10X Lab Efficiency

Digital Denture Process

Digital dentures hold a lot of promise for dental labs to both improve quality and efficiency while reducing overall costs. Between new digital workflows, computer assisted tooth placement through the DentAlgorithms Teeth Orientation System, and our innovative bite registration, the Acquired bite calculator, designing dentures becomes a much more appealing business to be in.

Before we explore the benefits further, let’s consider some of the current constraints with non digital dentures. Custom trays, rush cases, bite blocks, poor impressions, multiple wax try-ins start to name a few of the problematic steps in the denture making process. Perhaps the biggest constraint of all is finding qualified, experienced technicians to do the work. The DentAlgorithms digital denture process pushes these constraints into the history books. Is that overstated? Not really.

Digital processes make it possible for computers to assist in the manufacturing of dentures. With the right algorithms and workflows, dentures can be scanned, designed, printed, and the final dentures placed in as little as 3 hours.

Once and Done Manufacturing Process

The patient, instead of an impression, is scanned using a scanner such as the Clon 3D IODIS intraoral scanner. Visually, the chairside dental assistant, can see where additional scanning is needed to complete the areas needed for a quality denture. This digital process removes the occurrence of “ghost” or double impressions, improperly mixed material, or any number of other problems that can occur at this stage. As a lab, we can start the design process with greater confidence more frequently.

Designing a digital denture can be accomplished with many types of 3D modeling software, including some that focus specifically on dental use cases. The struggle of a technician is transitioning from working with a 3D physical model, to now aligning teeth and jaws in a 2D screen. This struggle has been real for those who have started to make this journey. DentAlgorithms uses easily identified, bone-supported anchor points to mathematically determine the ideal bite position. This puts accuracy in the process right where you need it. The procedure takes 5 minutes or less, but saves much more than that from the total time to design a denture. Bite blocks are replaced with a mathematically derived digital bite block, saving return trips. A full upper and lower denture can now be accurately, aesthetically designed in as little as 30 minutes total.

With a digital process, dentures are printed. New FDA approved materials, and an accurate 3D printer create a durable, well fitting denture. The printing process takes just a few easy minutes to set up and less than an hour for the print to complete. From there there is a step to light cure, glue teeth in, and polish.

After 3 hours of continued effort, a final denture can be printed and placed in a mouth. Worldwide, 19–20 percent of patients return to the doctor, at least once, for resetting. The success rate with DentAlgorithims is 96 percent! That cuts the return rate down to only 4 percent, saving time and money and creating happy clients. This means the use of wax try-ins is no longer necessary, removing additional visits and repetitive lab work.

More Payoff

Perhaps the greatest payoff is not just the amount of time it takes to produce a marvelous set of dentures from the technician point of view. Industry wisdom suggests it takes roughly 5 years for a tech to gain sufficient experience. The digital process does not require the same type of technical understanding of oral anatomy, rather the aptitude in demand becomes more computer oriented. Understanding of oral anatomy will never go away, but quality dentures can be produced with a less specialized resource. Imagine training a high school student for two weeks and producing beautiful dentures as a result.

In the end, a lot of cost and time spent creating models, try-ins, and performing manual processes is done away with the DentAlgortihms digital denture process. This means more cases can be completed with fewer individuals and shorter turnaround times.