Feel the Heat

Feb. 24, 5 p.m.

The most interesting thing at the LMT Lab Day show for my Certified Dental Technician guide on Saturday were the 3D additive technology printers. When we walked in the door the first one we saw was the Perfactory DCP from EnvisionTec. The Perfactory DCP process starts with liquid wax and after two and a half hours produces 20-80 wax copings. You can use any software design package with the printer. Another 3D printer on display was the EOS M 270, which uses laser-sintering to produce cobalt chrome copings and frameworks. Sirona's InfiniDent service to manufacture customized crown and bridge frameworks in cobalt-chrome alloy.

One of the fascinating software design programs with the Perfactory DCP printer is the Laserdenta open scan and CAD solution. The 5-axis scanner has 20-micron precision. The STL open file format of the scan can be sent to any CAM system that accepts STL - including the scan of an impression. Another scanner garnering interest is the 3Shape d-250 3D Scanner. The scan is saved in an open STL standard format and used with he 3Shape's modeling software package, Dental Designer, or in another open format software application.

After walking the floor of the tradeshow with my CDT guide, there is no doubt that the next wave of technology is getting ready to have a significant impact on the laboratory industry. Find out more about the new virtual frontier in the April issue of the Journal of Dental Technology.

Well, this will close out the JDT Unbound daily blog of the Chicago Midwinter Meetings. Let us know what you thought of the blog and if you were at the meetings let us know what caught your eye. Click here to let us what you thought was hot at the Midwinter Meetings.

Feb. 23, 5:39 p.m. EST

If you don't like crowded places, McCormick Place during the Midwinter Meetings. Technicians, dentists and others tied to the dental community crowded onto the convention floor to see the latest offerings. My guide today is a Certified Dental Technician who spends most of his time in research and development. He aimed most of his attention at the Cadent iTreo digital impression system.

Cadent is conducting a slow rollout of the product, but expects it to be available nationwide by the end of the year. My guide thinks it will take a few years for dentists to accept the digital impression, but believes it will significantly impact the industry. You can read more about digital impressions in the April issue of the Journal of Dental Technology. On the agenda for tomorrow is the LMT dental laboratory show.

Feb. 23, 9 a.m. EST

The CAL-Lab exhibits were packed full last night with everyone crowding around to find out what might be worth purchasing. My guide for the evening was a Certified Dental Technician with decades of experience. Here are a few of the things that caught his eye and his thoughts on each.

    * You can spray Bego's Lilipot lubricant spray this onto a white crucible and it makes the crucible less porous so the casting slides of it. This allows for better use of alloy.
    * Kavo was showing off its new implant application that will be launching in March at the International Dental Show in Germany. "It's the first one I've seen that will mill implant abutments."
    * The Whip Mix AuqaSpense SL is a good way to ensure consistency in mixing.
    * The Enigma Colour Tones allows for custom shade matching of gingival tissue. You may not need it for every restoration, but when you do this looks like a great way to get the job done right.
    * MedicAir from Nevin Laboratories, Inc., is said to kill viruses in the air while clearing out other laboratory-related air polluters. It will cover about a 3,000 square foot area.
    * Etkon's scanner is "reputed to be a very good system. It looks like it's easy to work with. There's low initial investment and little need to invest in milling equipment" because the milling equipment is housed at Etkon's Texas facility.

Overall my guide was excited to see the offerings to the dental laboratory industry presented Thursday night. However, what he is frustrated with is the limited number of systems with open architecture that would allow him to scan a unit using Company A's scanner and sending it to a milling unit made by Company B. You can find out more about the importance of open architecture and other aspects of virtual dentistry in the April issue of the Journal of Dental Technology. On the schedule for today is a tour of what McCormick Place has to offer along with press conferences with Nobel Biocare, Cadent, Zhermack and Sirona. Check back around 5 p.m. EST for the next update.

Feb. 22, 3 p.m. EST

Ah, the joys of travel. My 7:40 a.m. flight to Chicago was changed to 6:05 a.m. When I arrived at the airport I found out that my flight had now been delayed to 8 a.m. However, thanks to Lilly with Delta I made it to McCormick Place a few minutes before Dr. Gordon Christensen's 12:40 p.m. press conference on the state of dentistry. He took aim at the $20 billion cosmetic dentistry market, specifically veneers. It seems the good doctor is sick of dentists who overprep the veneers.

"The dentists have gone for overprep because it makes it easier for the laboratory technician," Christensen said.

This can lead to tooth sensitivity, pulpal death and the veneer falling off because it was bonded to the dentin and not the enamel. The key to fixing this is to teach dentists proper veneer prepping techniques, according to Christensen. In addition, patients have to be taught that while they can get veneers quickly, it's the 18-month treatment planned veneers that last.

During his 45-minute press conference Christensen touched on the topic of offshore dental laboratories saying that up to 20 percent of the laboratory work being placed in patients' mouths is coming into the U.S. These offshore laboratories, many of which are in China, are charging "peanuts" for restorations.

"We're going to see the demise of the laboratory industry in the U.S.," Christensen said. "The American mom and pop laborator can't compete with a $20 to $28 unit unless they buy them from China and sell them." He said he expects the end result to be to be an American laboratory market with high-end botique laboratories and the mass-production laboratories and few, if any, laboratories in between.

He went on to briefly touch on a few other topics including digital impressions, which you can read about in the Journal of Dental Technology's April cover story about virtual dentistry. On the agenda tonight is a tour of the manufacturer exhibits at CAL-Lab.

Feb. 22
Welcome to the first JDT Unbound blog of the Midwinter Meetings in Chicago. This is my first time in the Windy City, so I've enlisted some knowledgeable guides to help along the way. In order to get their honest, unvarnished opinions I won't be revealing their identities. All are Certified Dental Technicians with a real passion for this industry who are constantly on the hunt for the next great idea, product, material or technology. I'll update this blog several times a day between Feb. 22 and Feb. 25, so check back often. The blog will include information as well as photos of all of the happenings. First up on the agenda today is a press conference with the renowned Dr. Gordon Christensen concerning what he feels are disturbing trends in esthetic dentistry. Get ready to feel the heat.