FOMO—the fear of missing out. It’s not a dental term, but perhaps it should be.
If you are unfamiliar with the term the World Journal of Clinical Cases states, “Fear of missing out [FOMO] is a relatively new construct.” It is associated with “social media usage and can be experienced as a range of negative emotions and feelings related to the need to belong.”
Most people experience FOMO when witnessing others having material items beyond their circumstances or attending popular events. But what if FOMO was a motivation for positive change? What if those occurrences of FOMO are situations that could be for your benefit?
As many dental professionals are still stuck in the analog world, witnessing the changing technology and others’ success because they transformed from traditional dental practices using digital dental technology, there must be a sense of FOMO. However, there is a way to alleviate the “fear” and the “missing out.” You can evade FOMO by improving your office with digital dental technology and partnering with the right digital dental labs.
Consider a revolutionized dental field where all your restorations created have incredible accuracy, and the final product is of industry-leading quality with fewer remakes. Incorporating digital dental laboratories into your practice workflows can improve patient experiences and satisfaction. That is the success of digital dental labs.
The benefits of digital dentistry reveal what a digital dental lab is capable of and how they are transforming the landscape of dental care. Resources like a digital lab and tools are within your reach. But before we discuss the differences between traditional dental procedures and digital dentistry, let’s review the conventional dental lab process.
The traditional dental lab process
For years, the traditional dental lab process was the same. Before digital dentistry, dental care relied heavily on manual processes. The conventional dental lab makes dental restorations using physical dental impressions and plaster models that require time and effort to develop and produce restorative pieces.
Traditional impressions of teeth use various materials to create negative molds of a patient’s teeth. The most common materials are the following:
- Alginate – a powder compound made from seaweed or kelp. Water is added, and it becomes a putty-like substance.
- Polyether vinyl silicones (PVS) – a silicone-based material
- Vinyl polysiloxane (VPS) – a silicone-based material
- Vinyl polyether siloxane (VPES) – a silicone hybrid material
Unfortunately, impression materials can take two to five minutes to set correctly and are subject to shrinkage and change. That means recasts and more chair time for patients.
Some manufacturers developed different flavors that can be added to the alginate and other material to make it taste a little better and provide as pleasant an experience as possible. However, this additive may not work with individuals with a horrible gag reflex, and complaints about the taste have occurred.
There are several steps to the traditional impression process. They are:
- Step 1 – Place the putty in the tray, put it into the patient’s mouth, and push it against their teeth for a solid impression.
- Step 2 – The impression material needs time to harden.
- Step 3 – Repeat the process, if needed
- Step 4 – Remove the tray. Assist the patient in cleaning residue out of their mouth.
- Step 5 – Send the impression to a traditional dental lab
The time-consuming process prolongs patient treatment and leaves room for human error. Gaps in production time lead to dissatisfaction and frustration.
The limitations of traditional dental labs are clear, and the need for a more efficient, accurate, and patient-friendly solution is apparent. That is the purpose behind the digital dental laboratory.
What is a digital dental laboratory?
Digital dental labs are an innovative approach to dental care. This operation designs and manufactures restorations and prostheses of all kinds using digital techniques. A digital dental laboratory is characterized by utilizing advanced technology, such as intraoral scanners and chairside software used by the dentist to aid design and manufacturing with unparalleled precision and efficiency.
Digital dentistry includes tools and technology in a dental practice or a digital dental laboratory. They are:
- CAD/CAM systems for the design and fabrication of dental restorations
- Intraoral scanners for digital impressions
- Digital imaging systems like cone beam computed tomography are becoming increasingly popular for diagnostics and implant treatment planning.
- Chairside milling systems or 3D printers for fabrication
Utilizing digital impressions, digital dental molds, CAD/CAM and 3D printing, and lab management software, digital dental labs are producing restorations and appliances with unprecedented precision and efficiency. These technologies are revolutionizing how dentists practice, allowing for a more streamlined and accurate patient experience. The purpose of a dental laboratory is to provide dentists with custom-made and ready-made dental products.
Types of digital restorations and appliances
Digital dental labs can produce digital designs for various restorations and appliances, including crowns, bridges, veneers, dentures, implants, and orthodontic appliances (including clear aligners). By utilizing advanced digital technologies, dental professionals can create repairs and appliances tailored to each patient’s unique needs, ensuring a better fit and improved clinical outcomes.
