Dental Lab Products-2012-05-01

01. How did 3Shape first enter the dental marketplace?

Don’t let its lack of sophistication fool you into believing this product has no value. That should be the “tag line” for a pair of products I stumbled across last year and started using in my removable prosthetic laboratory shortly afterward.

Full Contour is a business that exists in the cloud and other digital spaces. Just five years ago it would have been extremely difficult to create a Web-based digital design service, but today Full Contour is thriving thanks to the rapid expansion of cloud computer and a world connected via the Web.

High tech for a dental lab doesn’t have to mean CAD/CAM, and more importantly it doesn’t have to come with a wallet-draining pricetag. Plenty of the cutting edge technologies ready to help you manage the business and make work at the bench more efficient can be accessed for free.

The Lab Anderson Dental Studio is a 10 man lab located in Edina, Minn. It was started by Ken Anderson more than 50 years ago and its legacy has been preserved through his children who have continued to operate the lab with the same quality and ethical standards that their father had set many years ago. Being a small family business, owner Al Anderson respects and tries to patronize businesses such as his own. This is one of the several reasons he was so happy when he was introduced to IBEX Dental Technologies at the Chicago Midwinter Meeting in February 2011.

File sharing via Dropbox A cloud service that works equally well on computers and the mobile apps for the major smartphone platforms, Dropbox allows users to store files in online folders that can be shared to create a cloud-based portal between two Dropbox users. Video calls via Skype

Combining 5-axis wet/dry milling with the wet-grinding technique, Amann Girrbach’s Ceramill Motion 2 can be used as a purely dry or wet system or in combination mode. In combination mode, the lab technician can easily change between wet and dry modes by exchanging the blank holder depending upon the indications for each case.

The world of prosthetic oral appliances has been totally transformed since the first acrylic denture base was invented by Heraeus’ forerunner about half-a-century ago. Today advanced surgical techniques and the latest materials, such as Heraeus’ Mondial i denture teeth, can rapidly restore a patient’s oral function and confidence. About the teeth

To match an anterior tooth for a custom shade is the most difficult of procedures, as every technician knows. One problem is there are so many factors that relate to the final outcome, including: 1) Adjacent teeth color is often a big problem. If they are opacious in color, that is easier to mimic in our restorations than translucency or transparency; 2) The height of contour of the teeth, lobe and the type of surface texture all relate to the final color, as well.

The Lab Founded in 1976, PRO-DENT Laboratory Ltd. is a full service dental lab located in Halifax, Nova Scotia. With 45 people working in 7 departments, the lab strives to provide high quality restorations with customer service to match.  The product

Dental companies are starting to take advantage of the ways they can engage their customers and provide information and tools via iPhone and iPad apps. Here are some of the free options currently available in the Apple App Store: coDiagnostiX™ This implant treatment planning software from Straumann comes to the iPad in a robust app version that provides a great interface for viewing and sharing case images. ToothScout HD

The Lab IDOC Dental Lab is a full-service dental lab with 40 employees. It opened in Garden Grove, Calif. 12 years ago and specializes in smile design cases, implants and overdentures. Joey Hamernik is IDOC Dental Lab’s Vice President. The Product