Reclaiming reality

9th February 2022

5 minute read

We speak to implant dentist Sami Stagnell who will be chairing the ‘Disasters from the Masters’ session at the BioHorizons Camlog UK & Ireland 2022 National Symposium, as he tells us ‘It’s OK to make mistakes!’

We’re excited about hearing you speak at the National Symposium; can you tell us what enticed you to chair the ‘Disasters from the Masters’ session?

I’ve attended many lectures in implant dentistry over the past 10 years, but what I have found most interesting about the BioHorizons Camlog lectures is that there is such a scientific spin on their topics – it’s not always just product specific. They focus on what is influencing implant dentistry as a whole and for me that is a very holistic approach to take as you can go in with a blank canvas without feeling any pressure.

I’m excited about chairing the ‘Disasters from the Masters’ session, because even though we’ll be speaking with leading experts, it’s interesting to learn that even these masters can, and do, make mistakes.

What I learned from leadership training is that growth mindset is an important part of personal development. One thing that is bad in healthcare, especially dentistry, is learning from your mistakes and failures. There is this expectation to constantly be perfect and top of your game and social media has compounded that view. Dentists only ever show their best results online and people don’t really know the effort, learning, time (or errors) that have gone into achieving those results.

What can delegates expect from this event?

Experiences must be developed via lots of different methods and approaches rather than just from 1 or 2 treatment outcomes. Delegates will learn that failures are an integral part of development. Some of these prominent names in implant dentistry will have started in the same position as some of the delegates in attendance, and even they still have more to learn.

Every point in your professional journey is a point to educate yourself. So being able to showcase how complications are relevant and learning to love failure is really important. To recognise that some of these masters of implant dentistry do make mistakes too and learn from them is reassuring and refreshing – after all they are humans too!

How have you overcome ‘disasters’ in your implant career?

Most of the time you don’t realise you are learning. You are so anxious to just start and get going, and when you combine this with the huge pressure to have good outcomes, you often don’t see what you ought to be doing.

We all make mistakes – it’s a human trait. It’s only when you get together with your peers and reflect and talk with others that you see what you’re doing. You can sometimes feel that you are not progressing because you’re not taking the time to assess your own work.

There is an abundance of courses out there and people aren’t prepared to go through the failure phase. They rush onto the next phase before really honing a particular skill, then they wonder why they are not progressing. Many dentists today are not really giving themselves the time to recognise how to be good at something. Implants are an elective procedure and there are a limited number of cases, so you can’t do tens of thousands of cases. That’s why getting used to the basic skills is so important first i.e., sutures, flaps etc.

It’s the accumulative experience and the ability to look back based on the viewpoint you have now because you see the past differently at different intervals. Actively reflect and use that ability to shape your next steps. The keywords are to “reclaim reality”.

Why should dentists’ attend this session at the Symposium?

We often brush the daily anxieties under the carpet. Remember, many of us have those same feelings so you shouldn’t suffer in isolation. One of the best things about attending conferences and symposiums is the connection. For the past two years we have missed out on attending such events, but now we have a great opportunity to come back and reconnect with people, share experiences and create that ‘togetherness’ that makes a great community.

The BioHorizons Camlog National Symposium is the perfect opportunity to do this. You’ll be able to hear the mistakes made from the masters themselves, as they openly discuss their complications, experiences gained and the positive outcomes from these learnings. BioHorizons Camlog UK & Ireland are offering this event at the discounted rate of £150 and will be donating the fee to their chosen charity, Naomi House & Jacksplace – hospices for children and young adults.

I look forward to seeing you all there!