Such restorations and appliances include:
- Crowns, Bridges, and Veneers
- Dentures and implants
- Orthodontic Appliances
Utilizing digital customization and assemblage ensures patients receive the best fitting and highest quality products, even for complex cases. It improves patient satisfaction and helps ensure treatment success, especially orthodontics.
A successful process must include dentists incorporating digital workflows and advanced digital dental technologies into their practices. These same dental professionals can now treat patients with high-quality restorations in a fraction of the time required by traditional methods.
How does a digital dental lab work compared to a traditional one?
The critical difference between a digital dental lab and a traditional dental lab lies in the technology employed. While conventional dental labs rely on manual labor and physical impressions, digital dental labs utilize cutting-edge technology to create digital impressions and restorations of the patient’s teeth.
This technological shift not only streamlines the fabrication process but also enhances the accuracy and efficiency of dental restorations, ultimately leading to better patient outcomes. Here are the most important motions that digital dental labs impact.
Digital impressions
Gone are the days of uncomfortable and messy impression materials. Digital impressions are captured using intraoral scanners, which provide detailed 3D images of the patient’s teeth and gums for more accurate treatment planning.
The learning curve for the digital impressions technique is quick. One study showed proficiency in about ten scans. This is understandable with an intraoral scanner designed for ease of use.
Digital impressions eliminate many of the variables associated with conventional impressions, giving dental technicians more precise data to design from and ensuring a better fit for the final restoration.
Digital dental models
Digital dental models or molds are virtual replicas of the patient’s oral anatomy created using 3D scanning technology. These digital molds accurately represent the patient’s teeth, gums, and other soft tissue, allowing dental professionals to design restorations and appliances with greater precision and efficiency.
The digital molds are created by a 3D intraoral scanner and design software, capturing the patient’s oral anatomy in high resolution. This data is then used to create a virtual replica of the patient’s teeth. Once a digital impression file is made, it can be used repeatedly. If a patient loses a mouthguard, the file can be accessed, and a new one can be made without repeating the digital impression process.
CAD/CAM and 3D printing
Computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology is at the heart of the digital dental lab. It is used to design and mill dental restorations and appliances. This computer-aided process ensures high precision and reproducibility, improving clinical outcomes. Additionally, 3D printing technology is employed to construct physical models of the teeth and gums from digital simulations, further streamlining the production process and minimizing errors.
Lab management software
Digital dental labs often employ Laboratory Information Management Systems or LIMS to ensure a smooth and efficient workflow. This software aids in streamlining processes, reducing errors, and increasing the accuracy of data by cataloging information, automating traditional workflows, integrating instruments, and organizing inventory.
By utilizing lab management software, or digital solutions, dental labs can provide faster, more reliable service to interface with their dental professional partners. A LIMS with a service agreement also enables your practice hardware and software digital solutions with additional services, like diagnostics.
Benefits of working with a digital dental lab
The advantages of collaborating with a digital dental lab are numerous and far-reaching. From shortened turnaround times to increased accuracy and helping save money, digital dental labs provide dental professionals with a superior solution for creating dental restorations and appliances. Here is a detailed list of the benefits of working with a digital dental lab.
- Faster Turnaround Time – Time is a proxy for money and one of the most significant assets of working with a digital lab like Dandy. The speed of a digital lab surpasses a traditional one. Patients receive restorations speedily, which is substantial for those in urgent need. That is also an improved patient experience.
- Customization – Digital labs can design and create need-based restorations for patients’ requirements. For example, digital dentures can be customized to the distinct need of the patient’s anatomy, thus making the dentures more comfortable without revisions.
- Higher Accuracy – With digital technology like an intraoral scanner, 3D printers, and CAD/CAM milling devices, digital labs provide a higher level of accuracy for dental restorations—above the results of traditional labs. More exact products require fewer adjustments.
- Advanced Quality Control – Integrating digital technology into workflows and using a digital dental lab ensures refined accuracy and predictable outcomes for all fabricated dental prostheses and restorations. Improved quality control saves on returns and creates a better customer experience.
