Dental Asia May/June 2018

Under the Spotlight
ourselves too seriously but we take CEREC
dentistry very seriously,” he revealed.
Cerec-files is based in Australia and
founded around ve years ago. The group
have accumulated a number of members
not only in Australia or New Zealand but
all over Asia, Europe and North America.
It is a community managed by clinicians
and not by companies. Dr. Lau admits
that they even have members that are
utilising other CAD/CAM systems that have
joined their community. He explained that
other systems don’t have such a strong
community to support users like CEREC
presently does. He shared that he feels
fullled and accomplished when he sees
fellow dentists helping each other in the
Cerec-les group. He said this is the main
purpose why he set-up the group in the
rst place.
Digital Smile Design (DSD) workflow
In addition to founding a support group
for CEREC users, Dr. Lau has been applying
DSD into his practice. He considers this as
an innovation and development in dentistry
workflow wherein scientifically based
algorithms and dened parameters are used
to help in treatment planning and providing
digital smile simulations (shape and size of
teeth according to the patient’s prole).
“It is mathematically-driven. It is based
in science. It is a revolution to us (dentists).
All of a sudden, we can give patients their
predicted smile that suits them. Now with
CEREC, we can reproduce them (crowns,
veneers, onlays and inlays) accurately and
faster,” he added.
Looking ahead
Dr. Lau keeps an open-mind for the future.
He thinks that 3D printing will be huge in
the next few years. It will not solve all the
problems in dentistry but it will propel the
industry to the next level. He sees CAD/CAM
continuously growing and eventually being
present in all the practices in years to come.
“Other trends will be minimal
preparations and minimally invasive
dentistry. There is also fascinating work
with stem cells and regeneration/growing
teeth. I believe it will eventually happen
and it would be a major disruption into the
profession,” he shared.
Giving back
Dr. Lau emphasised that all he wants is
to give back to the profession he knows
and loves. He is not trying to seek fame
and considers himself a conservative and
introvert person. Some of my younger
colleagues see me as approachable, he
believes it is because he is not a fulltime
lecturer or in academia but rather he is
a fulltime clinician. He tries to make his
lectures lively and engaging which makes
him popular and well-liked among his peers,
some even call him a “Rockstar.”
“I love talking to people. I love sharing
what we do on a daily basis. We do get a
lot of people visiting our practice. To all the
readers of Dental Asia and whoever wants
to visit me in our practice, please spend a
day with us. We’d love to have you!”
Dr. Lau not only gives back to the
industry but makes sure that he applies this
principle in his life. He also makes sure to
give back by providing excellent care and
services to all his patients. Likewise, with
his family, he wants to provide the best for
his family and imparts values to his children.
“We try to adhere to being a good
person and just try to do the best we can,”
emphasised Dr. Lau. DA
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DENTAL ASIA
MAY / JUNE 2018