Inside the Digital Panther
Inside Dental Technology delivers updates on digital workflows, materials, lab techniques, and innovation in dental technology through expert articles and videos.
July 1, 2015
Volume 6, Issue 7, July 2015
Page(s): p. 28
In order to create products of outstanding quality and provide an exceptional customer service experience, Panthera Dental pays special attention to detail when innovating. To act on that philosophy, Panthera Dental’s team has built one of the most technologically advanced milling centers. It is the type of center you will not find in either a large-scale dental laboratory or a multi-service dental supplier needing to extend its portfolio. The 35,000-square-foot milling center serves only one purpose: providing dental CAD/CAM.
To reach its quality goal, Panthera Dental invested in more than just a regular dental solution. Everything was specifically designed for manufacturing high-end products. Even the walls and foundation were intended for a cutting-edge dental milling center. In the center of the building, a separation of the main concrete slab was created to build what is now the scanning center. Separating this room from the rest of the foundation ensures that no vibrations from the street and/or the milling room can reach the scanners, thus avoiding the risk for mistakes during this crucial step. Inside this room, a highly qualified team uses a complete set of industrial scanners every day that can achieve outstanding precision without needing any scan bodies or any contact with the analogs.
To offer unsurpassed products, but more importantly to help meet the requirements and expectations of its customers, Panthera Dental has programmed its own dental design software for implant bars and sleep apnea dental solutions. This way, the company does not rely on an external firm for software updates. The company’s knowledgeable team has designed more than 60,000 implant bars for customers worldwide; laboratories can put their trust in Panthera’s expertise.
In the milling room, the heaviest and largest milling machines were part of the initial plan from the beginning because Panthera Dental has always wanted to offer a final product that would not require any further action from laboratories upon reception. Products sold at Panthera are final and have a flawless finish.
Creating perfect solutions for laboratories by working with them was and still is the key of the unbelievable growth of Panthera Dental. From the start, the research and development team worked on new solutions for the portfolio and made them available on the dental market for implant bars. Early in the company’s existence, it introduced one innovation that changed the overdenture implant bar market: the CAD/CAM double structure. Before long, one customer, Ruth Bourke, CDT, asked for a special design inspired by the innovation, and that is how the ReBourke concept bar was created. Panthera Dental is close to its customers to the extent of giving their names to its latest products.
Other ideas have arisen from one another. Pink zirconia was added to Panthera Dental’s wide range of products, and the company also offers unique tapered attachments for zirconia implant bars. With these new options, PEEK (polyether ether ketone) was introduced for the double structure of pink zirconia implant bars.
During the May opening of its US office in New Jersey, Panthera launched a new set of products that will again revolutionize the digital implant world. The ReBourke Pink concept is a pink zirconia bar that offers comfort and precision while promoting hygiene. The Dolder++ is a new type of Dolder implant bar that includes custom-made palladium riders, all following soft tissues at an equal distance.
The greatest innovation presented at the US opening was undoubtedly the Perfect Abutment, a custom-made abutment manufactured from STL files provided by dental laboratories. Many milling centers accept files from current dental scanners/software, but few can mill them as accurately as Panthera can. With a proprietary solution, the milling team can process STL files and manufacture custom abutments of premium quality.
Because a real need exists among its customers, Panthera Dental also accepts STL files for the manufacturing of implant bars. It is now possible for any laboratory to opt for the process it prefers: in-house scan/design or a full outsourcing service.
In addition to its US office and Canadian headquarters, Panthera Dental now has distributors in Australia, Switzerland, Hong Kong, western Canada, and France. The company offers service both in English and French, as well as an unparalleled customer experience. Panthera Dental has even dedicated an entire marketing team to develop unique delivery boxes to reflect the image of its first-rate products. Because innovation is a day-to-day expectation, a large team works in the R&D center to develop unique tools aiming to improve the portfolio of products that laboratories love to use. In the digital dental industry, Panthera’s website is even seen in the industry as a reference because it provides a complete and easy-to-use solution: a unique 3D viewer. It is like having the latest dental software at no cost.
“Ordering a product on our website is easier than ordering a book on Amazon,” says Bernard Robichaud, Cofounder of Panthera Dental.
