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Dental Tribune U.S. Edition | February 2015a10 INDUSTRY NEWS The dentist and the technician: A love story about breaking up with traditional methods By Mickaela Olson, Valplast It’s time to say good-bye to the old ways of making tradi- tional physical impressions. While once deemed the way of the future, physical impressions have become a thing of the past. In a recent presenta- tion, dentistry experts Justin S. Marks, CDT, of Master-Touch Dental Laborato- ries and Apeksha Pole, DMD, outlined the advance in digital technology using digital impressions for removable par- tial dentures. Marks and Pole said that not only does this new technology and method ben- efit laboratories and dentists, it makes the overall experience more enjoyable for the patient. The challenge is that the stresses of managing a business on a day-to-day basis make it easy for many dentistry professionals to overlook these new methods and materials. But according to Marks and Pole, a willingness to learn and become knowl- edgeable about the technology leads to acknowledgment that some traditional and current methods of taking digital impressions have become obsolete in the wake of new digital methods. According to Marks, the key to a suc- cessful future is an understanding of the past. “We need to understand our foundation before we look to the future,” he said. “We need to look at how we can improve some of the imperfect process- es that are already in place.” Explaining that new technologies and workflows can progress only if current methods are understood and refined, Marks and Pole made the distinction between the tra- ditional methods of taking impressions and the digital methods that are now be- ing explored. Pole explained the many variables that go into making an impression and how each step presents a new opportunity for error. “All of these little things on the way can introduce or cause little errors that carry onto your final prosthesis,” she said. These stages of error can be un- predictable and unreliable, which can lead to a poor impression and ultimately an improper fitting denture. Each step from tray selection to patient acceptance must be well thought out and precise. However, when describing her use of the new CAD/CAM technology, she said, “I am 100 percent confident the bite I am taking at that time is the patient’s bite, and the bite the patient will be receiv- ing.” Marks, who has been using CAD/CAM for the past five years and has witnessed better efficiency in his laboratory work- flow, said that while “CAD/CAM tech- nology itself has been around for more than 30 years, it has progressed a long way since then.” His laboratory has seen growth in business and an increase in its ability to take on more cases. “We want to show you, as a clinician, technician and lab owner, how this can benefit you in your own business because digital is the way of the future,” he said. Issues with partial dentures can begin with the very first impression that is taken. Taking a traditional physical impression can displace oral tissues and produce an inaccurate representation of the patient’s dental arch. Pole said that the “3-D printed base plate try-in of the Valplast partial mim- icked exactly what my final product was going to look like. This made it a lot easier ” See STORY, page A11 Chicago BOOTH NO. 439 Ad