Dr Igor Ristić, dental prosthetics specialist from the Centre for Dental Aesthetics and Implantology (CDEI): Smile at the challenge

Last year reminded us that health comes first and that, as before, we must be ready for the challenges ahead.

Together with its partners and friends from Serbia and worldwide, the Centre for Dental Aesthetics and Implantology (CDEI) is ready to face challenges this year too. We are talking about that with Dr Igor Ristić, a dental prosthetics specialist from the CDEI.

Dr Igor Ristić, dental prosthetics specialist from the Centre for Dental Aesthetics and Implantology (CDEI)

“In every business, we should consider the worst-case scenario when doing our calculations and projections. However, nobody could have foreseen that we would stop working altogether, as we did in the spring of 2020. This was a huge shock for the whole world and our profession. The return to the old, in every sense, and the predictions that the economies of the developed world will almost completely recover this year, seem encouraging. I believe that with the increase in the number of vaccinated people, as well as the progress in terms of medication and new vaccines, the danger that the coronavirus currently poses virus will slowly decrease. Thanks to our, over 20-year-long experience, teamwork and our clients’ trust, we have accomplished the previously set goals and standards. The adaptation to the altered business conditions due to the pandemic and the return to the earlier pace of clinical work has been in the CDEI’s focus,” said Dr Ristić.

The challenge of conducting the private medical practice in line with the parameters that a healthy and sustainable business must have, requires constant harmonization and reviewing the rightness of every decision, both through the filter of ethics and basic medical postulates, as well as in terms of business revenue and expenditure parameters.

“In the past two years, we have gained new experiences. The need for constant analysis has expedited ongoing projects. We have further increased the degree of digitalization through the contactless exchange of information with laboratories via digital prints, but also developed remote communication, both with patients and colleagues around the world, for education and consultation purposes,“ the doctor explains and adds that it is a great success that conditions were such that last year, they have managed to organize one of the largest congresses in the region in the dental industry of the Serbian Society of Esthetic Dentistry, where, in addition to presentations, there were live streams with lecturers from remote parts of the world who were able to give their presentations and after talking to the audience.

To keep up with the rest of the world, the CDEI not only implements the latest technologies but also advanced protocols for more efficient and high-quality therapy, which makes our practice one of the leaders in the area,” said Dr Ristić, adding that they are especially proud that CDEI has presented its work in person at several gatherings abroad.

While the world was fighting the pandemic, we were witnessing many innovations regarding dental products. The more intuitive software we use has been improved, intraoral scanners are faster and more accurate, and the choice of materials based on zirconium ceramics, from which we mostly make crowns and bridges on teeth and implants, is just perfect. We can choose the most precise shape of the implant and imperceptibly fit it into the natural dentition. 3D printing of ceramics has almost become a routine. We, at the CDEI, have tried and tested the latest products and I think that this is a technology that will soon replace the existing one.

Thanks to our, over 20-year-long experience, teamwork and our clients’ trust, we have accomplished the previously set goals and standards.

Digitalization and new technologies, in essence, open us to the world, because you can easily include anyone in your team at any time from any part of the world during the course of therapy. My colleagues from developed countries often use this to outsource some phases and reduce the cost of doing business. We, in Serbia, use the opportunity to connect more closely with teams that are globally referenced in certain segments and include them in the therapy of our patients. This was not possible in the era before the high-speed Internet.

“In the coming period, we expect that the number of patients from abroad to return to the old level, but let’s not forget that the neighbouring countries have also worked on their image and improved their services. The decision to start with dental treatment is just the beginning of changing bad life and health habits. The time ahead is full of uncertainty in the business sense and it requires healthy individuals to deal with it. The health of the whole body begins with a healthy mouth and teeth, and a beautiful smile is more than needed when the masks that we are obliged to wear today “fall”, concluded Dr Ristić.

 

 

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