Dentist Uses Premium Machinery for In-House Laboratory

Ability to mill precision abutments same-day with Versamill 5X helps fulfill mission

Khaldoun Attar, DDS, is not a typical laboratory owner. For starters, he is a practicing dentist.

Attar has traveled the world to learn about the best new techniques and technologies available in the dental industry. He has undergone intensive training in implant surgery and full-mouth reconstruction. His goal is to offer the best treatment to his patients at his advanced oral rehabilitation and implant center in Toledo, Ohio. That is why he recently added a state-of-the-art laboratory and a full-time technician to his facility.

“We need to provide the best service, the most advanced treatments for my patients,” Attar says. “When someone sits in my chair, they deserve the best: the best care, the best treatment plan, the best equipment, and the most advanced technology in the world.”

Attar has always taken that approach. He graduated in the top 10 of his class from Damascus University’s School of Dentistry in his native Syria before moving to the US to continue his education. At Loma Linda University’s School of Dentistry, he received awards for outstanding academic performance, outstanding clinical achievement, and professionalism.

In order to achieve his vision of a state-of-the-art practice, Attar began by investing in a brand-name software system and 3D cone-beam imaging. He also acquired a desktop milling machine.

Attar understood the importance, however, of quality control and time.

“The weakness of my business was the lack of an in-house laboratory,” Attar says. “When I needed titanium milled bars with PMMA veneers, or full-mouth rehabilitation with zirconia, the process took longer than I liked. It bothered me for years, until I decided to increase the scope of my practice by investing in advanced laboratory equipment. This included a 5-axis milling machine.”

Almost a year ago, Attar invested in a CAD model scanner, a 3D printer, and a Versamill 5X milling machine from Axsys Dental Solutions. The Axsys machine was his top choice because it can mill either zirconia or PMMA crowns and titanium abutments, with superior quality for both. The machine is known for milling precision abutments. This eliminated the need for outsourcing this work to an outside milling center.

“We looked at every machine on the market,” Attar says. “The concept was to have just one machine that can do all the work we need.”

While it might be too soon to evaluate the ROI from the machine, Attar says he already is thrilled with the purchase.

“It has been worth every penny for me because of the fact that I now can promise a patient something, and I am able to immediately deliver it on time,” he says.

Axsys’ extensive manufacturing and CAD/CAM experience, Attar says, is unlike any other supplier or distributor of this technology.

“Nobody else can do what they do,” he says.

With his Versamill-equipped laboratory, Attar now can be confident that he can offer the best treatment possible to any patient who enters his practice.

“I am glad that we have the equipment to translate our mission and our ideas into reality,” he says. “Without this machine, I never could have done it.”

Attar has partnered with master technician Guillermo Orozco, who provides full-time technical support to his dental practice. Orozco is an experienced analog technician but had not worked much with CAD/CAM in the past. However, Attar says the Versamill 5X was user-friendly.

“It did not take Mr. Orozco long to learn how to operate it,” Attar says.

Because they mill complex cases with the machine, Attar and Orozco needed specific CAM software.

“The amazing thing about Axsys was that we just had to tell their engineers what we needed, and they delivered,” Attar says.

Patients come to Attar’s practice from all over the country for treatment. After an informative consultation with Attar, the patient meets with Orozco to discuss details such as color, shade, and position of the teeth. Orozco gathers all this information and begins by designing and then milling restorations with the Axsys Versamill 5X. Attar can complete the treatment the same day.

“It is very rewarding to be able to fulfill my patient’s needs,” he says. “I feel like I am on top of the world.”