For the first time ever, last year more than 1 million dental restorations were ordered via the Sirona Connect Portal. This means that the number of restoration orders submitted via this channel has more than doubled compared to 2015 – and the trend towards digital impressions followed by transmission of data to the inLab laboratory continues. For 2017, Dentsply Sirona is expecting more growth in orders placed via Sirona Connect.
Bensheim/Salzburg. The trend towards digitization in dentistry has been the hottest topic in the industry for a number of years. The latest figures from Dentsply Sirona confirm that digitization is helping to improve cooperation between practice and laboratory in more and more cases. For the first time ever the Sirona Connect Portal broke the million mark of restorations ordered. In 2016, with the aid of inLab-Software, which enables laboratories to receive digital impressions and associated work orders directly from the dentist’s office, orders for restorations reached the seven-figure range – corresponding to about 3,800 restorations per workday.
An international success story
By far, the crown represents the largest fraction of the more than 1 million restorations completed. Second and third on the list are bridges and inlays, although abutments, orthodontic appliances and veneers also figure among the tasks ordered via Sirona Connect.
Broad spectrum, increasing order numbers
It is because of this broad spectrum and the growing order numbers that Sirona Connect can facilitate direct, simple cooperation for dentists and dental technicians in more and more cases. This development benefits everyone concerned. Patients receive the care they want faster, dentists and dental technicians are happy that their patients are satisfied and appreciate a simple workflow, and laboratories profit from the growing number of digitally functioning practices – because with every Sirona Connect user the pool of potential customers becomes larger.
Cooperation with dentists who use CEREC has proven to offer a particularly attractive opportunity for commercial laboratories. Not only does this group represent the largest source of orders for digital impressions, but experience has shown that these dentists are also particularly willing to cooperate with inLab laboratories to exploit the advantages of digital workflows to the fullest. Moreover, many dental technicians have already succeeded in using digital impressions to extend the range of their activities from the regional to the transregional level and therefore acquire new customers.
Laboratories that have already made the switch to the digital workflow, or plan to do so in the near future, can look forward to a trend towards digitization that is only gaining momentum. “More and more dentists are enthusiastically embracing digital impressions and data transmission via Sirona Connect,” explained Dr. Roland Görlitz, Global Product Manager Labside & Digital Impression at Dentsply Sirona. “Reaching 1 million restorations in 2016 was a real milestone for us, but at the same time we have a long way to go to exploit the enormous potential of Sirona Connect to the fullest. This upward trend is a real opportunity for laboratories and practices, and ultimately it is the patients who stand to benefit most.”
