A New Dynamic Era in Implant Dentistry
- Andre Chen
- Oct 18
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 19
A New Era in Implant Dentistry
The technological position of a clinic is crucial for developing new approaches and procedures. Precision, accuracy, and reduced morbidity for our patients — that’s the true outcome of innovation.
On Friday, October 17, 2025, we performed our first navigated surgery with the Falcon System at IAD Lisbon.
✨ And so a new era in implant dentistry has begun…
It was a truly important day at @IADLisbon — together, we embraced the Falcon the new chairside dynamic system for implant placement. (It basically gives you a live view of what you are drilling through computers an artificial intelligence and a little of augmented reality)
Lab technicians, dentists, and dental nurses united for dynamic navigation in implant placement. 🦷💫
"Another milestone in our continuous process of digital transformation: dynamic navigation for implant placement, powered by AI and software optimization."
We are setting aside more and more of the human error and reducing the number of physical guides and devices placed inside the patient’s mouth.
Yet, with great advancements and technology come new organizational challenges — the teams must adapt, evolve, and move as one.
This dynamic piece of technology is of tremendous importance, but it will only work if the lab tech, dentist, and dental nurse are perfectly tuned.
This is not technology you can use alone — or without prior digital experience.
"It’s for experts who already have a path in the digital world, who understand the concepts, the language, and the procedures."
That’s as close as implant dentistry has ever been to being considered a true specialty.
Let’s face it — a periodontist may never fully grasp the prosthetic pitfalls, just as a prosthodontist may never truly understand the surgical complexities. Only when these worlds synchronize can true excellence emerge.
I doubt very much that this kind of digital knowledge, with synchronization between lab techs and machines, is properly trained in a perio program. And I will never see proper drilling preparation control with augmented reality together with GBR procedures in a prosthodontic specialty.
This will only be possible in a specialty dedicated 100% to implant dentistry.
(But that is for another blog…)
Back to our day:
We had trained all week for this — Margarida, Sofia, and I — model after model, bug after bug.
We faced the obstacles created by the software itself, tuning the orchestra until the masterpiece made sense.
There were plenty of mistakes, but Sofia held it together, overcoming each one.
“Show me,” I asked her, in a Matrix-style moment — and she did.
Then we moved from case to case until we had a protocol, a strategy, a way to win over the machine and master the software.
That Friday, I called Mike:
“My friend, let’s go again for another innovative fandango. Are you free for two hours to hold the camera and take pictures?”
As usual, it was all last-minute. He replied:
“I’m in — screw the job, I know this will be fun! Pick me up at Colégio Moderno, our school forever — and off we go.”
I couldn’t imagine it being any different.
When we all met at the clinic, there was an air of confidence — true confidence.
Not the apprehension of someone going into the unknown. Come on!!!
We had been training for this. Each of us knew our position and the exact notes we had to play so that the masterpiece could be complete.
As always, I thought about putting on a little music to calibrate the mood — as I always like to do, so we can all sing the same tune and our brains are aligned — but not this time.
Our brains were already aligned!!!
We drank coffee, took a deep breath, and started to perform.
As the operating room got crowded, so did the complexity of the case.
We calibrated quickly with our silicone mouth opener!
Of course, Arlete had to step in to help retract so the sensor would always receive light.
Then came the drilling protocol: I started with #24, a little rusty. Positioning the drill in a tiny crest was hard, and I eventually started to drill in the wrong position! But then I adjusted, and off we went!!!
Then the true challenge came — the #26 posterior site, an angulated implant in an 8 mm crest between the nose and the sinus!
But here my body went loose, into fun mode, enjoying the experience, the surroundings, and being in the battlefield with such amazing people around me. And bang ….. less than a mm of deviation ……
It’s the energy, my friends — surround yourself with people who are going to become better than you, and you will succeed.
Surround yourself with employees, and you will be stuck in your goals!
The BLX implant going in was an orgasmic moment!
Pardon my erotic moment…
We couldn’t believe we had succeeded.
All the hours of training, the political bureaucracy that Maria João from Straumann fought through to deliver this to me — despite so many complicated and political voices that stood up — the dedication of Sofia and Margarida, all the nights scrolling how to do it, and the uncertainty of how we were going to pay for this…
That was our fuel. Our motivational drive to succeed.
We had to do it. We had to perform. We had to win.
And we clenched our teeth hard.
And we did it.
Under a glorious summer day in October, with almost fourteen people in the room, we delivered one of the most synchronized surgeries I’ve ever been part of.
We had a vision and we delivered it to real life!
We set, we go, and we succeed.
Everyone played their instrument beautifully — and the orchestra delivered its first masterpiece. 🎶
The rum shot to toast our success was just natural — and the arrival of João Afonso from Harvard to witness the moment made it even more special.
A historic shot to celebrate us all!!
I couldn’t be prouder of this team — focus, precision, and heart, all in one rhythm. ❤️
It was a beautiful day ........
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