- e-mail: contact@LeggDental.co.uk
- phone: 01278 424107
Digitalization in Dental Laboratories
An interview with Jim Glidewell, President and CEO of Glidewell Laboratories, Newport Beach, California, USA
Jim Glidewell founded Glidewell Laboratories in 1970. He has been instrumental in developing new equipment and techniques with the objective of keeping down dental laboratory expenses.
Will the next big innovations be in digitalization?
Digital technology is slowly taking over traditional procedures. The ultimate goal is full digital integration of processes from scanning to the final prosthesis, with seamless communication between all team members – and, of course, more predictable outcomes.
How will the dental lab industry change?
CAD will attract more computer-savvy people to the industry. 3-4 years ago our CAD involvement was minimal and today at least 25% of our products are produced by CAD. I think it will pass 50% in about two years. There will be a shift to monolithic restorations that can be completely machined without any hand work by a technician. The next five years will be the age of zirconia and lithium silicate.
Is price pressure a driver for change?
Both the recession and low cost off -shore labs will force US labs to find ways to maintain quality at lower costs. With CADCAM the price of a crown is going to drop to about USD 59 for quite high quality and very good marginal integrity, occlusion contact, form, fit and function.What are the next technical challenges?
We need high resolution intra-oral scanning, but there are problems because 50-60% of all margins are hidden by tissue. Scanners that can discriminate between soft tissue and enamel are still 5-10 years away. Also, over 90% of dentists are placing implants freehand today. I think dental labs will be making surgical guides in five years.
Will hand work still be needed for high-end solutions?
Fit, form and function are what really come into play in the mouth. Very few people desire to pay extremely high prices for crowns that are maybe 5% better. It’s mainly pixie dust.
How does the price of precious metals impact business?
Our precious metal use decreased by 30-40% this year as gold shot up to USD 1100 an ounce. Doctors who once used precious metals dropped down to semi-precious, and the semi-precious doctors moved down to non-precious.
As technology improves, will prosthetics be manufactured before implants are placed?
We do it now to some extent, but to make it truly efficient many of these technologies need to be integrated. Today we are forced to combine digital and analogue processes, which cost time and money – and the results are not consistent. Historically labs have not been regulated.
Will this change?
As technology evolves, labs will be doing something more like medical device manufacturing. At that point regulatory agencies will probably become more interested in how labs operate.
Will digitalization change other aspects of dentistry?
I think it’s going to establish the standard of care. One of the things that has kept litigation out of the industry so far is people haven’t quite figured out what the standard of care is. Once it is established everyone is going to have to line up and do everything correctly.
