Digital Dentistry

Editor’s Note: During his presentation at 3Shape’s Inaugural Community Symposium last fall, Lyndon F. Cooper, DDS, PhD, explained the positive impact of digital technology now and in the future. The following is excerpted from his lecture in which he focused on four main benefits of digital...

A decade ago, many laboratory owners felt “all dressed up with nowhere to go,” as they were fired up about digital dentistry but struggled to get their dentist-clients on board. In fact, in 2010, only 50% of laboratories said clients were interested in trying new technologies and only one-third...

If you want to truly earn dentists’ loyalties, you need to discover their pain points. Only when you know what they find frustrating, nerve-racking or gut-wrenching can you implement services or strategies to help give them peace of mind and ultimately build long-term relationships. “I’ve...

1. Set standards. Once the dentist is ready to start sending cases, establish what you need from him. While the software that accompanies the scanner walks the dentist through obtaining the three pieces of information you need—prep arch, opposing arch and bite scan—there are details that...

The landscape of the dental industry is ever-changing: demographic shifts, business model transitions and technological evolutions present new opportunities and challenges for dentists and laboratories alike. Proactive laboratories are making a point

There are several types of printing technologies and their capacity, accuracy, speed and prices vary. These are some of the most common technologies used in the laboratory: 

SLA (Stereolithography)—widely recognized as the first 3D printing process to be developed—is a laser-based process....

3D printing technology has been around for more than three decades in a variety of industries. Here are some of the highlights of its storied history:

1980: Dr. Hideo Kodama of Nagoya Municipal Industrial Research Institute is credited with being the first to describe a rapid prototyping technique...

Dental Team: Drs. Jeff and Burt Melton, who have practice locations in Santa Fe and Albuquerque, NM. 

Restorative Challenge: The patient presented with severe periodontal problems and bone loss resulting in maxillary and mandibular terminal dentition. Esthetics and functional occlusion had...

Dental Team: Gil Guardiola, CDT, Removable Department Technical/Clinical Manager at R-dent Dental Laboratory and Dr. Micah Parkhurst, both in Memphis, TN. 

Restorative Challenge: The patient had been to several dentists and had several dentures made over the years, but had never been relieved...

Evident software helps the laboratory streamline its production workflow, from enabling dentists to submit cases and photos through the lab’s website, coordinating scheduling to maximize production capacity, to shipping and billing the final case.

“With so many details to keep track of in...

This month, Glidewell Laboratories is upgrading its CloudPoint System to expand the indications; in addition to full contour crowns, bridges, inlays and onlays, you can now fabricate copings, bridge frameworks and split files.

The system features the CloudPoint FastScan scanner with CloudPoint FastDesign...