Course Title:

Course Description:

Digital workflow ---Intraoral Scanning, Milling, and 3D Printing in Pediatric dentistry

Dentistry has evolved in the recent decade based on the newest materials and digital technology. Digital workflow refers to the use of dental technologies or devices that incorporates digital or computer-controlled components to carry out dental procedures rather than using mechanical or electrical tools. Pediatric dentistry has historically been quieter in the advancement of digital technology. This lecture will help you implement or improve the use of digital technology in your pediatric dental practice. This lecture will focus on the use of scanning, milling and 3D printing to provide dental care for pediatric patients. In this lecture we will discuss the benefits digital technology offers, as well as its applications for crowns, dentures, and more specialized functions for pediatric dentists. In addition, you will learn how to integrate digital technology in the treatment consideration for patients with special health care needs that may not be able to tolerate traditional restorative techniques.  The Presurgical Nasal-Alveolar Molding (PNAM) procedure for cleft lip and palate treatment is also making vast improvements through utilization of this new technology. Finally, patients with cancer, amelogenesis imperfecta, maxillofacial abnormalities, Molar-Incisal Hypomineralization (MIH), etc. will be discussed in this lecture. The main purpose of this material is to help pediatric dentists understand the benefits, applications, and limitations of digital dentistry.

Objectives:

1. Learn how to digitize teeth, impressions, and dentures using an intraoral scanner.
2. Understand the benefits and limitations of digital dentistry.
3. Learn how milling and 3D printing can be used to benefit your pediatric patients.

The Future of Pediatric Dentistry Utilizing AI in Digital Era

Artificial intelligence (AI) has emerged as a transformative technology in healthcare, and its applications within dentistry—particularly pediatric dentistry—are rapidly expanding. This seminar reviews current AI implementations in pediatric dental practice to evaluate both capabilities and limitations, with a focus on studies involving pediatric patients and the use of AI, machine learning models, or large language models for clinical dental tasks. AI technologies demonstrate strong performance in standardized, image‑based tasks such as tooth detection, caries identification, and radiographic interpretation. However, they continue to face substantial challenges in tasks requiring complex clinical reasoning, contextualized decision‑making, and individualized treatment planning.

Beyond technical performance, the integration of AI into pediatric dentistry raises important considerations regarding algorithmic fairness, ethical decision‑making, and governance accountability. Key issues include limited diversity in training datasets, potential biases in diagnostic outputs, and the need for transparent oversight mechanisms to ensure the safe and equitable use of AI‑driven tools in clinical settings. Implementation barriers—such as workflow integration, clinician readiness, and resource constraints—further complicate widespread adoption.

This seminar highlights applications, governance principles and fairness challenges essential for responsible AI deployment in pediatric dentistry. As AI continues to evolve, pediatric dentists must remain engaged in lifelong learning and adopt AI as a supportive clinical aid rather than a replacement for independent professional judgment. Maintaining strong diagnostic and treatment‑planning skills is critical to ensuring that care remains individualized, ethical, and aligned with the best interests of every child.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly of Pediatric Crowns

Pediatric caries is still one of the most common diseases in children. Full coverage restoration, crowns, is one of the most often used methods for restoring the grossly decayed primary tooth. However, there are many different pediatric prefabricated crowns available. As a pediatric dentist, it can be difficult knowing how to choose the best crown that fits to patient’s need and practitioner’s need is crucial. In this course we will review different pediatric crowns, from the most traditional ones to the newest ones. We will discuss SSC, open face SSC, strip crown, hybrid resin ceramic crowns, pre-veneer crowns, zirconia crowns, etc. With this review we hope to help the practitioner to understand and select the pediatric crowns that fit your needs!

