Walk the Talk Often, dentists task their assistants with lab communication. We understand dentists have busy schedules, but if the assistant isn’t totally ‘up to speed’ on the case, it can lead to problems. In such a scenario, multiple phone calls may complicate matters and crucial information can get lost along the way. Some dentists invest a short amount of time in training their front office staff to read basic chart information. This can be extremely helpful. If the lab has questions and calls the practice, it may accelerate the resolution if the person answering the phone can read a chart and get the lab the necessary notes. The practices with the best lab communication schedule occasional staff meetings to teach team members some of these basic skills. If the dental lab is unsure about how to proceed on a case, it will be put on hold until the issues are resolved. On large or complicated cases, it is generally much faster for dentists to speak to the lab directly.
5 Details to Include Keep in mind dental labs need five pieces of information for every case. Here’s a checklist: 1. The material to be used 2. The shade 3. The stump shade 4. High-resolution photos 5. A brief explanation of the patient’s expectations Many different materials are available for various situations and most labs are happy to help you navigate through
8 things to consider before sending a case to your lab:
1 Did you use the appropriate tray? 2 Did you use tray adhesive? 3 Did material engage the mechanical retention on the tray? 4 Did you achieve a homogenous mix of impression material? Is there delamination or separation? Is all material in the tray set? 5
Does your impression have voids on the margins?
6 Have you trapped blood or saliva on the margin or prep in the impression? 7 Do you have incomplete wash on the intaglio surfaces of the prep area of the impression? 8 Does your impression have pulls? Source: Elizabeth Curran, Associate Professor, Director Dental Laboratory
that process. Matching the right materials to the patient is one of the most important ways to ensure the longevity of dental restorations. Also, it can be helpful to include a few details about the patient’s preferences. For example, maybe one patient wants something ultra-strong while another is mostly concerned about esthetics. It’s also helpful to know what a patient likes about his or her current teeth so that can be taken into consideration with the design of the crowns.
Red Flags As a lab with a 40-year history, Arrowhead Dental Lab has seen a few communication errors along the way. The most common error is usually in relation to bites. Often, the lab receives no registrations, no stick bites and no photos. Other errors include bridges in the posterior taken with quadrant trays instead of full-arch trays. Therefore, the smile has been pieced together. With this latter example, production can be affected. Sometimes we’ll get three or four units with two teeth to articulate to, and we don’t know if the bite is over-closed or what is happening on the contralateral side. As an industry, we generally use the quadrant trays— mainly for convenience. If more full-arch trays were used, we’d start with a much better impression. Digital impressions are also a better choice than quadrant trays on large cases. We want to leave the guesswork out of every case. Whenever there is room to guess, there is room for error. Our goal is to ensure patients get the perfect outcome the first time and that dentists maximize their production potential.
Follow-Up Communication shouldn’t end once a case is completed. Post-op communication is important, too! It’s helpful to hear things like, “This case went beautifully! I want every case to be like this one!” When labs get this type of feedback, we can see what worked well and know how to make the dentist happy in the future. We want to hear negative feedback, too. Our goal with every case is to make a restoration that goes in without a problem. Feedback helps us to dial in our case production so every doctor gets a custom restoration. By fine-tuning communication methods between dentists and labs, dentists can receive even greater service and efficiency. A bit of time and a little extra effort can really pay off in the results from your lab—and that’s when everyone wins! Michelle Billeter-Maxfield has worked in the publishing industry since 1997, specializing in the areas of educational publishing, the natural products industry, and dental writing and editing. She is currently the managing editor with Arrowhead Dental Lab in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Technology at Arizona School of Dentistry and Oral Health SPRING 2016
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