Exploring: Practice Philosophy
Modern Technology for Dental Communication “Can You Hear Me Now?” By Shane Treadaway
Vice President of Sales Pittman Dental Laboratory One popular cellular service provider has done a great job “branding” this question into our heads over the past few years. We’ve all seen the guy with dark rimmed glasses with the sea of people behind him supporting the company’s technology and the service they provide. The intended message is how their service improves and streamlines communication. In most cases this is the focus of technological advances regardless of the industry. Modern Technology for Dental Communication Communication between the dentist and the lab technician forms a unity, bond and strengthens the core of their business relationship. In my sixteen years as a dental technician I have seen what is in my opinion to be the greatest developments ever to take place in the dental industry.
On-going advancements in digital cameras have revolultionialized lab, doctor and patient communication over the last few years. Until a few years ago, lab technicians and dentists relied solely on phone communication, or office visits by the lab tech or lab visits by the doctor to communicate with each other when technical issues arose. These methods were, and still are, an effective way to achieve successful results but are very time consuming, inefficient and costly. On-going advancements in digital cameras have revolultionialized lab, doctor and patient communication over the last few years. In the past, a personal visit to communicate shade characteristics could consume half of a day production. Now, an image taken with a high quality digital camera can be submitted via email to the lab within minutes, saving literally hundreds of dollars in chair time.
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Dental Explorer | Fourth Quarter 2009
In our laboratory, we utilize a microscope camera to communicate technical issues with our doctors. The days of pulling a clinician away from the chair to ask about an unclear margin, questionable bite or lack of inter-occlusal space are inefficiencies of the past. If we have a concern relating to the case, we simply take a few digital pictures of the area of concern and email it to the doctor. When the doctor has a break between patients or during lunch, the images can be observed and a reply will be emailed to the lab on how to proceed. This means of communication has proven to be more efficient for the lab, enables the clinician to physically see our concern in the images and reduces remakes, thus improving the bottom line for the doctor and the lab. Better for the Patient Dental practitioners and technicians agree that our main objective in the efforts to increase the standardization of production by facilitating greater quality assurance is better restorations for the patient. It is with this focus that our laboratory chose several years ago to progress into CAD/CAM and automated processes. Now, most of our restorations are generated using some type of digital technology. At the dawn of computer aided design and computer aided manufacturing (CAD/CAM), many technicians became a little nervous. I remember asking the question, “Will computers and machines take our place in this industry?” What we have seen happen throughout the constant advances in technology is the question becomes a proven misconception. We are utilizing systems such as Lava ST Scan, Lava Mill, Dental Wings Scan and EnvisionTec wax print in our daily production methods. By increasing the efficiency and accuracy of the fabrication process, our technicians can now focus on higher tasks requiring a higher skill level. Digital technology and automation has not eliminated our technicians, instead it has made them better technicians. Recent developments of digital impression systems have received the attention of many industry leaders. Earlier this year, we partnered with 3MESPE and their Lava C.O.S. digital impression