It’s funny how coincidental life is. Earlier today, I was browsing through a variety of apps, trying to pick one to track my (hopefully 10,000) steps when I take walks. This afternoon, I’m looking through information on saving the dentist and the dental laboratory steps when working together to deliver a crown to a lucky patient. Lucky because he or she doesn’t have to go through all the steps we patients used to, or wait weeks for the crown to be fabricated—or a day, for that matter, if the dental practice mills its own.
Carestream Dental’s CS 3600 intraoral scanner can be used to acquire precise 2D or 3D digital impressions in true color in a matter of minutes. The process is intuitive and easy to learn/train. The scanner plugs right into the work station in the operatory. The system eliminates all the errors, not to mention steps, of traditional impressions, as well as p
oured casts. The CS 3600 can be integrated as part of Carestream Dental’s CS Solutions CAD/CAM portfolio, or used as a standalone tool. It can be used to plan and design crowns, inlays/onlays, implant-borne prosthetics, and orthodontic appliances. Patients’ teeth can be scanned directly—as can previously made conventional impressions.
So that’s the simplified chairside workflow. Now, the scans can be used to design and mill crowns in house or sent out to your favorite dental lab.
The steps that involve your dental lab are much improved as well. Digital impressions enhance communication with the lab, and Carestream Dental’s CS Connect portal is a simpler way to share your dental impressions. File transfer is secure, and a whole lot faster than packaging and shipping models. You and your lab can discuss and fine tune the case while your patient is still in the chair, ensuring the accuracy of the final restoration. And with open .STL files, the dental lab can use any CAD design software they like. The CS Connect portal also can help you keep track of your cases, and manage or modify details as necessary.
Saving steps with digital impressions means you can do more procedures. Redesigning your restorative workflow is one giant step toward making dentistry more comfortable and less time-consuming for you, your lab, and your patients.