DENTAL

Going Digital: Stories from Dentists Who Made the SwitchDENTIST CHRONICLES EBOOK

It started with a little FOMO. You know—fear of missing out. Lots of my friends had gone digital a while ago. They bragged about restorations that fit really well. They raved about reduced crown seat times and they revelled in how much they were saving on lab fees. In short, I was missing out.

But the cost—whoa. How could I justify spending that much on a technology that was unproven in my hands? I wasn’t sure if I was ready to spend that much money on a technology that I was unfamiliar with. I wasn’t sure I could buy a product from a company that was essentially a big unknown to me. Then I took a look at the True Definition Scanner.

I had seen it at the Chicago Midwinter earlier in 2016, but I had also seen a lot of other products and technologies there. Meetings like the Midwinter are great, except everything tends to blend together in my memory. I decided to talk with a couple of friends who I knew were

Dr. Alan MeadMead Family Dental, Co-Founder of the Dental Hacks podcast

Foreword

The opinions and experiences expressed are those of the authors and may not reflect the experiences of other clinicians.

really capable clinicians. It turns out, I knew some pretty smart people who had already been using the True Definition Scanner for a while. And they really liked it!

I scheduled a demo in my office, and we pulled the trigger. Now, I’d never go back!

In the following pages, you’ll get to explore what other dentists are sharing about their journeys to digital dentistry. We hope you find a story you can relate to, because sometimes it helps to know that others like you are out there thinking, comparing, deciding, and making the change to a successful digital practice.

Good luck to you in your digital journey!

The opinions and experiences expressed are those of the authors and may not reflect the experiences of other clinicians.

The crowns made from a digital scan fit every time, and the margins are excellent.

Images courtesy of Digital Dental Leaders Laboratory in Montclair, California.

I’ve had my practice in Conyers, Georgia, for 29 years. It’s not a big operation—a couple hygienists, two dental assistants, three front office staff and myself—but I’ve always been interested in how technology can streamline operations and increase our efficiency. I’ve used computers for charting and scheduling since the 90s; I switched to digital panoramic x-ray and digital x-ray sensors long before they were standard practice. So, exploring digital impressioning with an intraoral scanner seemed like a natural progression.

For me, price was very much adeciding factor when it came tochoosing a scanner. I was ready tomake the investment, but I also wantedto be smart about it. That’s what ledme to the True Definition Scanner in the first place. And after I had a demo of the system, I knew it was a good fit for me and would make good fitting crowns for my patients. I used to dread seating crowns with traditional impression materials. I never knew if it was going to fit, or how long it would take.

Now, I have no concerns! They fit every time, and the margins are excellent, which gives me confidence that what we’re doing is the highest quality. My seat times have gone from around 40 minutes to 10 minutes, and that time savings alone has been the biggest payoff in my eyes.

My suggestion for other dentists who are curious about digital impressioning would be to talk to your lab. Finding the right lab is crucial, and mine has been an invaluable partner to me throughout the process. They work day-in, day-out with multiple brands of scanners, so they can make suggestions and answer questions.

Reliable sales reps also make a bigdifference. They have helped meout in a pinch when I’ve had questionsfiguring out the system. When I firstgot it, I spent a whole weekend at myoffice just practicing and getting usedto how the wand felt. Yes, there weresome growing pains learning thetechnology. Would I go back? No way.

Yes, there were some growing pains learning the technology. Would I go back? No way.

Dr. Juan ArrueJ.M. Arrue, DMD, LLC

DR. JUAN ARRUEJ.M. ARRUE, DMD, LLC

The opinions and experiences expressed are those of the authors and may not reflect the experiences of other clinicians.

We’re a general dentistry practice with a heavy emphasis on implants. In that setting, we saw what a 3D Cone Beam CBCT could do and felt that it made us very current in our technology. So, the question became, if we’re current in that regard, why aren’t we current in everything?

When I go to see a doctor, I expect him to know his field, to be current in his technology and approach. If I expect it of others, I expect it of myself, and I do believe it matters to our patients. We want our practice to give off a vibe that we’re operating at the highest level of health care efficacy.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not always an early adopter. I won’t buy into a technology for technology’s sake. However, if it’s clear to me there is an advantage, then yes, I’m all in—and quickly. With intraoral scanning, I was all in. In fact, I couldn’t believe how fast we got good at it. It only took about 2–3 days to become comfortable with the True Definition Scanner.

