Streamline your Workflow with inLab® Software 4.0
Sirona advances the CAD/CAM arena again with simplicity and user-friendly software.
By Chad Rogers
Today, many laboratories have either implemented or are considering the implementation of one of the various CAD or CAD/CAM systems to either streamline workflow or replace retiring technicians. When deciding which system best fits your laboratory, there are many factors that come into play:
- Cost of system (input and residual)
- Learning curve/training
- Technical support
- Output (of cases that can be completed)
Sirona’s inLab® Software 4.0 has brought a new element of simplicity and visual stimulation to dental technology. Laboratory technicians now have the ability to design multiple and opposing units at the same time, as well as “jump around” within the software program to quickly achieve a desirable restoration that can be scanned, designed, and milled in minutes. Productivity and consistent quality is of utmost importance, especially if it takes a few days to get to the restoration. With the introduction of the new inLab Software 4.0 coupled with the inEos® Blue and the inLab MC XL, laboratories are quickly changing and becoming a lean, profitable machine.
With the new software, multiple units can be designed at once. Technicians can even propose multiple materials on the same design screen. For example, if a Nos. 6 through 11 case needs to be fabricated with Ivoclar IPS e.max® CAD, but also a 3-unit zirconia bridge, with inLab Software 4.0 both can be scanned and designed simultaneously (Figure 1), and opposing units can now be completed with ease. The technician actually took this case to completion without ever checking the milled restorations on the model until they were crystallized, stained, and glazed, much like a CEREC® Connect case without a model.
In a different case, it was a perfect fit, as can be seen in the untouched proposals (Figure 2). In addition, with the introduction of Sirona’s Biogeneric software during last year’s Chicago Midwinter Dental Meeting, the Biogeneric attributes further increased the accuracy of the initial proposal for each restoration by eliminating database designs. With inLab Software 4.0, the initial proposal has once again been revolutionized and moved even closer to Sirona’s touted “scan, click, mill” (Figure 3). For the first time, the technician simply “scanned, clicked, and milled.”
The first case the technician chose to highlight is one he thought would be a challenge for the new software—it includes IPS e.max CAD single units on Nos. 6 through 10. After receiving the crown delivery, the clinician will take an impression with the crowns in place to fabricate a Valplast partial. However, the inLab Software 4.0 has no reference points to pull from. When the software is calculating the occlusal outline form and position, it references the most distal tooth first and will then move on to the most mesial tooth.
Because there were no distal or mesial teeth available, the technician thought he was throwing the software a curveball. He was surprised with the proposal (Figure 4 and Figure 5). All the technician had to do was lighten the contacts, shorten the canine, and shorten the mill. The total time from scanning to stain and glaze was less than an hour of technician time, and the technician made twice as much in profit as a dentist in that hour.
This next case is one that the technician included because he had numerous materials remaining from the previous case discussed. It is a lower anterior case, single units on teeth Nos. 21 through 26 and a cantilever zirconium bridge on teeth Nos. 27 and 28. Much like the previous case, the technician scanned it and designated which material he wanted to employ. Another reason that the technician wanted to discuss this case is because of the radical preparations that totally deviate from a desired textbook CEREC preparation (Figure 6).
inLab Software 4.0 has an optimized milling function that essentially blocks out all undercuts. The milled e.max units with the sprues cut off required around 15 minutes of contouring (Figure 7), as well as the completed units (Figure 8). Using the inLab Software 4.0, the total technician time was roughly 2 hours, including the cantilever zirconium bridge on Nos. 27 and 28.
Another impressive addition to the inLab Software 4.0 line-up of new features was the “group” and “symmetrical” functions (Figure 9). In this tool bar, there are two different functions:
1. Symmetrical tool—Allows the user to choose which teeth they would like to influence, and the software will mirror the image to the adjacent teeth (eg, to smooth the distal marginal ridge of No. 8, the tool automatically smoothes the distal marginal ridge of No. 9 at the same time).
2. Group options—Allows the user to essentially “link” teeth together to move or rotate at once (eg, if the proposal looks good but to shorten or lengthen it, the user can link and position all teeth simultaneously).
Considering all of the various CAD or CAD/CAM systems that have entered and exited the market, Sirona remains the dominant player in the dental field. No competitors use software programs that are more user-friendly than inLab’s.
The inLab Software 4.0 will be available in the spring of 2012. The basic and advanced training sessions that are conducted in Charlotte, North Carolina, are free, and the Patterson Technology Center (PTC) provides any needed assistance by telephone within minutes. With the best scanner and the best system for speed, precision, and milling, coupled with the No. 1 digital portal in dentistry, is automation the enemy?
Chad Rogers is the Technical Director of Professional Dental Lab Corp. in Elkhart, Indiana.
For more information, contact:
Sirona Dental Systems
Phone 855-INLAB4U
Web www.inLab.com
E-mail inLabMarketing@Sirona.com
Disclaimer
The preceding material was provided by the manufacturer. The statements and opinions contained therein are solely those of the manufacturer and not of the editors, publisher, or the Editorial Board of Inside Dental Technology.