Objectives:

1. Understand different pediatric crowns
2. Be familiar with the different crown’s strength and weakness
3. Knowing the indication and contraindication of each crown

Presenter Biography:

Dr. Jung-Wei “Anna” Chen earned her Doctor of Dental Surgery in 1996 at the Taipei Medical University School of Dentistry in Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China. She graduated from the University of Maryland at Baltimore in 2000, receiving her Certificate in Pediatric Dentistry and a Master’s Degree in Oral Biology. Dr. Chen taught as an Assistant and then Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatric Dentistry at the University of Texas Dental Branch at Houston and studied at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, School of Health Information Science, where she earned her Master’s and Doctoral degrees in Health Informatics in 2002 and 2007, respectively. She has been a full-time Associate Professor (2008), Professor (2014) and Program Director (2009) Chair (2023) at the Loma Linda University School of Dentistry in the Advanced Specialty Education Program in Pediatric Dentistry since 2008.

Dr. Chen is a board-certified Diplomate, Board Examiner and member of College of Diplomates of the American Board of Pediatric Dentistry. She was the President of Pediatric Oral Health Research Group of International Association of Dental Research. She also served on the Board of Directors, Chair of Continuing Education and as Editor for the California Society of Pediatric Dentistry. She is also served as a Chair of Council of Scientific Affairs, member of Scientific Program Committee, and Sedation and General Anesthesia Committee of American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and Education committee of International Association Paediatric Dentistry. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, American College of Dentists, International College of Dentist, Academy of Dentistry International and International Association of Dental Traumatology. Dr. Chen is the recipient of several national and international awards, scholarships, and grants. She has published numerous articles and is a nationally and internationally invited speaker. Dr. Chen’s research explores pediatric esthetic crowns, dental material, cleft lip and palate treatment options, fluoride, oral manifestations and dental care in HIV-infected children, child temperament related to sedation outcomes, trauma treatment for pediatric patients and pedagogical concerns such as interdisciplinary teaching approaches in IT course development and web-based education. Dr. Chen is also very familiar with digital dentistry, App development, AI aid clinical research. In addition to her full-time academic work, she maintains an extramural pediatric dentistry private practice. Dr. Chen is married and has 2 children. Dr. Chen enjoys meditation, volunteer work, music and ping-pong.

Course Tuition:  $799
Includes: 8 CE credit hours, Welcome Reception, Breakfast, Breaks & Course Materials

Room Block at The Allison Inn & Spa:
The COD has reserved a limited number of rooms at the group rate of $515/night++
To reserve, please Call directly to Darien Payne at #503-476-0895 and specify that you are under the “COD Fall Study Club 2026” room block.
*Please note that rooms are available on a first-come first-serve basis, so please book early to ensure your stay*

CE Details:
A maximum of 8 CE hours will be awarded for this program.

CE Schedule:

Cancellation Policy and Liability:

By Registrant:
Refunds, minus a $75 administrative fee, will be issued on written cancellations received on or before September 19, 2026. Registration fees will only be refunded to the person who paid the registration fees, by the same method as the original payment (i.e. credit card, check, etc.) and in the case of a credit card only to the same credit card used to pay the registration fees. Telephone cancellations ARE NOT accepted. No refund requests will be offered after September 19, 2026.

By COD: 
COD reserves the right to cancel, shorten, delay, or otherwise alter or change the meeting in their discretion. If the entire meeting is cancelled COD’s sole obligation is to refund registration fees paid to COD for the meeting by a registrant. If the meeting is delayed, shortened or otherwise altered or changed, COD may in its discretion refund the registration fees paid to COD by a registrant on a prorated basis, but is under no obligation to do so. Registration fees will only be refunded to the person who paid the registration fees, by the same method as the original payment (i.e. credit card, check, etc.) and in the case of a credit card only to the same credit card used to pay the registration fees. COD is not liable for direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, exemplary, punitive, or damages of any other kind, regardless of the nature of the cause of action that may be asserted. COD is not responsible and shall not pay for costs associated with travel, airfare, lodging, food, transportation or other costs or losses incurred by a registrant in connection with the meeting or as a result of the meeting being cancelled, shortened, delayed, or otherwise altered or changed. Registrants are solely responsible for such costs and losses and it is recommended that registrants consider purchasing sufficient insurance to cover such costs and losses. Under no circumstances shall COD’s liability to any registrant exceed the registration fees paid by the registrant to COD in connection with the meeting.