre-adolescent Treatment, Finishing Also Receive Emphasis 

Dr. Marshall also believes many Annual Session attendees will benefit from the two half-day series on pre-adolescent treatment in the 2019 Doctors Scientific Program.  It is not a repeated program; each series has different lecturers.

“We were fortunate to be able to bring in speakers with great expertise on aspects of this topic,” says Dr. Marshall.  “For example, we will have Dr. Lorenzo Franchi presenting ‘Factors of Long-Term Efficacy of Early Class III Treatment’ and Dr. David Kennedy presenting ‘Missing Premolars:  What Are the Options?’ Also, Drs. Thomas Southard and Kyungsup Shin will present ‘Practical Early Treatment:  A Case-Based Review’ and Dr. Ewa Czochrowska  will speak on ‘How to Perform Successful Tooth Transplantation? Key Factors for Donor Selection, Surgery and Follow-up.’

“We also invited well-known speakers for a half-day series on finishing topics,” says Dr. Marshall. “They include Dr. Jose Nelson Mucha presenting ‘Essential Smile Details for Better Orthodontic Finishing,’ Dr. Vince Kokich Jr. presenting ‘Establishing Optimal Esthetics in Finishing when Substituting Canines in the Patient with Congenitally Missing Maxillary Lateral Incisors,’ and Dr. Anoop Sondhi speaking on ‘Anterior Interferences: Their Impact on Anterior Inclination and Orthodontic Finishing Procedures.’  In the esthetics series, we have multiple well-known experts including Dr. David Sarver presenting ‘Remember the Face? Where Do We Start?’ and Dr. Richard Roblee, who will present ‘The Future of Interdisciplinary Esthetic Dentistry: Digitally Beginning with the End in Mind.’”