CAD/CAM Magazine

I industry news _ business _Dental Wings, Canadian provider of dental CAD/CAM solutions, has signed a broad coopera- tion agreement with absolute Ceramics (biodentis GmbH), an industrial manufacturer of dental pros- thetics based in Leipzig, Germany. According to Dental Wings, the agreement will enable absolute Ceramics to integrate Dental Wings’ DWOS soft- ware platform into its CAD/CAM system, broaden- ing functionality considerably. DWOS is a commercially available open-soft- ware system that offers dental laboratories the flexibility to use data from multiple systems and sources in designing prosthetics. With DWOS in- stalledatitsproductioncentreandinitsmatchpoint Scan/Design system, absolute Ceramics will be able to offer custom abutments for all leading implant systems, in addition its own Infix technology. The common software platform will also make absolute Ceramics’ digital workflow compatible with the LAVA COS intraoral scanner sold by 3M ESPE, which absolute Ceramics offers to its customers. “Asharedstandardsoftwareplatformenablesfast moving companies like biodentis to offer a new level of flexibility and functionality to customers—which was unthinkable just a few months ago,” Mein- hard Schmidt, Dental Wings Chairman, commented. “Using DWOS allows absolute Ceramics to provide integratedworkflowstotheircustomers.Atthesame time, it does not prevent them from competing for prostheticbusinesswithotherpartnersinourcollab- oration. That shows that we are offering a truly open platform with benefits for large and small players acrossthedentalarena.Interestinourinitiativewith Straumann and 3M ESPE to establish and shape globalstandardsoftwareisgrowingandwearework- ingwithanumberofcompanieswhohaveresponded to our open invitation to join us,” Schmidt added. Frank Preuss, founder and CEO of biodentis, the companybehindtheabsoluteCeramicsbrandcom- mented, “The collaboration not only allows us to offer a full product portfolio to our customers but helps us to support truly digital workflows between dentists and dental technicians even across so far closed system boundaries.” According to Dental Wings, the need for stan- dardisation in digital dentistry is acute, as the numberofdifferentsystemshasrisenconsiderably, adding complexity for dentists and dental labora- tories. Standardised software could resolve this situationandisexpectedtobethemaindriverofthe digital market in the coming years. InMarch2011,DentalWingsjoinedforcesinacol- laborative partnership with 3M ESPE and Straumann to create an open-standard software platform for useacrossarangeofdentalapplications.Atthesame time, 3M ESPE and Straumann announced their in- tentiontoadoptDentalWings’DWOSplatformasthe core operating software in their CAD/CAM solutions. Biodentisisthefourthcompanytojointheinitiative._ 42 I CAD/CAM 2_2011 Dental Wings 2030 Pie IX,Suite 219 Montreal,Quebec H1V 2C8 Canada info@dental-wings.com www.dental-wings.com / www.dwos.com absolute Ceramics Weißenfelser Straße 84 04229 Leipzig Germany info@absolute-ceramics.com www.absolute-ceramics.com CAD/CAM_contact Dental Wings collaborates with absolute Ceramics