- Enhanced Effective Communication – Digital dental labs, such as Dandy, have prioritized contact and dialogue between dental professionals and labs. The sharing of information and sending digital files is all done virtually. In the case of Dandy, their in-app guidance, shared file capability, practice portal, and mobile app keep communication between the lab and practice front and center.
Dentists and digital labs can collaborate seamlessly to design and produce dental restorations and appliances. The efficient exchange of information improves case workflow and ensures that both parties work with the most accurate and up-to-date information. Digital files also remove the need for paper options, making the digital workflow the eco-friendly choice.
- Coordinating Treatment Plans – Coordinating treatment plans between dental professionals and digital dental laboratories is crucial for ensuring the best possible outcomes for patients. Through effective communication and collaboration, dental professionals and labs can work together to develop a treatment plan that meets each patient’s unique needs. By synchronizing their efforts and sharing information, dental professionals and digital dental labs can provide patients with the highest level of care and achieve the best possible results.
- Greater Collaborative Capabilities – The higher level of knowledge exchange through secure digital networks leaves less room for errors and elevates the collaboration between dental professionals and digital dental labs. This collaboration improves the quality and efficiency of dental care and fosters a stronger working relationship between dental professionals and their lab partners.
- Lower Overhead and Costs – Digital dental practices and labs with automated processes and less manual labor are more economical than traditional methods. This affordability can be passed onto the patient, reducing overhead for any dental health care provider.
By embracing dental technology, establishing a digital workflow, and integrating them into their practices, dental professionals can offer their patients a higher standard of care, resulting in greater patient satisfaction and improved clinical outcomes.
Selecting the right digital dental lab
Choosing the right digital dental lab is critical for dental professionals looking to incorporate digital dentistry into their practices. When evaluating digital dental labs, assessing the technology and materials used and the support services provided by dental laboratories is essential.
Selecting a digital dental lab that aligns with your practice’s needs and values can establish a successful partnership and provide your patients with the highest quality dental care.
Assessing Technology and Materials
Choosing the right digital dental lab for your practice is vital. That means evaluating the lab’s technology, design software, and materials. That evaluation includes examining the digital dental scanners, 3D printers, milling machines, and other equipment used to design and produce dental restorations and appliances. One application that dental professionals highly desire is a portal to access a lab’s team or a mobile app that gives access to information anywhere, at any time.
By ensuring that the lab’s technology and materials meet your practice’s standards, you can be confident in the quality and accuracy of the restorations and appliances produced.
Evaluating support services
Another significant factor to consider when selecting a digital dental lab is the level of support services provided. Services should include technical support, troubleshooting, customer service, and training opportunities. At Dandy, our training is second to none. A digital dental lab that offers comprehensive support services can ensure a smooth and successful collaboration. Ultimately, adopting digital workflows for your dental practice leads to better patient outcomes and more efficiency.
Pro tips: Questions to ask a potential dental lab partner.
Overall impact
Digital dental labs are transforming the landscape of dental care by offering a more efficient, accurate, and patient-friendly solution for dental restorations and appliances. By embracing digital dental technologies and working closely with digital dental labs, dentists and dental specialists can provide patients with a higher standard of care and achieve better clinical outcomes.
As the future of dentistry continues to unfold, digital dental labs will play a critical role in shaping the way dental care is provided and experienced by patients. Digital dental labs help improve the way dental health care professionals encounter control over their practices and compete with others in their area for new customers now and in years to come.
Are you thinking about converting to using a digital lab? Don’t miss out on becoming more efficient, revenue-enhancing, and highly competitive. Contact Dandy, embrace the future of digital dentistry, and avoid FOMO.
Sources
Journal of the History of Dentistry. The Historical Evolution of Dental Impression Materials.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28777510/
ScienceDirect. A clinical study comparing digital scanning and conventional impression making for implant-supported prostheses: A crossover clinical trial.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022391321000287
ScienceDirect. Impression Material.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/nursing-and-health-professions/impression-material
Cleveland Clinic. Dental Impressions.
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diagnostics/22671-dental-impressions
Dentistry Today. Three Impression Material Classifications: A Comparison
BMC Oral Health. Learning curve of digital intraoral scanning – an in vivo study.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7574448/
BMC Oral Health. Comparison of digital and conventional impression techniques: evaluation of patients’ perception, treatment comfort, effectiveness, and clinical outcomes.
