Looking to reduce the number of patient visits for procedures? Hoping for that elusive “same-day dentistry” that everyone talks about? Here’s how a digital workflow can boost your efficiency
• Ensure stronger, more durable materials and accurate, precise fi ttings for all your dental procedures
It used to be that getting dentures meant 5 or 6 office visits and several weeks of waiting in between for lab work. Not anymore. How does perfect dentures in 2 office visits sound to you? Welcome to the world of digital dentistry! All you need is a relatively low-cost addition to your practice—the Axsys Versamill 5X400—and you’ll have a more durable, precise fit in half the time. We use this dental manufacturing system for many restorative procedures, but here, I’ll explain its role in our denture workflow.
On the first visit, we do a master impression and a 3D scan of the patient’s head for a virtual representation. Then we digitize the data, do the design, set the teeth, and generate the denture fi les— all without needing the patient to be in the office. The design software, exocad, also available from Axsys, positions the teeth and we use the Versamill 5X400 to mill the denture. In 95% of cases, our patients are going home with perfect dentures on their second visit. It’s very fast—you could even do it in 1 day.
Superior Fit, Stronger Material
Dental school taught the traditional heat-curing process, and we’re accustomed to making adjustments to the dentures because of shrinkage. With the Versamill, we use a pre-cured PMMA acrylic, so there’s no shrinkage. It’s a superior fit, stronger material, and there are no sore spots pushing on the patient’s gum. I think it’s also more esthetic.
Once you broaden your horizons beyond dentures, you’ll find even bigger benefits. With the Versamill 5X400, you’ll get perfect fi t and razor-sharp margins, and it’s so exact that we rarely need adjustments. I use the mill for crowns, implants, and restorative work, and this is where digital dentistry really shines. I can mill titanium blanks and create custom abutments for implants and crowns. I don’t have a $500 lab bill—it’s about $30 for the abutment and $7 for the crown. You’ll get a better product with less chair time, which means happier patients. You can learn more about digital dentistry with my courses at transcendde.com.
