Evolving Together
Inside Dentistry provides the latest in endodontics, implantology, periodontics, and more, with in-depth articles, expert videos, and top industry insights.
May 1, 2023
Volume 19, Issue 5, May 2023
Page(s): p. 2
In the fully analog days of dentistry, the completion of the laboratory component of restorative work was handled with one simple workflow: all of the physical impressions, photographs, measurements, etc were mailed to an outside laboratory that would then design and fabricate the final restorations by hand. However, the introduction of digital technologies for scanning and restorative design and fabrication and their subsequent improvement changed that paradigm, resulting in the hybrid workflows of today in which dentists or their teams are doing some or all of the work that was once exclusively handled by dental technicians. In our May cover story, Inside Dentistry examines how the performance of laboratory work has evolved and discusses the roles that dentists and technicians play and the factors shaping the future of collaboration.
As the ability of 3D printers to produce esthetic final restorations improves, I believe that in the future, most dentists will be using technicians to design restorations and then printing them in-house. But who knows? Although the evolution of laboratory work is ongoing, one thing is certain: technicians will evolve with it to provide whatever services their dentists require.
Robert C. Margeas, DDS
Editor-in-Chief, Inside Dentistry
Private Practice, Des Moines, Iowa
Adjunct Professor
Department of Operative Dentistry
University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa
robert.margeas@broadcastmed.com
