It’s ‘Prime’ Time for Milling and 3D Printing
Leveraging the DS Core cloud platform brings together CEREC Primemill and Primeprint Solution for better practice efficiency, improved collaboration, and enhanced patient care
Dee Dee Meevasin, DMD, has enthusiastically embraced the latest dental technologies in her aptly named practice—Dee for Dentist—which has 2 locations in Las Vegas, NV. Since adopting DS Core, a cloud platform from Dentsply Sirona that simplifies daily workflows and peer collaborations, she has found her offices’ productivity and efficiency dramatically increase—particularly when it comes to chairside milling and 3D printing.
“I connected all my offices to DS Core, so if I’m at our second location and I decide to print a surgical guide, my team can simply access the scan and x-ray files at our first location with our Primeprint, start planning the surgical guide for me, and then print it,” Dr. Meevasin said. “Thanks to DS Core I don’t need to own multiple printers, and the platform helps me improve my communication with specialists.”
Dr. Meevasin greatly appreciates DS Core’s integration with her Primeprint Solution and CEREC Primemill, which has given her more control over her in-house dental services and applications, while also allowing her to spend more time chairside with her patients. “Like all things in dentistry, speed is efficiency, and efficiency is savings for the office,” she said. “These technologies have absolutely streamlined systems and operations for myself and my team.”
Primeprint Solution
Primeprint Solution is an end-to-end, highly automated, medical-grade 3D printing system for dental applications that can run the entire printing process, including post-processing. Its high level of automation helps reduce handling times, allows for team delegation, and enables a high level of productivity. Safe and clean usage is ensured thanks to integrated ozone and activated carbon filters and an intelligent material-handling concept that employs RFID coding throughout the manufacturing process.
“The process when using the Primeprint is very simple and efficient,” Dr. Meevasin said. “You can also easily track the progress of what you are printing with the inLab software because it pairs with and identifies the material cartridge you put inside. I like that I don’t have to send the cases to a lab and wait for them to drop it back off. It cuts down on a lot of time. I just can’t stress enough how easy it is to use.”
She added that she has found her Primeprint to be quicker and more cost-efficient when it comes to fabricating surgical guides, splints, and temporary crowns, while helping keep her office clean and tidy, too.
“Cleanup with other printers has always been an issue. It can be very messy and sticky, plus we’re touching the application for post-processing with gloves, and it’s just not ideal,” she noted. “Primeprint applications are in containers, the Primeprint Box, and never open to the atmosphere. Plus, the nitrogen-infused tank removes the oxygen-inhibited layer that would cause that sticky film on the appliance after we printed it. I haven’t had these issues with Primeprint, and I don’t need to worry about a mess.”
CEREC Primemill
Using state-of-the-art technology and CAM strategies, Dentsply Sirona’s CEREC Primemill produces premium chairside
restorations with around 50 different validated materials from a choice of partners.
“I know that 3D printers will be coming out with new materials soon, but milling has been around for much longer, which means there is clinical evidence and more materials to work with,” Dr. Meevasin said. “3D printers are going to catch up, but for me, there are certain things that are still better off milled, such as crowns and other permanent restorations.”
The Primemill delivers fast, accurate restoration margins and surface details with extreme precision and esthetics, in part thanks to burs and diamonds that are specially tailored to each material and indication. A Super Fast Mode mills zirconia crowns in around 5 minutes, while a fast grinding option allows hybrid ceramics to be milled in just 7 minutes.
“I believe there is a need for both 3D printing and milling now and in the future,” Dr. Meevasin said. “When you’re 3D printing, it is less expensive and more environmentally friendly because it is an additive technology that builds something up, which creates less waste. However, while milling might cost a little more and creates a bit more waste by carving out the application from a solid block, its evolution has allowed for a greater focus on factors like esthetics, customizations, and gradient colors. 3D printing just isn’t on the same playing field yet.” Bottom line? “Any way that I can ensure quicker turnaround times and make the patient experience a lot more enjoyable is truly amazing.”
