Planmeca Emerald™ S Instrumental to Practice’s Growth After Office Expansion
Meredith Gantos, DDS
When Meredith Gantos, DDS, reopened her Naperville, Illinois, practice after the COVID-19 shutdown two years ago, she and her small team "hit the ground running." Gantos had expanded her facility before the pandemic hit, and now, she felt, it was time to take the practice to "the next level" in terms of digital dentistry.
"In September 2020, I decided to take the leap into scanning," says Gantos, whose practice provides comprehensive dental solutions for the entire family. "I wasn't planning to mill at that time; I had just one assistant, one hygienist, and one administrative professional, and I didn't think I had the infrastructure for such an undertaking."
After considering various intraoral scanners on the market, she decided the Planmeca Emerald™ S was the right scanner for her team. It offered an ideal combination of "comfort, accuracy, and efficiency for our petite hands," she claims. "Having some experience with Planmeca Romexis® software already, it felt almost silly to bring in a Planmeca scanner without the mill. So I took a leap of faith."
After purchasing the complete CAD/CAM system, Gantos hired another assistant with no dental experience who joined the team during training. "This young lady had been an assistant for just a week before we were teaching her how to scan with the Planmeca Emerald S," she says. "The technology is so user-friendly, everyone on my team picked it up quickly."
Gantos says her inexperienced assistant can scan a full mouth in under 3 minutes with the Planmeca Emerald S. "This technology was so instrumental to the practice's growth that a few months after buying our first scanner, we bought a second."
Bringing in digital technology has allowed Gantos to increase and expand treatment options. "By incorporating the Planmeca Emerald S," she exclaims, "we were able to streamline our orthodontic workflow and began doing more clear aligner cases. This further evolved to utilize the technology for implant planning and surgical guides. As our digital skills advanced, we continued to find new uses for our scanner and began incorporating 3D printing into our office. There is always an indication to keep our scanners busy throughout the day."
One year after the initial scanner purchase, Gantos says, her team grew from a staff of three to 15. "And my practice has continued to grow exponentially."
Besides enabling Gantos' team to provide a more comfortable, efficient, and educational patient experience-allowing patients "to see what we see"-she has found the Planmeca Emerald S scanner to be a helpful tool in improving her clinical skills. Moreover, she has noticed how eager her team is to embrace the technology. "Our team is excited to come to work every day. With the scanner central to our workflow, it has put the fun back into what we do."
Planmeca
630-529-2300
planmeca.com
Meredith Gantos, DDS
Private Practice,
Naperville, Illinois
