2007 IDS: a Digital Disneyland

Often dubbed "The Disneyland of the Dental Industry," this year's International Dental Show (IDS) in Cologne, Germany, March 20-24 did not disappoint. Over 1,700 exhibitors played host to nearly 100,000 attendees from around the world who turned out to see the latest in dentistry and dental technology. The buzz? Automation is everywhere. From CAD/CAM milling units to rapid prototyping, the focus is on streamlining, simplifying and improving processes through digitization.

"I'm convinced that laboratories of the future will not only be more efficient and productive but, once we're all digital, we all could become master digital technicians," says Jerry Ragle, CDT, owner of Ragle Dental Lab, Champaign, Illinois, who attended the show with Nick Ragle, manager-fixed.

CAD/CAM technologies—including milling systems, 3-D printers, stand-alone scanners and software—dominated the laboratory-oriented exhibits, with open systems as a notable...