Live Dental Exhibitions Restart
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- Published: Monday, 28 March 2022 09:31
- Written by Peter Ingle
- Hits: 1205
The BDIA Dental Showcase exhibition marked the return of one of the UK’s largest two day trade shows, last week. The previous event was in 2019, Showcase at the London Excel, it gave dental teams a chance to remind themselves how it feels to meet and network without opening Teams or Zoom.
The formula combines the traditional trade show with a wide variety of CPD lectures. Traditionally the Saturday session appeals to practice owners reluctant to miss a days work, and can see substantial business on the stands. Arriving as the doors open on previous occasions had meant queues to get in, but not this time. Inside, there were few surprises with a lack of significant product launches.
The lecture sessions covered a wide range of topics with the different theatres having a variety of themes. There appeared to be no shortage of space at any of the lectures, although the British Associations of Private Dentistry’s “What gets you sued,” had fewer empty seats than most.
The problems with sound in previous years seem to have been solved. Whether this was down to improved sound systems, or a smaller crowd meaning less noise drifting across from the main exhibition, there was no difficulty in hearing the speakers. As the day progressed the venue began to fill up but it remained easy to get assistance from the exhibitors, without much waiting.
There may have been some trends in who was, and who was not, exhibiting. The larger corporates were particularly poorly represented despite the well reported workforce shortages. In contrast most of the well-known practice brokers were present. Notable absences included Dentsply Sirona, the worlds largest manufacturer of dental products, and 3M. The Office of the Chief Dental Officer and the Business Service Authority had quite large stands which seemed particularly quiet.
With the current uncertainty over NHS contracts, it was no surprise to see a large Denplan stand. The combined effects of the pandemic and ongoing uncertainty over NHS arrangements are keeping their consultants occupied. They report a mix of enquiries from practices looking to offer plans for the first time, and existing practices looking to increase the proportion of their income that comes from plans, having particularly appreciated the steady cash flow over the last two years. The Welsh team are waiting to see how most dentists in the principality rate the new option of UDA’s plus specific metrics. Initial impressions from practices of the latest NHS offer, are that there are just more and tighter hoops, to jump and squeeze through.
A number of stands expected the British Dental Conference and Dentistry Show, which returns to the NEC this May, to be busier and have more of the big name exhibitors. There were comments from medium sized companies present about the high costs of attending two large exhibitions a year, and that they are looking at the whole mix of involvement at both larger and smaller events, as well as other means of engagement with dental teams.
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