Simon Fieldhouse explains how incorporating digital technology has enhanced his practice – and why he couldn’t imagine being without any of it.
How “digital” is your practice?
I would say fully digital. We have acquisition units in every surgery. a mix of Dentsply Sirona Primescans and AC Omnicam, which we are replacing with Primescans.
We have two MCXL Premium mills (and we are buying a third – Primemill), two furnaces (and we are buying a third Speedfire), an Orthophos SL CBCT and a 3D printer. In addition, we have a node to store the data.
We fabricate all crowns, bridges and single implant crowns. In addition, we make digital impressions for our implant bridges, braces, and are now moving into digital workflows for dentures.
What made you move into digital technology?
I watched the technology evolve for many years and it became clear that it was capable
to do what we wanted, as long as it allowed us to produce high-quality prostheses in-house, in a single visit.
Being on site and with the patient in front of you puts us in the strongest position to provide a quality crown or other restoration.
How has it affected your practice?
Digital practice is a much more relaxed and flexible environment to work. The nature of appointments enables us to have a working day that allows professionals to work in a way that is not possible using conventional workflows.
The practice is much more efficient and we have also seen a significant increase in profitability, even after paying for the equipment. It seems to create work that we didn’t expect at first.
We even receive referrals for a single restoration to be performed on a patient from another practice who cannot tolerate conventional impressions.
Our patients seem to be universally impressed by the technology. Many of them are really interested in how
it works. They also like the convenience of individual visits and no impressions.
Now we’re also seeing a number of new patients coming to us because we’re digital.
How was the learning curve?
It was surprisingly simple. Of course there are things to learn, but I find the Cerec software, especially version 5, very intuitive and a real leap forward in usability.
There are always new things to learn and the digital community is growing rapidly. There are also a number of good publications and companies that develop better training courses and literature.
In addition, the rest of the team loves digital work: some nurses are trained to make crowns and bridges and really enjoy being more involved in the work we do. Watch this space!
What are your essential pieces of equipment?
This is a tough question – I can’t imagine being without any of them.
We perform full digital workflows, conventional crown and bridge, implants and more. They are all high quality and reliable pieces of kit.
Sometimes we say, “Can you imagine going back?” Being able to design implants, make surgical guides and final restorations, implant or conventional is really powerful and extremely rewarding.
What is the easiest way to start a practice with digital dentistry?
Getting started with digital dentistry is very simple. There are many options, but I would recommend Primescan. It is an excellent, highly accurate, reliable and easy to use piece of equipment.
If people are anxious to create their own crowns then it’s a great way to start the digital journey as a means of getting digital impressions.
Impressions are sent to the lab as the system is open. The result is a very accurate impression, which is immediately sent to the laboratory. As a result, there are many benefits for the patient and the laboratory.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned on your digital journey?
First, it improves your preparations! If you are looking to produce crowns at home, which I would highly recommend, make sure your equipment talks to each other. All our equipment is Dentsply Sirona and communicates easily and simply works. Also, you never stop learning about what it can do.
I have also realized that the relationship with your lab is getting even better. They get accurate impressions, in a timely manner.
The precision of the full arch scanner has made arch bars and other larger treatment designs much simpler.
Would you recommend investing in digital dentistry?
Absolutely. Whether it’s digital impressions or a full workflow. Digital dentistry benefits everyone. It’s a win, win, win. A win for you and your staff.
Book a 1:1 virtual consultation with one of Dentsply Sirona’s equipment specialists today.
Find out about the ‘Your Digital Transformation’ series here:
This article first appears on Implant Dentistry Today. You can read the latest issue here.
