Connecting Dentists and Laboratories

From the founding of Girrbach Dental in 1936 and Amann Dental in 1972 to the start of the companies' cooperation in 1978, their eventual merger in 2004, and their present efforts as one organization, Amann Girrbach has always been a partner to the dental laboratory. As the laboratory's role continues to evolve in modern dentistry, Amann Girrbach has evolved as well, including its current evolution, which involves working with dentists to facilitate an optimal ecosystem for all parts of the restorative team via the new Ceramill^® DRS (Direct Restorative Solution).

Ceramill DRS includes the new Ceramill Map DRS intraoral scanner, access to the AG.Live portal, the Ceramill Mind DRS software, the Ceramill Motion DRS milling machine, and the Ceramill Therm DRS sintering furnace. "After the dentist scans the preparation, the laboratory can immediately receive the scan through the AG.Live portal, design the crown or bridge, and deliver that design back to the dentist," says Jan Slor, managing director of Amann Girrbach North America. "For crowns or bridges of up to three units, the dentist can decide whether to mill a zirconia or glass-ceramic restoration in house with the Ceramill Motion DRS and then sinter it in 20 minutes with the Ceramill Therm DRS or to have the laboratory manufacture the restoration with a Ceramill laboratory mill. This solution enables a continuous validated digital workflow from beginning to end with endless permutations possible. Both the dentist and laboratory decide what to produce restoratively and where to produce it to ensure the timely delivery of a high-quality restoration to the patient."

Although Amann Girrbach provides the leading hardware and software solutions that facilitate this workflow, Slor emphasizes that as the technology continues to mature, the need for support will take on increasing significance. "I believe that education and service will become more important than the technology itself," he says. To that end, Amann Girrbach North America has added nearly 50% more employees since last year—including doubling the size of its online technical help desk team—and plans to double its entire workforce by the end of 2023, by which time they also will have moved into a new, state-of-the-art building in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Of course, that is not to diminish the capability of the technology. The Ceramill DRS system provides the opportunity for dentists and laboratories to mix and match components of restorative workflows according to what is best for each case. "It is part of the Amann Girrbach ecosystem, which supports the dentist and the dental laboratory," Slor says. "Although dental laboratories with Amann Girrbach's system can provide every prosthetic solution to the dentist, the ‘crown in an hour' is a growing market demand. Amann Girrbach has developed this ecosystem to improve the connections between dentists and laboratories."

With Ceramill DRS, Amann Girrbach expects to further its overall mission. "We want to make people smile with what we do—not only customers or patients but also everybody that we interact with on a daily basis," Slor says. "We are committed to openness and fair, respectful cooperation. We want to be transparent at all levels along the entire value creation chain. We are a community within the dental community, so we want to be respected, proactive, and certainly reliable. Those values are the essence of the company, and they enable us to continuously develop the high-quality products and service support that the market expects to improve the well-being of all of our customers' patients."

For more information, contact:
Amann Girrbach North America • amanngirrbach.us • 800-851-3719