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Anyone who has made the jump from chemical development of x-rays to the digital form can tell you the same thing that I'm about to tell you… Digital is the way to go! The field of digital impressions in Dentistry is quickly growing. A number of new scanner systems with more features and benefits are showing up on the market, and more labs are becoming digital friendly. Basically there are two different scanners that are used to give the digital impression. Some systems use blue LED optical scanners that depend upon a reflective surface, and therefore require a contrasting medium, such as powder, to acquire a representation of the tooth morphology. The other systems utilize laser technology to scan and measure distances from the tooth surface, and those measurements are compiled to produce the image. There are four major systems on the market today: Cadent i Tero, 3M ESPE Lava Cos, Cerec by Sirona, and E4D by D4D Technologies. The Cadent and 3M ESPE machines produce models that are sent to the lab. The CEREC AC can be used with or without a milling machine and uses the LED scanner with powder. E4D's system uses a laser scanner and therefore does not require powder. The E4D also offers TSS, or three sources scanning. The Dentist can scan directly intraorally, take a conventional impression and scan the impression, or pour the impression and then scan the model. What is the advantage to all of this technology? First of all, the labs like the virtual impressions because the information can be downloaded directly to their milling units to produce CAD/ CAM restorations. These systems eliminate stone model work so there are no distortion issues and no bubbles. Cleaner preparations, improved accuracy of the models with virtually no remakes, and restorations that fit and require little occlusal adjustment, result in big cost savings for the lab and the dental office. With milled models, you have a solid model. Dies are precision fit in the model with no movement, and all dies are captured in one model. This gives greater accuracy when restoring multiple units, such as veneer cases. There is no contamination from the patient and no die spacer is required. Although PVS material has been used for years, there is a distinct disadvantage for remaining with the conventional methods. The possibility of bubbles, pulls, tears, and distortion while taking impressions can be routinely found. There is also the frigidity of stone models that require repours with less accuracy. To put numbers with this, an annual subscription fee averages $4000 annually for scans and service of equipment. A doctor who averages 20 cases per month pays $16.66 per case ($4000/12 months/ 20 cases). For comparison, I used a PVS material that costs $18.73 per cartridge. I can get two quadrant impressions per cartridge, plus the cost of the mixing tubes, Lightbody PVS, the intraoral tip, and blue mousse bite registration. This resulted in an average cost of $16.52, which is comparable if there are no retakes. With conventional impressions, more cases mean increased impression material costs. With digital impressions, you have a decrease in cost per case when doing more cases. In addition, time is where the real savings occurs. With a conventional impression including prepping time and then getting the case ready for the lab, we averaged between 35 and 45 minutes. By taking a digital impression, we have the same prep time but then we take only about four minutes to scan both arches based on a quadrant impression. This comes to a total of only 12 to 14 minutes. That is the difference of a full half hour. At seating time, I saved another five to eight minutes just based upon the accuracy of the restoration and had far fewer adjustments. So for a time cost saving basis, if you currently average $500 per hour of productivity, then that equates to another $250 of saved production time, and if figured out for the remainder of a year, total added productivity for an average practice is well over $100,000 per year. However, efficiency is not always free. Like with any other large equipment purchase, there is an initial cost. Even with the most expensive models for Cerec and E4D ranging from $110,00 to $120,000, the increased production can still have a return on your investment in less than a year. As the technology improves, all restorative options will be available, from single crowns, to implants, to full arch restorations. Come and join us again to learn more about updates in Digital Dentistry, and also find other ways to make your practice much more efficient. www.DentistryToolsPlus.com is a website that was set up by a Dentist, for Dentists. For all of your product needs, visit us today. We are now offering free shipping on all equipment purchases!
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Dental Practice Management, Dental Equipment, Digital Impressions, Digital Dental Innovations, Dental Consultant,
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