Where passion meets practicality

BDIA Dental Showcase isn’t just about discovering new techniques and technologies; it’s about gaining practical ability and confidence as you transform your daily practice. The educational programme is designed to empower all members of the dental team and give them the opportunity to really own their learning and development.

This is an ethos shared by dental therapist Cat Edney, founder of The Modern Therapist, who will be presenting a number of sessions at the event in March. Sharing why she is such an advocate for the leading exhibition and conference, Cat says:

“This is one of my favourite dental shows, so I’m keen to speak here as much as I can. It’s extremely inclusive, always offering something new, something different, with education for all team members and a range of both bigger and smaller companies exhibiting. I definitely encourage colleagues to come along in 2026, to learn, have fun and enjoy the networking.”

Empowering dental professionals

Offering a hands-on learning opportunity for attendees, Cat will be co-presenting a practical Clinical Excellence workshop alongside Dr Jaz Gulati and Admetec. This will be about supercharging patient communication with innovative new technologies, but Cat will also highlight the importance of self-reflection during the session. She says:

“Having the ability to video what you’re doing on the patient as you’re doing it is amazing for communication and education. But more than this, recording your procedures is also an opportunity for self-assessment and personal growth. This provides real understanding of what you’re doing and why, and makes it easy to identify areas of improvement that can deliver instant results.

“To be able to try the loupes and camera first-hand is an excellent way of finding which combinations work best in your hands. It creates the right mindset for the event overall, focusing the mind on exactly what you need to look for when browsing stands and researching products.”

Cat will be sharing both her technological insights and clinical expertise at BDIA Dental Showcase, where she will also present two seminars in the Oral Health Theatre. The first, in partnership with Align Technology, will continue the conversation around patient communication, this time putting a spotlight on periodontal care. Cat comments:

“We haven’t seen an improvement in periodontal outcomes for patients in 20 years, despite ongoing research and innovation in the field. We are pushing boundaries and products are getting better, but there are still the missing links – patient communication and long-term tracking.

“The digital scanning workflow helps in both areas. It promotes patient engagement and education, enhancing their understanding of their oral health status. But more than this, scanning transforms the practitioner’s ability monitor changes over time, providing an undisputable record of tooth movement and soft tissue alterations across many years. In my session, I want to showcase how amazing this digital workflow is for communicating gingival recession and inflammation, or any other changes that occur in the mouth, with patients, and helping them really appreciate what’s going on in their mouth over time. The enhanced record keeping also affords significant medico-legal protection, as any tooth movement that might be difficult to describe in words is clearly documented.”

Further helping colleagues develop their clinical workflow to achieve exceptional outcomes, Cat will also be speaking in the Oral Health Theatre, this time exploring ultrasonic tip design and its impact on treatment.

“There are hundreds of ultrasonic tip types on the market, and I spent many years in my early career not fully appreciating the difference between them,” she says. “Having spent time learning more about them, I now understand how certain geometries can reduce sensitivity and recession, increase treatment success and generally enhance the patient experience. I want to share some of this knowledge with colleagues, promoting the benefit of intentional instrument selection over taking a blanket approach to all patients. I am also delighted to be doing this in partnership with NSK, who provide the gold-standard precision equipment in this field.”

This is but a snapshot of what attendees can gain from attending BDIA Dental Showcase in March. It will be a place to learn, to connect, and to shape the future of dentistry, while also uniting with profession, academia, industry and government.

Cat summarises how she feels about the opportunity:

“For me, it’s about empowering dental professionals to enhance their clinical practice and deliver the highest standards of patient care. With innovative technologies implemented in the right way and with the right support, we can push boundaries further and achieve even greater outcomes.”