Imagine a virtual realm where dental practitioners could attend live dental exhibitions, education programmes, and networking meetups from anywhere in the world. With advancements in virtual reality (VR) technology, virtual events could soon be a staple of the dental industry. Dental Asia speaks with dental Web3 and mixed reality platform Dentaverse on the potential and future of the virtual world.
At its core, the Dentaverse seeks to solve the problem of information isolation within global dentistry.
“Although information distribution worldwide is pretty good, there is a small percentage of the industry that has access to such innovative and technological information. Through virtual events and hybrid models, you can open the market to more people and have the information readily available for a bigger audience,” said COO for Dentaverse, Floris Keyzer.
Founded in 2022, Dentaverse started as an NFT community who saw an opportunity in the potential of VR. Where traditional avenues for dental learning experiences, event hosting, and networking opportunities would be limited by geographical and economic factors, Dentaverse aims to provide a platform where the same content, opportunities and experiences can be accessed virtually.
“Our focus pivots on creating an immersive VR experience that transcends traditional boundaries of learning and networking in dentistry,” Keyzer added.
WEB3
Powered by real-time 3D content capabilities in Unreal Engine 5, a popular creation engine commonly used by game developers, the Dentaverse creates live-rendered VR spaces in the form of classrooms, conferences, connectivity hubs. The details in geometry and light design provide a leap in visual fidelity in these dynamic spaces with a touch of artistic direction and realism.
Among the benefits of a virtual world are more access to high-quality dental education by eliminating the need for physical infrastructure and travel, and the removal of geographical barriers enabling dental professionals and students to connect effortlessly and globally.
To encourage user adoption for those unfamiliar with the technology, a driving focus for Dentaverse is about promoting exploration and discovery within the platform.
“By providing resources, tutorials, and support, we aim to demystify the technology and showcase its practical benefits in the dental field. This education-first approach helps in gradually building user confidence and comfort with the platform, thereby fostering a more tech-savvy dental community,” said Keyzer.
In her efforts to educate users on the benefits of the medium, Leyla Ibrahimli, head of community for Dentaverse, noted that the response of users is different based on geographic area.
For instance, markets in the Middle East were open and enthusiastic to trying new technologies while consumers from Eastern Europe were more pragmatic in seeing immediate returns for the technology’s functionality. Regulations in the EU also caused consumers to be more concerned about data privacy and regulation.
The incorporation of Web3 elements like NFTs, decentralisation, and blockchain in the core functions of Dentaverse embodies the company’s philosophy of building an empowered community of users and user experience. Compared to a Web2 era of the internet where content is user-generated and ownership of virtual spaces are private, the new iteration of Web3 focuses on shared ownership and transparency of virtual spaces through underlying technologies such as the blockchain.
A DIFFERENT REALITY
In the ever-evolving landscape of technology and dentistry, Keyzer and Ibrahimli recognise the importance of agility and responsiveness to market conditions.
“How do you ride the wave of an unestablished piece of innovation that is followed up very rapidly? For example, the difference between the first oculus and the latest oculus is immense. That kind of made us pivot from talking about VR and AR into talking about mixed reality,” Keyzer said.
Ibrahimli believes that the technology currently lies in between disruption and deception stages, based on growth and development models for new technologies: “It is in a phase where within a few years or months, new developments or innovations will totally disrupt the environment and it will grow exponentially. Things will become lighter, cheaper, and more open for mass production.”
Despite the alluring prospect of disrupting the modality of interactions and shaping a brand-new virtual world for the dental industry, Keyzer and Ibrahimli stand grounded in advancing the dental profession over technology. Their approach is anchored in a dual focus on innovation and user-centric development.
To read the full article, click here or refer to Dental Asia January/February 2024 issue.
