“Planmeca listens to its customers”

Dr Bart Vandenberghe works as an oral and maxillofacial radiologist at Advimago, an imaging clinic and training centre based in Brussels, Belgium. He is a keen believer in the benefits of digital dentistry and a longtime user of Planmeca equipment.

The reason why Dr Bart Vandenberghe chose dentistry as a profession in the first place was an accident that occurred in his childhood. “I broke my teeth while skateboarding, and it was a whole mess. Back then, white fillings were quite a new thing and mine kept falling out, leaving me with a big hole on my front teeth. So finally, when I reached the age of 18, I got veneers and they brought my smile back instantly. It was then that I realised that if dentistry can make people smile, it must be a nice profession.”But going into dentistry wasn’t enough for Dr Vandenberghe, who wanted to keep enhancing his expertise and decided to specialise in digital imaging. “When CBCT units all of a sudden came on the market, nobody knew much about them. So I did my PhD in the field of CBCT and went on to study to the U.S. for a few years, continuing to specialise in all aspects of imaging – CAD/CAM, digital impressions and 3D radiology.”

Complete imaging services for the oral health sector

The Advimago imaging clinic provides a variety of 2D and 3D imaging services as well as diverse CAD/CAM planning and 3D printing services for different fields of dentistry and maxillofacial surgery. The clinic also offers continuing education for both Belgian and international dental professionals, with topics ranging from CBCT and guided surgery to CAD/CAM technology and chairside 3D printing.

“We work with many different companies and equipment, but Planmeca is definitely quite present in our training centre, because we have a lot of their technology,” Dr Vandenberghe explains.

A long partnership with Planmeca

The Advimago training centre collaborates with several universities while also doing independent research. Dr Vandenberghe himself has a long academic background with teaching experience from both KU Leuven and the University of Maryland.

“The University of Maryland is a Planmeca school and teaching radiology there has made me more than familiar with Planmeca products,” he illuminates.

“Planmeca equipment is long-lasting and great for diagnostics. I am also really pleased with the new Planmeca Compact™ i5 dental unit – it is so easy to use and great for any kind of treatments. Dentists and assistants can personalise the chair as they like – just a few clicks and you have the right position. From the little control panel, you can adjust everything from the brightness of the operating light to the way the water flows and how fast you want the motor to go.”

Planmeca Solanna™ Vision as an educational tool

Dr Vandenberghe is one of the first users of the new Planmeca Solanna™ Vision operating light, which is equipped with two integrated 4K cameras. So far, his experience has been very positive. “It’s an amazing and powerful tool, because the patient can see what happens both during treatment and afterwards. I also use it as a teaching method. When we do live surgery, we can really zoom on the actual operation – just wow. We don’t even have to adjust the light, because you have the light and camera in one. I think that every dentist should have one at their clinic.”

Corporate-university collaboration benefits all

As a key opinion leader himself, Dr Vandenberghe believes in the importance of cooperation between companies, universities and clinical specialists. “I really believe that a company can only grow if it has a strong university connection, which Planmeca has. They are really investing in that. In the same manner, key opinion leaders are needed. Universities provide a scientific background for companies to build on and in a similar fashion, KOLs have a lot of clinical experience in the private sector, which universities often lack,” he says.

Always listening to the customers

Dr Vandenberghe is an avid user of the Planmeca Romexis software, which he uses daily.  “I use almost all the functions. It’s a very powerful platform with a lot of possibilities. It’s nice to have everything centralised.”

As a radiologist, Vandenberghe says he uses many different systems from different companies. “The most important thing for me as a teacher is that Romexis is an open platform. I can use equipment from another company and don’t need to buy everything from Planmeca. This is a freedom that I think a lot of dentists appreciate. Planmeca listens to its customers. In the company, they like to keep the atmosphere open and because of that, I think people tend to be quite loyal in using their products.”

Copy: Hanna Korlin
Images: Advimago

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