Early Adopters
Inside Dental Technology delivers updates on digital workflows, materials, lab techniques, and innovation in dental technology through expert articles and videos.
May 1, 2014
Volume 5, Issue 5, May 2014
Page(s): 68-69
With a track record of success and leadership spanning nearly half a century, Oral Arts Dental Laboratories remains a hallmark business that is both immersed in the latest technologies and builds on a strong foundation of personalized customer service, proving beyond a doubt that technology and strong personal customer relationships are not mutually exclusive. Founded in 1970 by Thomas Winstead and headquartered in Hunstville, AL, with satellite locations in Mobile, AL and Knoxville, TN, Oral Arts has prided itself on being at the forefront of incorporating new digital advancements into the everyday workflow of the business to further improve the efficiency, accuracy, quality, and predictability of their final product. It’s a business formula that began as one man’s vision and now is embodied by his son, Matt Winstead, CDT, Executive Vice President, as well as the 260 skilled employees working at the three Oral Arts locations.
“For the past 44 years, our laboratory has been an early adopter of technology,” says Winstead. “In today’s business environment it is critically important to be aware of what technologies are emerging, as well as be conservatively ready to get in the game or risk being left behind. Unless a laboratory has adopted CAD/CAM technology, they’re either out of business or doomed for an early exit. Embracing the digital evolution has without a doubt kept our growth strong and steady over the past 6 years.”
From in-house CAM milled full-contour zirconia crowns, zirconia frameworks, titanium and zirconia implant abutments, and IPS e.max® restorations to outsourced precision-milled implant overdenture bars, Oral Arts uses digital workflows and CAD/CAM technology for the fabrication of its fixed restorations, all of which are made from FDA-cleared materials. Provisional restorations and esthetic wax-ups are also digitally designed and milled for predictable outcomes in final ceramic restorations. Creating the provisionals and wax-ups in this manner ensures that Oral Arts’ customers receive the consistency of fit, contacts, occlusion, and anatomy that they demand and expect. Being at the forefront of new materials, processes, and techniques has positioned the laboratory as a resource for their clients, and allows Oral Arts’ team to advise clients on the materials best suited to use for individual patients and case situations. “Our clients rely on us to be their partner,” explains Winstead. His commitment to excellence at every level of business is also behind Winstead’s support of developing the technical and dental knowledge level of Oral Arts’ technicians, incentivizing employees to undergo the certification process and encouraging on-going certification status by paying for the travel and expenses necessary to obtain CE credits.
When it comes to outsourcing products and processes, or making a large technology purchase, Winstead expects the same level of excellence demonstrated by his laboratory from his manufacturing business partners. Most important for Winstead is the knowledge level and experience behind the company. “We look at many factors when choosing a business partner, but the key to these relationships is the knowledge the provider has of the actual machinery and how to optimize the equipment to make it do what you want.” When it comes to purchasing new machinery for Oral Arts, it is the post-purchase support and maintenance of those units that is most critical for Winstead. “We chose CAP as our business partner when we purchased our 3Shape scanner and Roland milling machine because they have a high level of experience using their equipment specifically in dentistry,” comments Winstead. “We found that when it came to purchasing a scanner, choosing which 3Shape distributor to purchase from was extremely important. You need a company that, in addition to an ability to maintain the equipment, can provide excellent after-purchase support. This has proven just as important for scan/design software as it has for the milling equipment.”
This level of confidence in their business partner, as well as in the machinery they are using, allows Oral Arts to deliver modeless crowns from intraoral scan files from a digital impression scanner and offer their customers a per-unit reduced cost for any final restoration received and fabricated from electronic data transferred directly to the laboratory. In addition, milling in-house with their eight milling units has allowed the laboratory to deliver almost any product currently on the market at a competitive price.
As a Certified Dental Laboratory, Oral Arts is committed to continuing to run their business at the leading edge of technological advancements, and to keep all their manufacturing products and processes based in the United States. Through its visionary leadership and highly trained technicians, Oral Arts is poised as a forerunner in the dental laboratory sector and is determined to provide the highest quality products available as the dental industry continues to evolve toward a seamless digital workflow.
Disclaimer: 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.
CAP’s Milling Center
As a company, CAP prides itself on consistently providing customers with expertly designed, site-specific custom implant abutments. Custom abutments can be outsourced to CAP’s milling center for nearly complete fabrication. CAP can also supply customers with the CAP Complete implant solution that best suits each individual laboratory that uses in-house manufacturing.
For more information, contact:
Custom Automated Prosthetics
P 877-977-7889
W www.cap-us.com
