In today’s digital age, it seems like you can do everything from your computer. Technology is revolutionizing every industry, and dentistry is no different. Advanced digital technology can drive better outcomes across the spectrum when it comes to dental care. Dental practices and labs that adopt a digital workflow can benefit from quality dentistry solutions, faster processes, and lower costs.

digital dentistry workflow

Digital dentistry solutions enhance the scope of restorative procedures and lead to a more consistent final outcome, on top of making for a more collaborative and manageable workflow. For example, with computer-aided design and manufacturing (CAD/CAM), dental technicians can digitally design a dental restoration—such as a crown— and then fabricate it with a 3D printer.

From dental prosthetic design to diagnostic wax-ups, many of the restoration processes that technicians previously handled with analog processes can now benefit from digital imaging solutions. While a lab technician’s skill and artistry remain invaluable—particularly in complex cases—tools such as digital smile design software can help them efficiently design and manufacture accurate and consisted results.

Rather than replacing a lab technician, these digital tools are here to broaden opportunities, while also increasing productivity. Technicians can copy analog processes to the digital domain to streamline workflows, and quickly scale work to reach a wider client base.

Why Should Dental Labs Adopt a Digital Dentistry Workflow?

The future of dentistry is digital. As technology becomes more mainstream, early adopters will be in a much stronger position to provide competitive restorative solutions. From digital impressions, crown and bridge, and denture design to new production techniques and workflow options, the opportunities abound. Intraoral scanners, CAD software, CAM systems, 3D printers, and other digital tools are becoming increasingly more affordable as technology advances, making this the prime time to integrate them into your business.

Digital dentistry reduces the chances of human error, increases consistency thereby ensuring a more regular and reliable workflow and better outcomes. Cutting-edge equipment and software gather accurate and comprehensive data, and can even fully automate some processes. This heightened accuracy and reduced labor results in a new range of customized, affordable, and high-quality prosthetic offerings.

For lab technicians, the ability to allocate the time spent performing conventional techniques to digital workflows and technology, boosts productivity and reduces time spent per job. As a result, production can run more smoothly and efficiently than ever before.

Sterngold’s Digital Dentistry Workflow: Better Dental Outcomes

A digital workflow brings a variety of interconnected systems and platforms into your dental practice. Equipment may range from the ultra-sophisticated and complex to simpler, less-costly systems; while it’s vital that these devices communicate with one another, you can choose digital dentistry tools to suit your needs, depending on the particular workflow of your lab or practice.

Here are just a handful of ways you can use digital technology to ensure better patient outcomes.

Treatment Planning

Proper and careful treatment planning involves considering all the diverse and complex needs of an individual in order to manage their dental issues appropriately. The best plan is clearly mapped out, centered around a patient’s needs and desires. Digital treatment planning software assists in achieving these goals by helping patients, laboratory technicians, clinicians, and other specialists collaborate in the initial stages.

Presenting clear visuals to patients during planning allows for increased case acceptance.

Digital prosthesis planning combines a variety of modalities, from 2D radiography to 3D imaging, to plan and create a successful plan. For example, digital representations of dental arches can combine with detailed jaw scans to assemble a comprehensive treatment strategy, from prosthetic design to implant surgery. In this way, technicians can accommodate and assimilate both prosthetic and surgical perspectives into the digital plan.

Digital workflows facilitate preoperative planning, and improves communication between the dental technician, clinicians and patient.

Data Acquisition and Data Import

To design and position implants virtually, you need an implant planning software system. Every treatment plan begins with data acquisition. The more complete the data you can gather, the better the outcome will be. Use radiological and CBCT data to capture detailed anatomy, while virtual dental models depict the mucosal surface and existing teeth. Once you have all these models composed, you can import the data into the design software and create the digital proposal.

A specialized digital design software package (CAD/Computer Aided Design) will be used to create the prosthetic setup, implant placement, and drill guide design. Finally, using the CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) process of choice, the prosthetic pieces can be manufactured—including processes for drill guide production, milling, and 3D printing.

Implant Planning

Implant dentistry has benefited enormously from the upsurge in new dental technology. Digital intraoral scanners and other radiographic image-capture tools have revolutionized the practice, leading to more reliable and detailed treatment plans. Digitized 3D tomography scans have further transformed dental implant techniques and outcomes, as detailed images of key structures take the guesswork out of appropriate implant placement.

Today, technicians can combine these resources with prosthesis scans to provide a holistic view for treatment planning, including fabricating surgical guides. It determines the correct implant design, length, and diameter. Indeed, a digital workflow to guide implant placement is invaluable in your dentistry practice!

Surgical guides for implant placement allow for greater accuracy with the procedure.

Surgical Guides

Implant surgery is reliant on digital imaging—not to mention surgical guides themselves, which are today an essential element in most successful implant dentistry. At the time of surgery, these detailed guides are placed over the teeth and gums, locked in place with customized anchors to ensure accurate implant placement. Technicians - and clinicians- can also manufacture these guides quicker and more cost-effectively, thanks to 3D printing advances.

Surgery

Digital surgical guides improve accuracy and speed while protecting teeth, blood vessels, and soft tissue. The planned nature of the workflow provides a clear pathway for the correct execution of all aspects of the surgery and implant placement. They also assist the clinician in making minor but extremely precise incisions, reducing necessary oral trauma to gum tissue. As a result, patients experience less associated pain, swelling, and discomfort, and recovery times are a lot faster.

Try-In and Final Prosthesis

The final steps a surgical and restorative procedure is the try-in and completion and placement of the final restoration. The design of both the try-in and final prostheses via CAD software, technicians can provide an accurate final result. The manufacture of these prosthetic pieces then involves either 3D printing or the milling of a pre-polymerized PMMA puck. These are rapidly replacing traditional wax try-ins, and provide a better final solution.

Conventional workflows for restorative or orthodontic procedures are prone to inaccuracies and extended time-tables, not to mention all the repeat appointments, uncomfortable physical impression-making, and multiple try-ins . Advances in digital technology can revolutionize your workflows by elevating your practice or dental lab and ensuring more efficient results.

Digitization not only makes the development, fabrication, and installation of dental restorations more efficient, it also raises product and care quality, giving patients a more positive experience in the chair, as well as improved restorative comfort and aesthetics.

As a longtime global player in restorative dentistry, Sterngold offers a wide range of quality, precision-engineered, yet affordable dental supplies and digital solutions. Since our founding in 1897, Sterngold has strived to empower dental practices and laboratories with the products they need, helping them achieve a competitive edge in the constantly changing landscape of restorative dentistry. Contact us today and find out how we can help your practice or lab achieve a digital workflow.