Corporate Forum at Yankee Dental Congress Makes the Case for ‘Going Digital’

ATLANTA—Digital technology has become accepted throughout the dental practice, from management software in the front office to diagnostic and 3D radiography—and now into the treatment suite. At the 2015 Yankee Dental Congress doctors can gain better perspective on when, not if, they should integrate digital impressions into their practice workflow during a corporate forum sponsored by Carestream Dental.

“Should I Go Digital, Yet? An Evidence-Based Approach and Evaluation,” presented by Mark Murphy, D.D.S., F.A.G.D, quantifies and compares the advantages of using an intraoral digital scanner and analog techniques. The forum takes place Saturday, Jan. 31, 9:00-11:00 a.m.

During the forum, doctors will also gain an important understanding of the science behind the previous, current and future generations of intraoral scanners. Return on investment calculators with multiple variables based on individual doctors’ practice styles, such as remake patterns and mix of services, will also be used to evaluate the potential savings by going digital. Finally, doctors will be able see a CS 3500 intraoral scanner in use and compare the ease of use and learning curve to conventional analog techniques for themselves.

“Doctors will leave the forum with an openness and readiness to move to a digital impression-taking system because it’s easier, more accurate and cost effective,” Murphy said.

With the CS 3500 intraoral scanner, practitioners can easily acquire true color, 2D and 3D images, which aid in distinguishing tooth structure and existing restorations from soft tissue. Bite registration is virtually automatic and requires little to no manipulation of the images. The scanner features an average image precision of 30 microns, and offers high image resolution of 1024x768.

Additionally, the scanner doesn’t require an external heater, powder* or trolley system, and features an autoclavable tip available in two sizes. It is able to scan at an angle of 45 degrees and to a depth from -2 to +13 mm. The CS 3500 features a unique light guidance system that aids in the capture of the data during the image acquisition process.

In addition to saving time and improving accuracy, Murphy points out that even his patients notice a difference when impressions are taken using an intraoral scanner instead of traditional impressions.

“It got patients excited again about having dentistry done,” he said. “It screams modern dentistry.”

Murphy is the principal of Funktional Dental and lead faculty for clinical education at Microdental. He also serves on the adjunct faculty at the University of Detroit Mercy and the Pankey Institute, where he also served on the Board of Directors. Murphy practices general dentistry on a limited basis in Rochester, Mich. and lectures internationally.

The 2015 Yankee Dental Congress takes place in Boston, Mass., Jan. 28-Feb. 1. The exhibition takes place Jan. 29-30 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Carestream Dental will be exhibiting in booth #2008

For more information on intraoral scanners or any of Carestream Dental’s innovative solutions, please call 800.944.6365 or visit www.carestreamdental.com.

*In some situations where the item to be scanned is uniform in dimension and highly reflective (a standard abutment) the use of an anti-reflecting liquid or powder may be necessary. The use of a micro abrader (sand blaster) may be used to roughen the highly reflective surface to decrease the reflection as another option.

About Carestream Dental

Carestream Dental provides industry-leading imaging, CAD/CAM, software and practice management solutions for dental and oral health professionals. With more than 100 years of industry experience, Carestream Dental products are used by seven out of 10 practitioners globally and deliver more precise diagnoses, improved workflows and superior patient care. For more information or to contact a Carestream Dental representative, call 800.944.6365 or visit www.carestreamdental.com.

About Carestream Health

Carestream is a worldwide provider of dental and medical imaging systems and IT solutions; X-ray imaging systems for non-destructive testing and advanced materials for the precision films and electronics markets. For more information about the company’s broad portfolio of products, solutions and services, please contact your Carestream representative, call 888.777.2072 or visit www.carestream.com.