Every industry in the world is being transformed by digital technology and dentistry is definitely one of them. What used to be complex and expensive has now been democratized through automated, standardized manufacturing processes and a seamless workflow.

3D digital dentistry is on its way to becoming the new standard in dental care. Faster, more accessible, less complex, and less resource-intensive, discover how digital dentistry is transforming the work of dental lab technicians.

It makes your dental lab technician job easier

Digital technology makes the work of professionals easier. That reduces procedural costs, allowing you to produce more at the same or higher quality than with analog processes. Working with a network of experts and validated partners allows you to optimize your dental digital workflow:

  • Treatment optimization: from planning to design to managing treatment for the patient. You no longer need to switch from one software program to another or from one computer to another. All information is centralized in one place to save you time with a more efficient workflow.
  • Save time: With digital technology, the design, production, and shipping of dental clear aligners is seamless. With fast delivery, patients get what they need quickly for an improved experience.
  • Better communication: Digital dentistry helps dental professionals and lab technicians streamline their tasks and improve the quality of work performed. Because all of the information is centralized, the risk of error is reduced, and production traceability is guaranteed.

 

It transforms production in the dental laboratory

Digital technology makes it easier to outsource planning and production to specialized centers. For example, in the case of clear aligners, all you need to do is send digital scans of the mouth, documents specifying the treatment objectives, and photos. In return, you will receive STL files ready to be printed. There is no need to buy specialized software and train your technical teams.

It’s a time saver that allows you to better manage the seasonality of requests and guarantees the reliability of the STL file,  so you can focus on your core business. Thanks to the cloud, all the professionals who need to can validate and verify the files for a personalized solution for each patient.

Digital dentistry reduces the risks and uncertainties associated with human error and communication problems. Dental CAD software tools provide visual interfaces for the automation of certain steps as well as easy identification and correction of errors.

The technician’s job is changing with digital design and manufacturing that reduces manual labor, leading to streamlined production. Because they cover the entire dental digital workflow, these digital technologies are both powerful and versatile for designing and planning a wide variety of dental applications.

Finally, 3D digital dentistry is a solution to the shortage of qualified personnel. Files can be sent digitally to dental laboratories or production centers located elsewhere in the country or abroad. In a related field, a shortage of radiologists in the UK led to the outsourcing of image analysis via digital solutions.

X-rays were sent to overseas radiologists, for example in Australia. The images are analyzed overnight, and the results are provided to patients in the UK the next day. This is an approach that can be utilized in the case of clear dental aligners.

State-of-the-art tools available to all dental laboratories

3Shape is a software solution that helps you improve patient care, quality, and treatment efficiency. It is a technical solution capable of guiding professionals through the case analysis, setup and staging, and export to print for production of clear aligners.

It has US and European approval, underlining the reliability of its process. 3Shape software allows you to choose the processing workflows and formulas that best suit your dental laboratory.

Oqton is a Manufacturing Execution System (MES) software. It integrates your systems to digitize production and help plan, track and trace all actions in a dental laboratory environment. With it, you can automate your CAM workflow, increase productivity, and have full traceability with complete quality assurance.

An integrated end-to-end ecosystem

Digital technology is ubiquitous in the world of dentistry. It’s important to be able to interconnect every piece of hardware and software, from intraoral scanning to dental model manufacturing, ensuring information flows easily between each point.

This approach offers more accurate and personalized treatments, reduces costs, and yields significant time savings that will lead to increased patient satisfaction.

Prodways has collaborated with the top leaders in digital dentistry to deliver an integrated end-to-end  ecosystem for clear aligner production that helps transform the work of technicians. 3Shape and Oqton provide software solutions that help you automate and monitor your workflow. Hamer provides automatic systems for in-line thermoforming of up to 1,300 aligners/hour. Digital Dental has developed a scalable, automated aligner trimming solution that can help your dental technicians produce 100 aligners per hour, every hour.

 

If you want to know more about how 3D digital dentistry can help your dental lab reduce downtime and production costs, contact us. Talk to an expert and get a free Absolute Aligner printed model to see for yourself how we deliver the clearest aligner on the market.

Prodways Tech and these partners, Hamer and Digital Dental will be at IDS Dental Show 2021. To set up a conversation with one of our Dental Experts at IDS! Click here. Unable to make it to travel to IDS this year? Fill out the form here and one our experts will be in touch to set up a conversation.