"Many dentists have dabbled in treating sleep disordered breathing, only to get in over their heads clinically or to get frustrated getting medical benefit coverage. SleepArchiTx streamlines the diagnostic, treatment, and payment processes by training your entire team and providing a turnkey workflow playbook." — Dr. Chris Salierno

We are, no doubt, practicing dentistry during a technological revolution. It’s not easy keeping track of all of the devices, software, and materials on the market and then making buying decisions based on our research. Who can place some semblance of order on this revolution? The Cellerant Best of Class selection committee shares in that dubious honor. Paul Feuerstein, DMD; John Flucke, DDS; Marty Jablow, DMD; Pamela Maragliano-Muniz, DMD; and I lock ourselves in a room at Chicago Midwinter each year and vote on which technologies are truly innovative and best in their categories. Along with Cellerant leadership Lou Shuman, DMD, CAGS, John Kringel, and Lauren Burns, we emerge hours later, battered and beaten, with our list of winners.

The selection process can be contentious. For example, you’ll see that there is not a selection in the CAD/CAM category. We only choose a winner if we feel a particular technology is significantly ahead of its competition, and as you can imagine, that leaves a lot of room for debate. There is often less debate in the Emerging and New Winner categories. Some technologies are one of a kind and allow us to see and do things we never could before. Others enter a crowded market with features that boldly distinguish them from the competition.

Dental, on the other hand, has been making articulating papers and other occlusion test materials since the early 1950s. Andre Bausch, managing director, says his idea for a digital occlusal device was born about 20 years ago: “But the technology to develop a really thin pressure sensor coated with color, being used just like a regular occlusion film, was not ready at that time. Now, using organic printed electronics technology, we are able to introduce the first flexible 6-micron thin pressure sensor.” This is innovation from thinking about how to make your already popular product even better.

The Cellerant Best of Class Technology Awards are about celebrating innovation in all of its forms. As you look through the list of winners, you’ll see some familiar names that remain the best in their class. You’ll also discover new technologies from new and established companies that are worth your investigation. What all of these winners share is that they represent a great leap forward. They were born from a moment of inspiration, years of R & D, and a desire to be best in their class.

“We are entering a new era in dentistry—one that will change how we diagnose, treat and manage our patients and practices,” says Dr. Lou Shuman, CEO of Cellerant and founder of the Best of Class Technology Awards. “This was a breakthrough year in product and services technologies. The panel spent hundreds of hours in close discussion reviewing and analyzing the corporate landscape. Pay close attention to our winners as they are truly leading the way to provide you what is best in today’s contemporary practice”. . .

The 2019 Cellerant Best of Class Technology Award winners are:

3Shape TRIOS 

Apteryx XVWeb + 3D Module 

Bausch OccluSense 

Bien-Air iOptima INT 

Bien-Air Tornado 

BlueLight Analytics

Carestream CS 9600 

DDS Rescue 

Dentsply Sirona Primescan 

DEXIS Titanium by KaVo

Ivoclar Vivadent Bluephase G4 

MMG Fusion ChairFill 

Orascoptic EyeZoom 

Patient Prism 

Schein ONE OmniCore 

Shofu EyeSpecial C-III

SICAT 

SleepArchiTx 

Tokuyama OMNICHROMA 

Ultradent Gemini 810 + 980 

Ultradent VALO Grand 

Vista Dental Products Phasor 

WEO Media

Out of all 25 winners, 14 are winning the award for the first time

“The Cellerant Best of Class Award creates an even playing field for dental manufacturers,” says Chris Salierno, DDS, Cellerant Best of Class panel member. “Major players stand next to start-ups and their technologies compete on innovation and disruption rather than marketing budgets and branding.” 

The Cellerant Best of Class Technology Award is the only award of its kind, as it's covered by every major dental journal in North America and presented at the American Dental Association’s Annual Meeting. 

This year, winning products will be showcased at the 2019 ADA FDI World Dental Congress, which will be held in San Francisco from Sept. 5-7. Attendees will have the unique opportunity to experience the Best of Class technologies first-hand at the ADA meeting as well as hear the panel members lecture on these products at the Digital Future of Dentistry Technology Expo. The expo also features free continuing education taught by the leading experts in technology integration and social media. More information can be found online at ada.org/meeting. 

For more information on the Cellerant Best of Class Awards and the 2018 award winners, visit https://cellerantconsulting.com/p/dental-consulting-Best-of-Class-p17227.asp