Surfing the Wave of Technology
Inside Dental Technology delivers updates on digital workflows, materials, lab techniques, and innovation in dental technology through expert articles and videos.
October 1, 2011
Volume 2, Issue 9, October 2011
Page(s):
The modern age of digitalization and automation has recently reached the dental laboratory industry and dramatically changed the decades-old processes by which technicians create restorations. State-of-the-art technology has enhanced most of the existing processes and brought with it new materials and restorative products. However, a common concern among technicians is that the use of these new technologies and materials dehumanizes the final product. However, by taking advantage of these technological advancements, laboratories now have access to a much wider range of restorative products that they can introduce to customers while still retaining the finesse and art of dental laboratory technology.
Biodenta Group offers laboratories and practitioners a wide range of restorative and process solutions. The company’s broad product portfolio ranges from a full array of dental implant solutions and layering porcelains to a full range of CAD/CAM products. Biodenta also offers customized CAD/CAM-milled implant abutments for most major implant systems. Their specialized, dual-purpose “ceramics2in1” porcelain system allows dental technicians to achieve a final outcome of the highest esthetic quality and high shear bond strength for both titanium and zirconia frameworks.
Laboratories of all sizes have the opportunity to lease a scanner that features cutting-edge capabilities without a major capital investment. With the commitment, the dental laboratory receives detailed technical training on scanning the master model and designing the final dental prosthesis. The training is provided by a certified dental technician through intense training on site and in Biodenta’s facility.
Tapping into technology to create restorative solutions affords dental laboratories a number of advantages. Traditional waxing and casting can be replaced by CAD design and milling of substructures and/or full-contour restorations. Labor-intensive pouring, sectioning, and pinning of models can now be accomplished on a computer screen, streamlining workflow processes and productivity.
Digital restorative designs are then electronically transmitted to Biodenta for the production processes, offering laboratories the ability to increase production without investing in additional labor. Outsourcing restorative components to Biodenta also allows laboratories to offer their clients the full range of CAD/CAM products on the market from milled titanium implant-retained overdenture bars to full-contour monolithic restorations, all stacked or characterized with a special layering porcelain to complete the final artistic signature.
Biodenta offers laboratories milled implant solutions from milled titanium implant bars (Figure 1) to customized abutments in titanium, zirconia, and hybrid (combination of titanium interface and zirconium abutment body). The implant bars are milled to the exact specifications determined by the clinical requirements, and they offer laboratories the ability to add additional retention and attachments in the CAD design software.
Implant abutments are milled from either titanium or zirconia and to the exact instructions and design of the dental laboratory. Abutment width, height, emergence profile, and margin type are among the many physical properties that can be detailed in the design software. Depending on clinical needs, Biodenta milling materials have been developed to provide high strength and highly esthetic abutments. With CAM precision milling, the problems associated with loose abutments and open margins on copings and crowns are eliminated (Figure 2).
Full anatomical crowns are designed and milled out of high-strength translucent zirconia in a variety of shades. Available in 16 VITA classic shades, the final product is delivered to the dental laboratory within 2 to 3 business days for the finishing touches and final adjustments.
As a complement to their line of CAD/CAM-milled restorative components, Biodenta also offers a dual-purpose ceramic material suitable for use on both zirconia and titanium. Biodenta’s ceramics2in1 is a low-fusing dental porcelain with enamel-like wear characteristics used in the production of crowns and bridges made of zirconium or titanium. This groundbreaking material features a strong bond between ceramics and titanium, preventing delamination and chipping of the ceramic portion of the restoration (Figure 3). With the advancement of new ceramic materials and the strong shear bond strength between the titanium core and the ceramic layering materials, titanium can be used as the primary porcelain-fused-to-metal (PFM) substructure. This eliminates costly alloy purchases, stabilizes the price of restorations, and allows the laboratory to provide steady and fixed rates to dentists.
Business tools that impact time and cost management as well as product quality will have the most effect on your bottom line. Expensive alloy costs and labor-intensive procedures are replaced with cost-friendly biocompatible, high-end titanium, and zirconium products. And, finally, the price of our metal products is pre-set, helping laboratories maintain consistency in budgeting and profitability.
The preceding material was provided by the manufacturer. The statements and opinions contained therein are solely those of the manufacturer and not of the editors, publisher, or the Editorial Board of Inside Dental Technology.
Biodenta North America, LLC
Phone 877- MAX-Biodenta
Web www.biodenta-us.com
E-mail usa@biodenta.com
