DTUS1610

LAB TRIBUNE | June 2010 Clinical 3D AD precision that comes from working digitally. Partials case In the first case (Figs. 1a, 1b), the patient had only six of his natural teeth remaining on his lower arch, and was about to lose two more – the first bicuspids on each side (#21 and #28). These two teeth were helping to retain the patient’s current resto- ration in place. SensAble’s system made it fast and straight-forward to design a new removable restoration specifi- cally to meet the challenges of this case. Our technician designed a partial with four I-bar clasps that contact the four remaining teeth to provide ample retention, while still being positioned low enough as to not show when the patient smiles. Additionally, we added lingual plates for the required bracing on all four teeth. These lingual plates will also be incorporated into each bridge design that the patient will need in the future. Built in time-saving features such as digital survey and block out; pre- sets for clasps, mesh designs and lingual bars; a digital waxing tool that allows us to precisely set wax thickness; and a special tool that rapidly creates sprues on the digital model, enable us to complete our digital designs in record time. On this case, we surveyed and blocked out in less than one minute and digitally designed the partial in less than 20 minutes — compared to 45 minutes to 1 hour using tradi- tional methods. We also saved more time, and reduced costs, because we didn’t have to create or wait for a refracto- ry model before we could get started or purchase the refractory material. When you hand wax a partial, there’s plenty of opportunity for human error, but with the SensAble system, the accuracy is superb! Once the digital design is complete, the system prints a resin pattern, which is then invested and cast using tra- ditional methods and materials. The metal frameworks are so accurate that we literally take them out of the casting oven and sandblast them, and they’re ready to polish. We save time and completely eliminate the possible errors associ- ated with using grinding wheels and stones to finish the metal partials. Additionally, because we have a digital file of this partial, we can easily modify this design to accom- f LT page 1D Fig. 2 g LT page 4D ‘In today’s economy, labs are seeking more ways to work smarter as well as more efficiently to produce precise, high-quality restorations.’