Digital Dental Labs 2: The Evolution

In our survey of the Digital Dental Labs, as we promised in our previous post (Digital Dental Labs), we have drawn up a picture of how those labs complement dental practices which utilize CBCT. The Digital Dental Labs offer various services, which not only complete the picture to the dentists, but they actually allow them to take all clinical and aesthetic factors into consideration, and to minimize surgical risks.

The CBCT 3D can use volumetric analysis to determine ideal implant location; failures of placement can be considered evidence of substandard placement (1). The utilization of CBCT has become a standard in dental care quality, and Digital Dental Labs have become a major stakeholder in the dental field.

Software has been developed to work with 3D imaging that can fabricate models, surgical stints, and even restorations, further improving outcomes and reducing risks (1). Digital Dental Labs started off by offering dentists, who own the software, services to help save their time, and hence allowing them to dedicate more time to their patients. The patient can now come in sooner for consultation, discussion of options, and visualization of the proposed treatment in 3D. So this, not only saves time for the dentist, but actually for the patient as well. Dentists are now more open to the use of this new technology, are able to focus more on their patients, and patients are more satisfied. One of our readers commented that the Digital Dental Labs: “took away the computer skills and gave me the chance to just be the dentist. I had software since 1995 and rarely used it till 2004, when I was first introduced to one of the digital dental labs”.

Since the introduction of the Digital Dental Labs, there has been an increase in their services span. It went from only offering image processing and reformatting; to offering radiological interpretation and case consultations; to online planning, and now they are even serving the dentists that do not have post-processing software at all. Dentists that do not have the software, who are actually a majority, can now be provided with the reformatting and the treatment plan on a “Read-only” or a “Viewer” version. Such formats don’t allow dentists to manipulate the images, but still give the advantage of computer-guided surgery without having to buy the software, learn how to use it or spend the time to plan each case. Scott D. Ganz, DMD Prosthodontics, Maxillofacial Prosthetics & Implant Dentistry Fort Lee, NJ, commented on one of the Digital Dental Labs by saying that they “… have taken the initiative in filling a quickly increasing and vital need – providing clinicians with a means to navigate through the confusing world of CT and CBCT data through their simple yet elegant online interface and their diverse offerings”.

Quality control is another service offered by the Digital Dental Labs. They now offer the dentists the service of ordering a surgi-guide, compare it to their plan and confirm accuracy, as well as recommending the fixation screws and the drill kit based on the implant system used by the dentist. Dr Cynthia R Satko DDS, MS Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon, Chicago, IL commented about such DDL services: “I have just completed another case with an excellent result on a challenging case. The treatment planning session was extremely beneficial and the CT scanned surgical guides were very easy to use. The protocol has expanded my treatment options and I would highly recommend the system to all implant surgeons”. This new addition to the Digital Dental Labs services makes the dentist’s life a lot easier, as it reduces the vast amount of pure technical information that dentists have to learn before getting started in using the software.

One of Digital Dental Labs other advantages is that they provide a line up of all the available major dental software in the market. This allows the dentist to choose the most optimal and suitable software based on the case and skill level – so dentists are not stuck to using just one software/surgical guide. Digital Dental Labs pay for maintenance, keep their software updated and fix all computer and IT issues, which would have been something dentists had to deal with if they had their own copy of the software. As described by Karim Ismail, 3D Diagnostix VP of sales: “a good digital dental lab would qualify your case and decide the proper system that matches your need”, he also added: “post processing is not only now about time or cost but it also helps the dentist go through a safer less invasive procedure in the surgery room”.

The success of the Digital Dental Labs relies on the balance between decreasing post processing time to the minimum, and increasing patient’s safety in the surgery room to the maximum. Both factors help the dentist achieve quality dental care.

(1) CBCT- Anatomic Assessment and Legal Issues: The New Standard of Care, CDA Journal, Vol. 37, No. 9, P.661

Click here to read part one of this article: Digital Dental Labs