Additionally, I couldn’t discount the staff and how modern technology makes them feel about their work. They are very into the technology and actually have scan competitions to see who can get the fastest, best scan. I’ll scan the prep and the quadrant and they’ll take over for the opposing and bite. It’s exciting for everyone, and the biggest worry is watching out for scan hogs who always want to use the True Definition Scanner!

Do your due diligence.Understand what youneed for your practiceand then do it. Jump infull force and don’t beafraid of any challenges. You’ll overcome them!

Dr. Ryan ConkleSaddleback Dentistry

The new technology leaves a positive impression with our patients. They love it and they brag about it to their friends. I’ve heard, on many occasions, “I chose your office because I like your high-tech approach. You have a very modern practice.” At the end of the day, when we made this decision, the system we chose had to be accurate and easy to use, and our entire experience has exceeded my expectations. Even the rep who sold me the system kept checking back in to make sure things were going well—with the technology, clinically, and in training and support too.

I would encourage any dental practitioner to explore this technology.

You have to upgrade your practice or you’ll fall behind. And, it’s easier to do it a little at a time. In my experience, this technology can make you better. It makes the people around you proud of the environment and the care that you’re giving.

Do your due diligence. Understand what you need for your practiceand then do it. Jump in full force and don’t be afraid of any challenges. You’ll overcome them! That confidence and positive attitude are things that patients really do notice.

DR. RYAN CONKLESADDLEBACK DENTISTRY

The opinions and experiences expressed are those of the authors and may not reflect the experiences of other clinicians.

Not everyone wants to mill their own crowns chairside. I certainly didn’t. So, when my husband brought a chairside CAD/CAM system into his practice, I was interested in—and impressed by—the technology and the quality of the crowns.

At the time, I had no intention of going that far myself. But, I learned from that experience that digital technology might be a better option for taking impressions and producing precise crowns faster than traditional methods. With that in mind, I decided to bring digital impression technology into my practice.

Many dentists I’ve encountered want to hold back, stay in their shell and not try new things—because the materials they use work for them. I understand that change can be difficult, but I try to be open-minded. I really believe that we must look into new techniques and technologies, or we’re limiting ourselves.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not what you would call an “early adopter”—far from it. I prefer to observe and wait the technology out a little, and I’m glad I did. The early scanners probably would have disappointed me, and there weren’t even many to evaluate. When we were researching scanners two years ago, I was most interested in ease of use with user-friendly hardware and software.

Be open to new. Youmight be in for somegood surprises.

Dr. Gohar Hovsepyan Viva Smile Dentistry

DR. GOHAR HOVSEPYANVIVA SMILE DENTISTRY

Images courtesy of Viva Smile Dentistry.

I didn’t need anything overly complicated because I knew I wouldn’t use all the features anyway.

Of course cost was important too, as well as training. Bottom line: you need to know what’s important to you and what you’re trying to accomplish with the technology. Be open to new. You might be in for some good surprises. Each intraoral scanner has its nuances, and depending on what you value most, you’ll be able to compare and contrast fairly easily. I wanted ease of use, both in hardware and software. I wanted a reasonable price and a system that met my needs, and I found it in the True Definition Scanner.

Now we’re scanning daily, taking 50–60 scans a month, and we’ve had no issues. It only takes me one minute to scan a prep.

Of course, that’s today. It’s been almost two years now, but I remember my first prep—I was freaking out! I told myself that no matter how good the impression looked on screen, I was still taking an impression with my traditional materials, too. Needless to say, the process was smooth and worry-free. The lab I chose turned the crown around in three days, and it dropped right in. It took me about a week to be completely comfortable with the scanner, and I would not go back.

The opinions and experiences expressed are those of the authors and may not reflect the experiences of other clinicians.

The principles of taking a good impression are the same whether it’s traditional or digital. You want good isolation and a dry field. If you don’t have those, it’s frustrating no matter what you’re using. And, when you do obtain them, you can be successful with traditional materials or digital technologies. However, in my experience, the margins are better with digital scanning—and it’s just so much faster!

My journey began years ago when the first scanners started coming out. I would look and play at conventions, which was interesting, but I wasn’t sold in those early years.

