Knight: Doing It Right
Posted Mar 12, 2012 in Management
Knight President Barbara Warner Wojdan, CDT, AAACD, with the staff of the Comprehensive Aesthetics Center department. Front row (l. to r.): Enesa Hadzijusufovic, CDT; Laurie Mulder; and Wodjan.
Back row (l. to r.): Matt Derderian; Mary Leigh Dempsey, CDT; Mary Hochwarter; Jetta Dunlap; Gus Meier, CDT; Lonnie Lee, CDT, AAACD; and Dough Smith.
If there ever was a case study in the art of change, Knight Dental Group is it. Over the past few years, the Oldsmar, FL-based laboratory has made a number of strategic decisions that have left it more competitive, more efficient and better equipped to deal with a changing market.
In 2005, Knight Dental Group invested in a complete milling system and, last year, purchased two more. Today, the lab fabricates about half of its caseload using digital technology--including almost 100% of its PFM restorations--and produces about 35% more units than it did using traditional techniques.
Although incorporating CAD/CAM technology meant a substantial financial investment along with the related technical learning curve and subsequent changes in an already successful production process, Knight was convinced it was important to commit and adapt to digital technology early on. "We knew our industry was evolving and trending toward digital applications," says...
