The Evolution of an Alloy Company
Inside Dental Technology delivers updates on digital workflows, materials, lab techniques, and innovation in dental technology through expert articles and videos.
October 1, 2014
Volume 5, Issue 10, October 2014
Page(s): p. 30-31
You may know The Argen Corporation as “the gold company” or “the world’s largest provider of dental alloys.” But did you know that Argen offers the industry’s most complete product offering available through the digital workflow? Led by the vision of CEO Anton Woolf, Argen has invested millions of dollars in the past 7 years to develop an industry-leading, state-of-the-art digital center. Argen’s goal is to offer a total digital solution, providing the dental laboratory access to an entire dental restoration beginning with an intraoral scan.
Argen has complemented its alloy and refining business with the addition of the industry’s widest range of digital products, including digital PFMs, digital full-gold crowns, digital Captek™, milled zirconia, precision custom abutments, PMMA temps, wax, and models. Through Argen Digital, a dental laboratory can fulfill an entire prescription from beginning to end. For example, Argen can print a digital model, mill a multilayered PMMA temp, mill a titanium custom abutment, and complete the restoration with an ArgenZ Transitionally Shaded Esthetic crown or Captek coping. The laboratory is able to receive all components in one shipment at competitive prices and in just 2 business days.
Argen applied its 50 years’ experience in manufacturing dental alloys to develop alloys for the selective laser melting (SLM) environment. Argen Digital remains the only manufacturer in the industry with a complete SLM offering, including high noble, noble, and non-precious SLM substructures. With four major SLM product offerings, Argen believes a dental laboratory is able to fulfill most of its PFM needs through SLM, thus taking advantage of the benefits of SLM technology over traditional waxing and casting. Argen offers the following SLM alloys: a high noble containing 40% gold, two noble options containing 25% palladium and 71% palladium, and a nickel- and beryllium-free non-precious option. Argen believes SLM is a superior solution for metal restorations offering extreme accuracy, consistent results, and time and cost savings for the laboratory through fewer remakes and reduced alloy inventory. Argen also offers 18 of its most popular alloys through digital precious metals (DPM) for those specific needs not covered through SLM. This gives laboratories access to a wide range of high noble and noble PFM and full-cast alloys, including full-gold crowns.
ArgenZ™ Zirconia is Argen Digital’s all-ceramic option. ArgenZ Transitionally Shaded Esthetic Milled Zirconia is quickly becoming known as the most life-like zirconia in the industry. What sets ArgenZ Transitionally Shaded Esthetic Milled Zirconia apart is the beautiful appearance, which closely mimics that of natural teeth. This is achieved through the combination of the high-quality zirconia with a graduated, multilayered shading technique. ArgenZ Esthetic Zirconia is available in 16 classic Vita shades and three bleach shades in full-contour crowns, full-contour bridges, frameworks, and copings from single unit to full roundhouse.
Argen Digital recently launched ArgenIS Implant Solutions, a complete custom abutment system compatible with the leading implant systems. ArgenIS Implant Solutions gives laboratories the flexibility to scan and design custom abutments for production through the digital workflow. The ArgenIS Implant Solution includes a complete scan-body kit, proprietary digital design library, and all additional tools and components required to work with Argen Digital’s custom abutments. ArgenIS custom abutments are available in full titanium with options for gold shading and retention lines, screw-retained zirconia-hybrid, screw-retained full-contour zirconia-hybrid, and screw-retained SLM CoCr-hybrid abutments. Argen’s custom abutments are milled with a 5-axis precision mill offering the highest-quality units that require little-to-no finishing or polishing in the laboratory.
Captek remains a preferred prescription of many dentists and dental laboratories, known for its beautiful esthetic and multiple health benefits. Traditional Captek requires the dental laboratory to receive a Captek Certification in order to fabricate Captek restorations in-house. Offering Captek through the digital workflow has removed the barrier to entry and opened access to the benefits of Captek to all dental laboratories. With Digital Captek, laboratories upload single-unit STL and DCM digital design files to argendigital.com for production and Argen Digital produces and ships the Captek crown to the laboratory for finishing. The laboratory’s only investment is a simple finishing kit, which allows the laboratory to complete and prep the crown for porcelain application.
ArgenPMMA, ArgenWAX, and digital models complete Argen Digital’s product offering. ArgenPMMA Temps offer a premium-quality, natural-looking temporary solution available in 16 translucent Vita Shades, one bleach shade, and five multi-layered esthetic shades. ArgenWAX is available printed or milled, offering options for waxes that best fit your needs. Both are perfect for pressing as well as full-gold casting. Digital models are printed from intraoral scans supplied by dentists. Digital models can be designed as sectioned, with removable dies or even as a solid model, and are available in single die through full arch to meet all your needs.
Laboratories of all sizes can access Argen Digital’s entire product line by simply uploading a digital design file from any open scanner to www.argendigital.com. Argen also offers free online product training for all new digital customers available at www.argen.com/onboarding. Participants are eligible to receive 1 hour of CE credits on completion of the entire series. All Argen Digital products are supported by world-class customer and technical support, competitive pricing, and 2-day turnaround. (ArgenZ long-span bridges require 3 business days.)
For More Information
Argen Digital
P 800-255-5524
W argendigital.com
