Noah Levine

The days of the AV cart are most certainly numbered. Like other sectors of the high-tech world, audio-video equipment continues to shrink at a brisk pace. Now, instead of rolling a bulky cart with a projector on top to wherever a presentation or movie will be shown, that projector can be carried in a pocket.

Tablet PCs are nothing new. Besides popping up in science fiction movies for decades, the real things have existed in one form or another for quite some time. So why then was the entire tech world and much of the media so excitedly agog a few weeks back when Apple unveiled its first tablet, the iPad?

As I enter my 25th year of general practice, I have been fortunate to be able to divide my time between clinical practice, lecturing, publishing and working with dental manufacturers in helping develop and evaluate the products that the dental profession ultimately uses. I have seen some products not last the test of time and others have become reliable staples in our profession.

Load the platform with 30 dies, initiate the job and within 15 minutes, the automatic scan and design application produces final coping designs. Its 140 mm x 140 mm x 140 mm scan volume provides access for large fully articulated models.

With laptops, notebooks, and netbooks, not to mention smartphones, tablets, and cloud computing, computer portability has never been more accessible. But just because there are many ways to make a computer portable, doesn’t mean managing this portability is simple. If, like many people, you have a powerful desktop at the heart of your computing set up, using a smaller machine while traveling can make data management a nightmare.

Whether working with a milled bar or a cast bar knowing what will be built around it comes from experience. Different technicians and labs follow different protocols for working on these cases, but there are definite factors that must be taken into account when creating a denture that will be attached to a number of implants.

Today Apple launched its latest generation of the iPhone, and as always seems to be the case when this company is launching something new, the media and general public are rapt in anticipation. However, this launch was the company’s first big move since founder and technology icon Steve Jobs stepped down from an active roll in running things and the press event seemed a bit lackluster without his smirking boasts about the wonderful things the company's latest can do.

November 2010 | Dental Lab Products It’s not quite as light as the element from which it draws its name, but the latest iterations of Apple’s ultra-trim MacBook Air are getting mighty close.

Information provided by NevinLabs. With a balanced, lightweight and compact body designed to reduce hand fatigue, the LabPro™ handpiece provides optimum comfort and increased efficiency even on delicate pieces of work requiring extended periods of time.

The digital technology currently available to dental laboratories opens numerous new opportunities for collaboration and outsourcing, but there are plenty of options for labs looking to incorporate CAD/CAM production without relinquishing control of any part of the workflow.

The Enzymax Earth line of cleaning products provides the same cleaning power as the company’s biodegradable and phosphate-free Enzymax cleaning products, while reducing bioaccumulation potential and using enzyme stabilizers that are safer for the environment. Earth friendly: The enzymes used are more rapidly biodegradable, with lower inherent toxicity and fewer toxic byproducts.

1. With its ability to surround your patients-whether seated or reclined-with digital media, the Flexview HD media delivery system gives your practice a “wow” effect patients are sure to remember. 2. Designed to make the most of your intraoral cameras, digital x-ray systems and software, the crystal-clear Samsung monitor shows patients-in high definition-everything you want them to see.

Unless you live TV free, by now you’ve likely been exposed to the seemingly endless advertising battle between Verizon and AT&T over their respective 3G networks. The wireless providers pull no punches as they take shots at each other’s service networks, but they never really stop to explain just what 3G means.

December 14, 2010  | dentalproductsreport.com In an evolutionary sense, humans have little in common with the tuatara. The ancient lizard species, native to New Zealand, is the last in a genetic line that flourished some 200 million years ago. It features a number of properties that are rare or found nowhere else in nature today and thus is a prized specimen for evolutionary biologists to study.

When considering the digital technology that exists today, it’s not hard to imagine a dental lab looking a lot more like a cubicle in a typical office with just a computer and a scanner as the only tools occupying the desktop.

The global dental implant market is currently worth $3.2 billion and expected to be worth an additional billion dollars in the next 5 years, with 31 percent of the revenue in North America, according to a report¹ recently released by market research firm Markets and Markets (marketsandmarkets.com).

It’s always a showstopper when there’s a demonstration of a 3D printing system taking place in the exhibit hall of a trade show. Watching digitally designed copings, frameworks, crowns or models rise up and take shape on the print platform can be almost mesmerizing. But these high-tech printers are more than just attractive novelties. With the ability to rapidly produce high-precision parts that fit a variety of production workflows quickly and cost effectively, a 3D printer can become a critical part of a dental lab’s CAD/CAM operation.

Successfully running a dental laboratory requires more than just the technical capabilities and artistic skills that can win cases from dentist clients. And while producing high-quality restorations should be the ultimate goal, it’s important to pay attention to the nuts-and-bolts business details along the way.

Any marketing effort that brings in more than 700 new patients would have to be considered wildly successful, and one that accomplished this with absolutely no upfront costs to the practice, probably sounds too good to be true.

Implants continue to gain momentum as the treatment of choice for a range of dental situations, so being ready to efficiently and cost effectively handle those cases grows ever more important to a lab’s financial success. While those cases can be complex, there are many simple steps that can be taken to make implants a key profit center for a lab. It starts with organization

January 26, 2011 | dlpmagazine.com

Despite well-publicized reception issues, more than 1.7 million people purchased Apple's iPhone 4 in the first three days it was available.      Getting started on this Tech Smart column has been difficult because I’m finding it hard to pull myself away from the captivating and remarkably crisp screen of my one-day-old iPhone 4.

Designed for high barrier protection, all S3 face masks are greater than 99% Bacteria (BFE) and Particle filtration efficiency (PFE) at 0.1 micron, providing peace of mind for all dental procedures. The filter offers excellent breathability without unpleasant moisture build up.   The Quad-fold design provides 15% more breathing volume with a customizable fit.

Sometimes great ideas are just sitting out there waiting to happen. For William Provancher, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Utah, inspiration struck while he was watching a TV special about consummate Renaissance figure Leonardo Da Vinci.

The lower radiation output is among the regularly touted benefits of digital radiography, but the safety benefits for both patient and clinician do not yet make this technology foolproof and risk free.

Speed and capacity are not common considerations when people think about utility services such as gas, water, electricity and even phone lines. All of these services are critical to both homes and businesses, and of course people look for ways to reduce their monthly bills through efficient and judicious use of these resources. However, it’s doubtful that you or anyone you know has turned on an electric or gas appliance, or picked up the phone and cursed at the slow speed of the gas, electricity or phone connection.

Like any specialty area of practice, providing implants services comes with some upfront costs. But the training, equipment and supplies needed to place and restore implants can be worthwhile investments, especially when you work well with internal and external partners and make the procedure an attractive option when it’s appropriate for a patient.

There may be a “cool factor” that gets some people excited about new technologies, but CAD/CAM systems are business tools designed to make dental labs more efficient and productive. Taking something once done physically and moving it into a virtual environment can offer practical benefits to many labs. But if you aren’t marketing around your new capabilities and efficiencies, you’re not going to be maximizing your investment.

While Mark Jackson, RDT, and Precision Ceramics Dental Laboratory try to stay on the cutting edge of the materials currently available in the dental industry, he’s always keeping an eye on the latest developments in technologies from other industries.

Diagnostic imaging-especially the stunning 3-dimensional pictures provided by cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans-offers incomparable advantages to dentists planning and delivering a wide range of treatments, but the scans do involve exposing patients to small but not-insignificant amounts of radiation.