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June 2009 | Dental Lab Products
Forward Trends: Digital Impressions

Dental Wings takes off

Dental Wing’s CEO Naoum Araj details the company’s new iSeries impression scanner.

Naoum Araj believes the technology involved in restorative dentistry will be completely digital in less than a decade.

DLP: What is the technology behind your new iSeries impression scanner?

Araj: The challenge with any technology attempting to capture intricate detail from a negative rather than a positive shape is the access to clinical details of the impression. In our 3-S and 5-S Dental Wings DWOS scanners that laboratories use, we have mastered optical laser triangulation technology. In fact, our current 5Series scanner is capable of scanning impressions, using the impression holder accessory. However, this scanner was designed and optimized to scan primarily plaster models. Thus, some impression cases, especially the lower anterior, may be difficult to scan mainly for accessibility reasons.

So to master the ability to capture the most elusive of impression details, we have optimized our scanning technology for scanning impressions. The iSeries scanner is based on dual-camera laser triangulation. The first camera, having a wider inclination to the laser, measures the global clinical case and the shallow region of the impression. The second camera with a smaller inclination measures the deepest and narrowest part of the impression. The cameras work in concert with each other while the 5-axis platen holding the impression rotates, twists, and turns to allow scanning access to all facets of the impression.

DLP: From what you are saying, I’m assuming the iSeries is strictly intended for the clinical environment?

Araj: Yes and no. While the iSeries is targeting the clinical environment, we believe that because of its powerful scanning capabilities and its open architecture, the iSeries will also find applications with the dental laboratory. Within a dental clinic, instead of the clinician taking a physical impression, putting it in a box, and shipping it to the laboratory, the practitioner now takes the impression, places it inside the scanner, and the digital data including the prescription is uploaded to the Dentrix practice management software and sent to the laboratory via e-mail and a proprietary and secure data network.

DLP: How do the dentist and laboratory benefit from this technology?

Araj: We truly believe our impression scanning solution will be beneficial for both the practice and the laboratory, but especially for the laboratory. For laboratories invested at some level in digital dentistry, there is the need to receive digital data from the operatory without the necessity of shipping impressions, pouring models, and hand waxing restorative components. This saves laboratories time and money, not to mention it eliminates the many inherent errors built into the traditional restorative production process, and gives them accurate data by which to continue doing their work virtually. In a way, the chairside impression scanning solution is a natural intermediate step between the traditional way and intraoral scanning. It delivers most of the benefits of digital manufacturing at a significantly lower cost.

DLP: Are you planning on integrating the impression scan with other technologies?

Araj: Yes, later on. Obviously, we are looking to the future to add other features as we move forward. Our first challenge is to fully integrate the iSeries, which is scheduled for launch in September, with Dentrix practice management software. The Dentrix software will control many facets of the iSeries scanner in such a way that transmitting data is like using a fax machine.

DLP: Obviously, the impression scan is fully compatible with the Dental Wings DWOS software design modules.

Araj: Not only is the iSeries scanner compatible with DWOS software design modules, but as you know Dental Wings believes in open-architecture solutions. For example, we have partnered with iTero. Several labs are using this combined solution daily so digital data of scans also can be received and worked on seamlessly in the laboratory. We are working hard to link the dentist and laboratory to each other with all existing technologies. It’s a complete lifecycle from impression to restorative solution that we are offering the dental community.

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