Primescan: The First Step Into Digital Workflows

Tricia Feist, DMD, has practiced dentistry in Santa Monica, California, for more than 20 years and believes prioritizing digital methods has never been more important than it is now. "Digital dentistry has been part of my career path from day one, although in the early days it was merely dipping my toes in the water with digital radiographs, intraoral photos, and digital charting," she notes. "In those earlier stages of CAD/CAM dentistry, it was harder to integrate effectively."

She eventually found, however, that the Dentsply Sirona Primescan "was the game changer in terms of same-day dentistry and a fully integrated digital practice." In 2017, Feist, a partner-owner of a multi-specialty group practice, made the commitment to digital dentistry-with no more excuses. "If dentistry wishes to stay relevant for up-and-coming generations," she suggests, "we must be able to exist and flourish in a world of digital workflows."

Using the versatile Primescan intraoral scanner powered by DS Core, Dentsply Sirona's cloud platform, is an accurate, fast, and intuitive way for dentists to optimize their practice to their patients' benefit, Feist says, noting that her practice has been using DS Core for more than a year.

"The ability to use technology modalities as tools for co-diagnostic presentations with patients is crucial for engaging them," she says. "If a picture is worth a thousand words, I would argue that a 3D scan is worth two-thousand words! I can use the digital scan to show patients exactly what their mouth looks like, including problem areas with wear, occlusion, and breakdown of existing dental work. I ask them what they see on the scan, and in turn they will begin to ask questions and engage in treatment decisions."

"With the Primescan, my entire team has been able to effectively master the art of scanning with ease and speed," Feist acknowledges, noting that her team can scan a full arch accurately in less than a minute. "The most necessary first step into digital workflows is a digital scanner, and for restorative dentists, the Primescan offers the easiest pathway for incorporating digital workflows for CAD/CAM, CBCT integration for guided surgery, 3D printing, clear aligners, and so on."

Feist, who is also a faculty member at Spear Education, exhorts peers to add digital scanning to their practice sooner rather than later. "The Primescan is the most user-friendly version of this technology out there," she exclaims. "You will immediately see profitability in many ways. From a cost perspective: less chairtime thanks to accuracy, no costly impression materials, and reduction of lab fees by submitting cases digitally. From an income perspective: marketing opportunities both internally and externally, easily adding increased services, and the ability to add more patients to the schedule due to reduced chairtime."

Tricia Feist, DMD
Private Practice,
Santa Monica, California

Dentsply Sirona
844-848-0137
dentsplysirona.com