How Dental Wings brings imaging innovation to dental labs

10 questions with Dental Wings' CEO, Michael Rynerson.

This article originally appeared in the July/August issue of Dental Lab Products. For more great articles about what's happening in the dental lab world, click the issue below:

2015 has been a big year for Dental Wings. At IDS 2015, they showed off a new laser drilling system, along with their previously announced intraoral scanner. They also updated their DWOS software this year.

We spoke to Dental Wings' CEO Michael Rynerson about these new innovations, how Dental Wings is supporting labs and what new innovations we can expect in the future.

Product roundup: Benchtop scanners

01. What’s your role at Dental Wings? 

As CEO, my primary role is to set the strategic direction for the organization, translate this into actionable plans, and see that the team has the resources and support they need to execute on our mission of helping our customers improve the lives of dental patients worldwide. Considering the amazing team I have, and the accelerating transition to digital dentistry, I am loving the challenge.

02. Dental Wings has announced a lot of new updates and products in 2015. Which of them has you personally most excited? 

I am most excited about the combination of all of our innovations into a complete spectrum of solutions. While our design and planning software, 3D scanners and laser milling technology are individually amazing products, the resulting workflow possibilities via our data management engine DWOS Connect are practically limitless. 

Step-by-step: A complete case from chairside to benchtop

03. Earlier this summer, Straumann increased its ownership position in Dental Wings. What does that mean for the future of the company?  

Dental Wings and Straumann have enjoyed a strong partnership for many years and have achieved significant success together. One important driver of this success is that Dental Wings has remarkably innovative people with real depth in digital dentistry, and the ability to bring these innovations to market effectively. The increased shareholding of Straumann reflects their confidence in our ability to continue to lead in the digital space, and assures our customers that we have the power to execute on our vision over the long run. On a day-to-day basis, however, it is business as usual, where Dental Wings provides leading open digital solutions to the entire dental industry.

04. There’s been a recent update to the DWOS software. How has that improved laboratory workflows? 

We have made massive strides in the last two major releases, 4.0 and 5.0, to enhance the overall user experience, improve throughput and give the technicians the tools they need to focus on creativity and profitability. The really exciting work has been done in linking our complete suite of CAD design tools (DWOS CAD) with surgical planning and drill guide production (coDiagnostiX). Integrating these tools allows real-time collaborative workflows between implant-placing dentists and their supporting prosthetics labs to achieve optimal surgical and prosthetic outcomes.

05. How have the Dental Wings scanners continued to innovate? 

Dental Wings 3D scanner systems are central to the overall productivity in a digital lab, therefore we place a premium on the robustness and productivity of our systems. Based on the experience of having built thousands of 3D scanners that scan millions of models and impressions annually, our latest generation systems have also taken a large step forward. Since we long ago achieved the requisite precision, accuracy and resolution demanded by laboratories, we focused our development on “total case effectiveness” optimization, which is reflected in our new generation of scan and design systems. We made meaningful improvements in ease of use, speed and flexibility so from the initial placement of the model to the output of the design file, the dental technician can do their work more effectively.

Next page: Learn about the new intraoral scanner and laser milling system ...

06. How do you feel Dental Wings products stand out from their competitors? 

Dental Wings researches, engineers, produces and supports all of its products internally. In fact, more than 50 percent of our staff is in R&D, over 80 percent of our staff has a technical background and all we do is dental 3D scanning, design and manufacturing. These aspects of the company are reflected in our products in that we have the ability to listen to our customers closely, understand their technical and business needs, and then quickly translate these needs into hardware and software enhancements that have real-world benefits. 

Read more: The new features of the DWOS 5.0 software

07. What are your thoughts about the new intraoral scanner? 

First, DWIO is an amazing step forward from a technical point of view, in that we were able to achieve what dentists have been asking for for years: a device that is easy to use, and has the look, feel and size of a dental handpiece. The extreme miniaturization of the optics so that we can simultaneously look at the teeth from multiple angles is a real breakthrough. Moreover, in keeping with our philosophy of providing robust solutions, DWIO has no moving parts, an all-metal construction and clever elements designed to provide years of reliable operation.

08. What will that new workflow look like-is it an open architecture, closed, in-between? 

Since day one, all Dental Wings solutions have been fully open, and DWIO is the same. Users will have access to their scan data immediately after the scan, and can export it for in-clinic use or transmit it to the dental laboratory of their choice. 

09. It’s a ways out from being available, but talk about the Laser Mill. What advantages does this technology bring over current mills? 

DWLM really is a completely new category of dental manufacturing. Our goal is to provide high quality restorations in proven materials with unprecedented ease. High quality is possible because we are “ablating” common restorative materials with laser pulses less than 30µm in diameter at a high rate then doing a full 3D quality control check within the machine. The ease of use stems from the fact that there are no CNC tools to wear or break, no coolant to manage, no spindles to change, no CAM per se to program, no typical milling noise. Simply plug it in, select the STL file to process and push “GO.” It is the ease of use that will make this an interesting technology for dentists, labs and production centers alike. We are fully aware that we are at the beginning of a new era with this technology, but the possibilities are fascinating.

https://youtu.be/4SCzwOdg4mc

10. What does the future of Dental Wings look like to you? 

I would like to encourage people to take a look at Dental Wings’ products and coming innovations. We have made huge strides even in the last year, and I am certain that some will be pleasantly surprised at the pace and breadth of our advances. We are growing strongly, our innovation pipeline is full, and we have every expectation of bringing even more value to our customers and patients in the years to come.

For more information about Dental Wings, visit dentalwings.com or call 888-856-6997.