Delcam to show complete open implantology at Lab Day West

Delcam will demonstrate its complete open system for the design and manufacture of dental implant restorations at Lab Day West in Orange County, California, on 6th and 7th May. The company is the only supplier able to offer a complete solution, from accurately capturing the implant position and orientation, through to the high-precision, multi-axis milling of customised abutments, implant bridges and dental bars, with a management system to track every stage of the process.

This launch is the latest step in the trend within the dental industry to replace "closed” manufacturing methods, in which the user is restricted to the use of a limited range of equipment and materials, with "open” systems, in which manufacturers can combine their own choice of equipment and software, and then use a broad variety of materials.

The key to the Delcam process is a new range of scan adaptors that are compatible with the leading brands of dental implant. Once the scan adaptors have been fitted to the model of the jaw, the scanner can accurately capture the positions and orientations of the implants, together with the shape of the remaining teeth. The precise fit of the scan adaptors, coupled with the latest generation of white-light 3D scanning technology used in the Delcam scanners, ensures the highest possible accuracy in the data collected.

Furthermore, the same manufacturing data that is used to produce the scan adaptors is incorporated into the templates within DentMILL that generate the milling instructions to manufacture the implant interfaces on the restorations. The resulting high accuracy is, of course, important for individual copings but is absolutely essential for bridges and dental bars that need to align with a number of implants.

This focus on high accuracy has been a key part of Delcam’s strategy for the dental industry and has been supported by the panel of experts from among the company’s customers that drives the development of the software. The better quality of restorations designed and made with the Delcam software benefits the patient by minimising manual adjustment of the item as it is being fitted, so reducing fitting times, and by offering improved comfort. In the longer term, the resulting restorations are more durable, so giving an extended life.