“Oral Design Symposium 2015”

in Madrid, Spain

Participating in "Oral Design International Symposium in Madrid"

—Four days in Madrid, Spain, where you were exposed to cutting-edge aesthetic technicians—

 

ILKI RICKY LEE

The Oral design conference, which is held every 2 years, was held from the 16th of September to the 19th of September 2015, in Madrid, Spain. Oral design is an organisation established by Mr. Willi Geller, consisting of dentists and dental technicians from all over the world. In this year’s symposium, hands-on courses were given by 6 oral design members during the first two days, and 15 lectures were given in the second half two days, with more than 400 participants. 


I participated in this event for the first time and had a wonderful experience, with a wide range of valuable knowledge and techniques learnt. I hope that even slightly, this article can serve as a reference for both current and future dental technicians. 

 

 The enthusiasm of the country of passion 

  • Unlike my hometown of Korea and Australia, the sculptures on the buildings made me feel the weight of history in Europe, which I first come into contact with.
  • Unlike my hometown of Korea and Australia, the sculptures on the buildings made me feel the weight of history in Europe, which I first come into contact with.
  • Unlike my hometown of Korea and Australia, the sculptures on the buildings made me feel the weight of history in Europe, which I first come into contact with.

I always had great admiration for this event, since the early days of my career. Like a child the day before an excursion, I arrived in Spain with both nervousness and excitement in my heart. The streets of Europe were completely different from the familiar streets of Australia and South Korea, and I could feel the weight of history in each beautifully uniquely engraved and designed building I walked past. This appreciation I felt towards this foreign city was heightened when, unfortunately (or fortunately in my case) my internet connection was cut off. 


With no phone or social media, I felt freed from my everyday life and was able to focus entirely on the present. After my morning stroll, I arrived at the lecture hall one hour before the opening and completed my registration for the hands-on course. I was utterly blown away when I saw the huge glass window overlooking the city of Madrid. The glistening city lights contrasted beautifully with the deep blue sky, and I wondered "Is this really a hands-on course venue?" There was enough atmosphere here to imply that if I could work here while watching this scenery, I could make a better crown than usual. Another thing that fascinated me was the impressive preparations made for the hands-on course participants. Complimentary towels engraved with each participant's name were arranged in front of each seat along with other tools. I could feel the compassion and appreciation of the organisers towards the participants who visited all the way from around the globe just for this moment. Even now, every time I look at the towel with my name engraved on it I reminisce about the precious memories of Madrid. Like this, I love collecting such souvenirs as a memento of my various life experiences. Each of these memorable items reminds me of my original intentions and continues to motivate me. The cork of the champagne bottle I received during the training under Mr. Yasuhiro Odanaka (Setagaya-Ku, Tokyo / oral design Saiun) is a prime example.

For the hands-on course, to the right of me was an elderly dental technician from Sweden and to the left was a young man from Russia who came to this course with the financial support from the company, and an Italian technician who currently works in Ireland next to him. There were participants from various backgrounds, from a reputable man in France who attended for further knowledge and skills to local Madrid dental technicians, etc. Everyone was a little nervous, but I felt the common determined and aspiring look to "learn something, grab something". 

  • The hands-on venue was full of openness and motivated the author. I felt the hospitality of the personalized goods prepared at each table, and it became a good memory item.
  • The hands-on venue was full of openness and motivated the author. I felt the hospitality of the personalized goods prepared at each table, and it became a good memory item.
  • The hands-on venue was full of openness and motivated the author. I felt the hospitality of the personalized goods prepared at each table, and it became a good memory item.

 

Day 1 - Day 2

6 Hands-on courses by 6 Oral design members 

I participated in the 2 days hands-on course: "Tooth as nature's work of art opacity control ZI-F" led by Mr. Luke Hasegawa. In this course, Mr. Eduardo Setien, an oral design member, acted as a great interpreter, lifting the atmosphere of the lecture hall with his clear translations.

 

The first day was a presentation on Mr Hasegawa’s various experimental results where he explained frame features and design concepts. He shared his approach to opacity by comparing each company's powders based on the data he recorded by conducting experiments on opacity for all-porcelain materials such as dentin, enamel and translucent powders.

 

Because of this, he seems to understand the physical properties of all porcelains. Therefore his method of buildup is to use minimum porcelain powder. The more I listened to the hands-on commentary, the more I got to know his concept of opacity. Understanding his concept of opacity was very fascinating to me because, as an in-house lab technician, opacity is one of the most vital factors to me, with opacity now naturally catching my eye through the years of working.

 

The second day consisted of full-scale demonstrations and practical training on porcelain build-up where he showcased his knowledge into hands-on cases flawlessly.

  • A commemorative photo with the performer, Mr. Hasegawa. I was able to have a friendly chat even though it was my first time meeting, probably because I had communicated through SNS in advance, or because of his personality.
  • ZI-CT zirconia crown made by Hands-on

I was truly amazed by the advanced content of Mr. Hasegawa's course. He had already assembled and acted upon concepts that I had only imagined in my mind, and through this, I was reassured that my experience and knowledge were not theoretically wrong. However, at the same time, seeing how ahead of me he was, I realised the high level of this world and how much I had to learn.