REVIEW: Why I had to have the CEREC Omnicam

One clinician’s take on how the CEREC Omnicam has changed his practice.

A longtime CEREC user and even a Patterson Dental trainer on the technology, Dr. Darin O’Bryan knew he had to have the CEREC Omnicam the moment he first saw it demonstrated last August when Sirona held an event in Las Vegas to show off its latest prized product. Now the general dentist in rural Coos Bay, Ore., and his staff are taking full advantage of Sirona’s latest chairside CAD/CAM system.

When did you learn about the CEREC Omnicam and how did you implement it into your practice?

I’ve been using CEREC almost 7 years now. I started out with the CEREC 3 then I had the CEREC AC and then I saw the Omnicam at the release in Las Vegas. I saw it at 8 o’clock in the morning with all the trainers and then at the first break-out session I went up to my CEREC specialist and said ‘Order me one.’ He said he didn’t even know what the trade-in was and I said it didn’t matter. I wanted it that day. I didn’t want it tomorrow.

As a trainer for CEREC, integrating it into offices is MUCH easier than it was before. I can get somebody up and running with that machine in half the time it took me before. As for the imaging process, we used to spend a day training just on powder, picturing and how to capture the images for CEREC. I now go over the imaging process in about half an hour.

It’s actually more efficient … before I didn’t really have my assistants do any imaging. Now I have them image when I’m busy because it’s easy enough they can just pick it up because it’s very straightforward.

What do you like best about the product?

The imaging process is so much easier with the CEREC Omnicam because you don’t have to worry about getting the alignment just right. The time savings are great especially when you get into large cases. You can go in there and do a quick scan, and you can then make sure you have just what you need.

Also the patients are amazed. I have mostly an older patient base, not really computer people, but they just love this. They don’t have to wear temporaries and they can watch their tooth being created. I show them the machine and they are just wowed. The patients really see the handson work and it creates an extra value for them. They’re seeing all of my knowledge being used to design their tooth and then the technology utilized to create it for them.

CEREC Omnicam

Featuring an ergonomic handpiece and special optics, the CEREC Omnicam intraoral camera has ColorStreaming to allow for continuous capture of the oral cavity as well as displaying 3D data in full color. The system is completely powder-free.

The slim, rounded camera tube provides for easy rotation of the camera in the intraoral space. The tiny camera tip makes it easy to best position the lens anywhere in the mouth. The camera captures images in 2D and 3D and can rapidly capture half-arch and full-arch impressions.

Sirona Dental Systems Inc. | 800-659-5977 | cereconline.com

Why would you recommend the CEREC Omnicam to colleagues?

I do a lot of events with doctors looking at the technology. I hear concerns about costs and technique sensitivity. If you do a lot of crowns you’re really reducing your lab fees so that becomes a wash, and as for the technique sensitivity, that’s one the Omnicam really kicks to the curb. This is no longer technique sensitive and the learning curve on the software has gone down drastically. The proposals the machine gives me are really solid and the imaging with the CEREC Omnicam eliminates learning curve worries that most doctors used to have.

It’s also a great source of internal marketing. Patients tell their friends they got a crown in one visit and then they start talking to others. Boom. I have a lot of fishermen and professionals from the hospital as patients and they would much rather not have to come back for a second visit. All of a sudden I’ve got patients calling up to schedule because they want to see this technology that can do crowns in one appointment.

CEREC Omnicam

One clinician’s take on how the CEREC Omnicam has changed his practice. Written by: Dr. Darin O’Bryan Sirona CEREC Omnicam Date published: 02/06/2013