What I learned at The Dentistry Show, 2019

I visited 2019 The Dentistry Show on Friday 17th at the NEC. I have a strong aversion to trade shows (as many event salespeople will tell you). Competition for potential customers is high and prices for exhibiting are even higher so I always think, ‘What’s the point of going to the dentistry show?’

That being said, I was persuaded to at least visit it by Chris from our PR team (Precision PR). Chris kindly picked me up at the office, gave me a huge list of people we needed to see, and checked that I understood his brief about why we needed to attend as we drove the 40-or-so minutes to the NEC.

So here are a few things I learned from my visit.

NEC Goody Bags

1. Plan. We arranged our list by row (letter) and stand number. It cuts down on walking massively. Also, know what you are going to say. The exhibitors have paid a huge amount of money, so have your story straight so they understand why they’re talking to you and can decide if it’s something they want to do. Otherwise, you’re going to waste their time and your own.

2. According to Chris (who is old enough to remember), The Dentistry Show is still in the stone age. The software shows that he regularly attends have been cutting down hired models in skimpy outfits that have nothing to do with the product. Not so The Dentistry Show, so it seems. In an ‘enlightened age’ when probably 50% of the attendees are women, why do exhibitors feel the need to do this?

3. It is really expensive to exhibit. Talking to friends, competitors and people we met, floor space at the show this year was more expensive than ever before. The cost of parking has also rocketed by 33.3% since last year. And the food shops, bars are still over-crowded and over-priced. The cost of hiring a stand-builder is also high at the NEC as they are both in high demand and have extra rules and regulations to deal with.

4. We were looking for other specialists to help us build strategic partnerships with Pearl. And we were gratified to find some very reputable companies that have done the fit-out for surgeries up and down the country that use Pearl. So, from that perspective, mission accomplished. Unfortunately, my second objective was to bag a load of free pens for the office, but these seem suddenly out of fashion, so I returned home empty-handed on that front.

5. The big new ‘thing’ is ‘digital dentistry‘. But while the technologies are still in the buzzword phase of maturity (is that part of a Gartner evaluation methodology?) they are now settling into sensible use applications, conforming to interoperable ‘standards’, and being deployed in realistic and sustainable workflows. Pearl is already fully integrated with many of these technologies, and we will continue to add to the list as customers demand and opportunities present themselves.

So, all-in-all, an interesting if tiring day, topped off by a chilly but exciting evening of fireworks and aerobatics in Nuneaton at the Midlands Air Festival.

If you attended the Dentistry Show and wondered why we don’t exhibit, give us a call and we’ll tell you. We weren’t alone – several companies we expected to see there were missing – a sure sign that the organisers are pushing the price a bit hard.

And if you’re looking for the most complete practice management software system on the market, call us now on 0116 275 9995.