Once newer iterations of the scanners started coming out, a friend of mine bought in and said his seat time was cut way down. That really got my attention.

Of course, I still had homework to do. Earlier in my career, if I’d get excited about a piece of equipment, I’d buy it right there. Not anymore. In the last 15 years, if I was thinking about buying into a technology, I was calling people and asking questions. What’s the learning curve? How is the quality of the outcome? Cost? Support? You name it, I was asking.

Do your homework. Look at several systems and decide what works wellin your hands. Considerthe cost and consider the source. Are they going to be around? I needed to have a trusted companybehind the tech. Thatsupport was reallyimportant to me.

Dr. James KahalKahal & Wight, Comprehensive Dental Care

Eventually, I called up my dealer representative and asked him to bring in three scanners: True Definition, CEREC, and Trios. I evaluated them on the factors that were most important to me, including ease of use, speed of scanning, mobility (i.e., not giant in size), price point, and the assurance that it was from a company that would stand behind it.

After checking all the boxes during the demonstrations, I made the decision to purchase and I love it.

Transitionally, it was pretty easy. After I bought the True Definition Scanner, we had it in the practice before the trainer came out. I used that time to practice scanning on models and eventually, the staff. When the trainer got there, I was ready to go!

The quality of the digital impression is better, so crowns fit better. The margin integrity is excellent. There is less lab error and trimming.

DR. JAMES KAHALKAHAL & WIGHT, COMPREHENSIVE DENTAL CARE

The opinions and experiences expressed are those of the authors and may not reflect the experiences of other clinicians.

DR. A. THOMAS SHIELDSSHIELDS FAMILY DENTISTRY

I was really surprised by the patient reaction. They like to see what we are doing, and this gives them a bit of a “Wow” factor. Don’t underestimate the effect on your patients.

Dr. A. Thomas ShieldsShields Family Dentistry

Zirconia was really the starting point for me in bringing in digital impressioning. My wife and I practice together at two locations, and we were transitioning from PFM to zirconia. Because of all that you can do digitally with zirconia, I really wanted to go model-less at the same time. Digital impressioning offered an easy path to model-less dentistry and I jumped at it!

When you have models, there is always a risk in something going wrong in that process—the impression can have issues, the stone, the die—plenty of potential areas for error. With digital impressioning, that’s all gone, and the consistency is unbelievable.

Dentists are in the driver seat on this decision. You can call up companies directly or talk to your dealer rep and bring in any combination of systems that you want to see. That’s what I did. I simply told them I was interested in buying a scanner and wanted to get the scanners in front of me for demos. We looked at the Align, True Definition, Planmeca and 3Shape.

I evaluated them and chose the system that I thought was best—the True Definition Scanner—based on cost-effectiveness, a no-nonsense result, and really good training and support.

You can also talk with other doctors who are taking digital impressions. We speak the same language, so it’s nice to have a little sounding board in someone who is looking at similar things.

I’ve been asked about ROI (return on investment)—does this save you any money? Honestly, I’ve not been focused on a dollar amount savings. What I’ve focused on is that I rarely have to adjust a crown anymore. As fast as we can get patients in the chair, we’re seating crowns and all that my team has to do is clean up the cement.

At the end of the day, I say just do it. In my mind there is no reason why you should be doing traditional impressions for one, two or three unit restorations—I would never go back!

If you get a good scan, you get a good crown. Simple as that. With an all digital workflow, we’ve cut our turnaround time in half.

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These stories from dentists like yourself reveal that no

matter the size or location of your practice, incorporating

digital dentistry with the Midmark Mobile True Definition™

Scanner can be the ideal fit in many ways:

When you invest in a Midmark True Definition Scanner, you’re not just getting a piece of equipment that takes impressions. You’re getting peace of mind that you’re backed by a company that will support you in your journey and answer your call.

Start exploring digital intraoral scanning today. midmark.com/TrueDef

FITS YOUR HAND The world’s first mobile intraoral scanner that operates solely on a tablet

FITS YOUR BUDGET Provides compact, cost-effective entry into digital dentistry

FITS YOUR PRACTICE Elevates care by producing a clear, easy-to-understand visual representation of the anatomy to help increase patient acceptance

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