When Dr. Jason Tubo saw CEREC in action for the first time during his freshman year at University of Connecticut School of Dental Medicine in 2005, he knew that it would one day be the standard of care. He was determined to learn as much as he could about the technology so that he would be prepared to use it when he graduated.

Today, at the age of 29, Dr. Tubo is not only a dental practice owner and CEREC expert; he is also one of the youngest GALILEOS owners in Massachusetts. He was recently awarded Fellowship status with the American Dental Implant Association (FADIA).

“I try to stay on top of what is new and proven,” Dr. Tubo said. “I would consider myself an early adopter, but also a very conscientious adopter.”

Getting hands-on experience with CEREC during dental school wasn’t easy for Dr. Tubo because some of the university leaders weren’t ready to accept the new technology. When he realized that the school would not be able to provide pre-clinical training with CEREC, he decided to take matters into his own hands, starting a group called Product Evaluation Research Laboratory (PERL). This student-led, faculty-mentored group partnered with Sirona and other dental companies to give students hands-on training with the latest dental technology. “I wanted to make a point to get as many of my peers trained on the CEREC technology so we could begin to utilize it immediately after school,” Dr. Tubo said.

Dr. Tubo graduated with a doctoral degree in dental medicine in 2008 and soon after joined Dr. Michael Cnossen as an associate at his Whitinsville, Mass., practice, Whitinsville Family Dentistry, PC. Due to his hands-on training with CEREC through the PERL program, Dr. Tubo was able to hit the ground running with CEREC his first day on the job.

During Dr. Tubo’s first one and a half years with the practice, the doctors experienced rapid growth, prompting them to expand from five operatories to nine in 2010. “We needed room to grow,” Dr. Tubo said.

Though the practice purchased merchandise through another dental supplier, Patterson Dental Territory Representative Scott Rigby frequently visited the doctors to discuss new technology. He encouraged them to attend the Sirona and Patterson sponsored 3D Summit to learn more about GALILEOS 3D cone beam imaging. Though Dr. Cnossen was unavailable, Tubo decided to attend the Summit. He admits that he didn’t have the highest expectations for the GALILEOS presentation. “I thought, ‘I can be a hard sell ... so there is no way I will be convinced in 36 hours to spend more than $100,000 on this technology.’”