Dental Products Report | January 2008
Opening doors of communicationDentist/Lab communications Part 1 Part 2
You and the lab technicians you work with appear to be taking advantage of technology to assist in the fine art of communication. This survey report indicates just how important communication is when it comes to creating the best restorations. By Stan Goff
In a perfect world, dentists and lab technicians would all work together in the same building to optimize communication, or at least make sure the technician gets a face-to-face with the patient. But with today’s technology—including digital photography, the Internet and digital shade-taking devices—the quality of communication between dentist and technician can equal—in fact, surpass—what’s possible live and in person.
In fact, Dr. Michael DiTolla, director of Clinical Education and Research at Glidewell Laboratories, believes using a shade-matching device like the Vident Easyshade (Vident, www.vident.com) along with some nice digital photos can actually better prepare technicians to create beautiful crowns.
| | DPR exclusive surveys
The September Dentist/Lab Communications surveys were
e-mailed to 1,017 laboratory owners/managers and
1,453 GPs with 15% and 5% response rates, respectively.
| 95% of labs are satisfied with the overall quality of information dentists provide for crown and bridge cases
10% of labs employ the services of a dentist to facilitate communications.
Source: DLP September 2007 Dentist/Lab Communications survey. |
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“With today’s technology, it’s almost like our technician has seen the patient in real life if we’ve selected the shade with the Easyshade and sent some digital photographs along with that information,” Dr. DiTolla said. “If you have a study model and you have pictures with those shade tabs in place from a couple different angles, it really is almost better. In fact, one of the things I use digital photography for in my practice is when we try-in crowns.”
According to the numbers from recent separate DPR and Dental Lab Products (DPR’s sister publication for lab owners and managers) surveys sent to GPs and labs, both groups surely are taking advantage of technology to help communicate clearly with one another. In Part 1 of this 2-part survey report, we take a look at how digital photography, shade-matching systems and the Internet have helped change the way you communicate with labs. Part 2 next month will cover topics such as digital impression taking, continuing education and what the future may bring in terms of labs and doctors working hand-in-hand to ensure the most esthetic and function restorations possible.
Not surprisingly, most of the respondents continue to use tried-and-true communication tools: shade guides (96%), study models (nine in 10) and shade tabs (more than two-thirds). Additionally, more than half are using direct technician contact with the patient (57%) and digital photographs (56%). Dr. DiTolla, however, is a little disappointed that just 11% of our readers have gone to a computerized shade analysis system.
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“Digital photography is just as simple in the dental operatory as it is on the soccer field or the hockey rink.”
–Dr. Michael DiTolla |
It is critical for labs such as Glidewell (www.glidewell-lab.com) that work with client-dentists from all over the country to be able to provide technicians with shade-matching information, and that includes photographs of the adjacent teeth. “That’s where the challenge is for dentists to communicate with their laboratory,” he said, noting that Glidewell is an exclusively mail-order lab. “And technology has actually made this a lot easier. For example, one of my favorite products—and you can’t really call it ‘new’ anymore because it’s been out for a couple of years—is the Easyshade from Vident. To be able to take this little ‘gun’ and set it on the tooth and pull the ‘trigger’ and have it give me the correct shade every time is pretty amazing. And you calibrate it every time. You get ready to use it and you can always put it on a shade tab and verify that it is in fact giving you the correct shade.
“Dentists worry a lot about shades and whether they’re selecting the right one. It’s surprising to me that a dentist won’t spend $4,000 once to ensure that they always take the shade correctly by using this machine. And the adaptation of this technology has been embarrassingly slow by dentists. Of course, there’s more to the process than that, but computerized shade matching is a good first step to make sure you get the shade correct.”
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