Dental Asia November/December 2022

UNDER THE SPOTLIGHT
In addition to the dental units, the clinic is
equipped with a Planmeca ProMax 3D Classic
imaging unit, two Planmeca ProX intraoral X-ray
units, a Planmeca Emerald S intraoral scanner,
and a Planmeca PlanMill 40 milling unit which
Dr Reys uses for making chairside crowns.
Moreover, Dr Reys performs all implant
planning with the Planmeca Romexis software.
He said: “I think it works very well. I can easily
merge a CBCT image, my implant plan and an
intraoral scan, and it’s all just so easy. I use the
software every day.”
“As a child, I had the chance to observe closely
what my father was doing. Growing up I knew
that surgery would be my choice too, but in
France, once you start studying medicine, you
don’t necessarily know which speciality you’ll
end up practising after finishing your studies
and internship. You don’t always get to work in
the field of your choice, and I wanted to make
sure that I could do what I wanted, which is
to practice surgery. That’s why I chose dental
surgery, and it has been exactly what I hoped
for,” said Dr Reys.
The clinic employs two other dentists and five
dental assistants. One of the dentists is his
daughter Dr Rebecca Reys, who just graduated
from dental school last summer.
“I did not choose dentistry because my father
is a dentist, but because I knew the profession
thoroughly, I thought it might be a good choice
for me as well,” explained Dr Rebecca. “I’m also
very interested in forensic medicine, and when I
learned that after dental school, it is possible to
pursue post-graduate training that could bring
me into the field, it sealed the deal for me.”
She shared that working with her dad is like
having a mentor around all the time.
“When I was still a student, I used to work at
another clinic once a week and I was all alone
there. There were plenty of situations where I
would have liked to ask questions, but it wasn’t
possible. In the beginning, you’re not sure of
yourself and you need a lot of reassurance.
My dad lets me do my job freely, but it’s
comfortable knowing that he is around should I
have any questions.”
Dr Reys is happy to have his daughter around
too. The clinic has recently seen a marked
increase in the number of patients, and
without the help of his colleagues, he would
not have been able to welcome any new
patients.
A PLANMECA CUSTOMER SINCE 1995
Dr Reys is a long-time user of Planmeca
dental units — he has been using them since
1995 — and his clinic is currently equipped
with three of them. When he first discovered
the company’s dental care units, he was
immediately impressed by their side-lifting
mechanism which provides plenty of
legroom.
“From an aesthetic point of view, their airy and
lightweight design appealed to me — they’re
not heavy-looking at all. The assistant’s side
is also very practical with easy access to all
essential functions, and of course, the units
are very comfortable. My patients always say
how they would love to have one at home. I
wouldn’t mind having one either.
“I also discovered that the technology was
relatively simple. I like to do as much as
possible myself, so if something needs to
be repaired, I often just call my distributor
and ask him what to do. Us dentists are
sometimes like spoiled children, we want
everything to be fixed immediately — even half
an hour is too long a wait,” he said laughing.
As for his daughter, Dr Rebecca had been
using Planmeca dental units already as a
dental student at the University of Strasbourg,
so she was well familiar with them.
Dr Rebecca is also planning to start using the
intraoral scanner and milling unit, but first, she
wants to master taking traditional impressions.
She shared: “My father encouraged me to learn
traditional working methods before moving to
digital ones. You must be able to do both since
you can’t always rely on technology. I feel like
I’m learning new things every day and can’t wait
to experience all the digital tools we have in our
clinic.”
LOOKING FORWARD TO A DIGITAL
FUTURE
According to Dr Reys, patients today are looking
for a dentist for life, someone they can trust.
“It’s not always easy to trust someone with your
teeth but once you find the right person, they
easily become your family dentist in a way.”
The world of dentistry has already become
digital, but Dr Reys believes there is much more
to come.
He concluded: “I’m sure that we will continue
to be blown away by new innovations — we
can’t even imagine all the things that will be
technologically possible in the years to come.
We can’t rest on our laurels and stay content
with what we have learned so far — we have to
keep training, learning new skills and acquiring
new knowledge. We have to stay curious and
keep up with the pace of change. DA
DENTAL ASIA NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER 2022 19