Red Practice named 2023-24 Digital Dentistry Practice of the Year

The Red Practice at UTHealth Houston School of Dentistry has been named the 2023-24 Digital Dentistry Practice of the Year.

The Digital Dentistry Practice of the Year is awarded to the group practice that completes the highest number of computer-aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM) cases during the academic year. The winner is calculated based on the average number of cases done by third- and fourth-year students in each practice. CAD/CAM software is used to digitally scan, design, and generate dental restorations such as crowns and bridges.

Dental students in the Red Practice averaged 3.5 restorations per student during the 2023-24 academic year to claim the digital dentistry title. This is the second time Red Practice has taken the honors since the award’s inception during the 2019-20 academic year. They were previously recognized for the 2021-22 academic year.  

Director of Digital Dentistry Michelle Thompson, DDS, and Patricia Enriquez, a representative of Ivoclar Vivadent, presented the trophy to Red Practice in a midday celebration on Nov. 13 in the courtyard of the Denton A. Cooley, MD and Ralph C. Cooley, DDS University Life Center. Ivoclar Vivadent also provided lunch and cake for the winning group practice and attendees who support the digital dentistry efforts of the School of Dentistry.

Red Practice is under the direction of Dan A. Bentley, DDS; first attending resident Gary Pillers, DDS; and second attending resident Ryan Vahdani, DDS, MHA.

“It’s taken every single person to do this,” Bentley said. “Not the least of which is Dr. Thompson; she’s the one pushing us to do all the things we’re doing and supports us so well. Her and all of the technicians have been incredible, and I’m very pushy to get this done. I’m pushy about making guys work harder than you want to.”

School of Dentistry clinics, which encompasses all five group practices, advanced education programs, and UT Dentists, combined to complete over 390 digitally generated restorations in 2023-24. Red Practice completed 129 fixed restorations, accounting for 33% of all restorations.

“I appreciate that everybody is willing to do things they don’t feel comfortable doing,” Bentley said. “You don’t know if it’s going to work, you don’t know going to get more or less credit out of doing this, and you don’t know if you’ll ever figure out how to do it yourself. It really does take a team to make this work, and it starts by somebody having an idea to do something that nobody ever did before. We’re on the backs of people that thought about things years and years ago and we’re getting to use what they learned.”

Thompson created the award in the fall of 2019 as a friendly competition between the faculty and students of the five group practices to encourage them to utilize CAD/CAM technology to more efficiently care for patients.

Digital Dentistry Practice of the Year
2023-24: Red Practice
2022-23: Orange Practice
2021-22: Red Practice
2020-21: Orange Practice
2019-20: Orange Practice