FAST SCAN-TO-DESIGN WORKFLOWS WITH 3SHAPE’S LATEST SCANNER. BY ELLIS WEST Leave a comment
Ellis West, laboratory telesales supervisor at Henry Schein Dental talks about 3Shape’s latest F8 lab scanner engineered for fast and efficient dual model scanning.
It is expected that the European digital dentistry market and dental prosthetics market will continue to grow considerably over the foreseeable future , bringing distinct advantages for today’s dental labs. As digital technology and material science advance, technicians have access to validated, digital workflows from scan to manufacture, making work more predictable, efficient and productive.
A dental lab that employs a digital workflow relies on a digital impression of the patient’s mouth. This either comes directly from a clinician using an intraoral scanner to capture precise digital images of a patient’s dentition and gingival tissue, or from a conventional impression and physical model sent to the lab. In the latter case, the lab needs a dental model scanner to digitise the impression and to start the digital design process.
The move to lab scanners
Digital equipment, and lab scanners in particular, can bring efficiency and versatility into lab workflows, enabling faster in-house provision of treatment solutions to the clinician and patient. As the first stage in every digital case, the latest lab scanners can accommodate scans for all indications with design software that offers outstanding accuracy and intuitive design capabilities.
3Shape has long been one of the industry’s leaders in scanning technology, introducing entry-level scanners for labs working in crown and bridge through to high-performance scanners to meet the most demanding requirements of full-service digital labs.
In its continuous drive to create equipment to answer the needs of labs of every size, the all-new F8 lab scanner is 3Shape’s most versatile and intuitive scanner to date. Launched at this year’s International Dental Show (IDS) in Cologne, it enables optimal productivity with fast scan-to-design workflow speeds and requires minimal scanner interactions from technicians.
With a complete range of indication workflows, including upper and lower scanning, die-in model, articulator and impressions, the outcomes that can be achieved with the F8 are almost limitless.
Just place and scan
The F8 features a sophisticated open design with no lid that sits easily on any benchtop for faster, easier loading and removal of models. Always open and ready for interaction, technicians simply place a model on the magnetic scanner plate and automatically trigger the scanner to start. Despite its compact size it has not just one, but two scanning plates, which means two models can be scanned simultaneously for even faster production.
Auto-start, in-software and visual light guidance ensures scanning begins as soon as a model is in place. New scanner tools such as a height adapter, an articulator plate and a new impression fixture, along with improved ethernet connection between multiple workstations, opens up a range of new workflow possibilities, plus there is the benefit of support for older tools as well. The new articulator scanning tool minimises the number of interactions and holds the articulator upright, with no tilting and no fixation required.
Lightning-fast scans
Scans are completed and ready for design in a matter of minutes; for example, a full-arch scan with restorative scan script takes just nine seconds. 3Shape also state the F8 has one of its leanest scan-to-design workflows yet, faster when compared to the 3Shape D2000 on the same workflows, performed by the same technician .
The scanning process can be accelerated further thanks to the F8’s ability to scan both upper and lower arches simultaneously. Its rotating arm automatically moves the camera to cover all angles while the rotating plates turn the models through every aspect – all without any need for operator interaction.
Going far beyond a crown and bridge or implant bar, the F8 can also handle die-in models, an upright articulator, and vertical impressions, opening new ways for labs to bring analogue cases into a digital workflow.
Co-operative design solutions
All 3Shape’s products feature advanced technology that allows users to better utilise their skills, knowledge, experience and creativity. They seamlessly connect practices with labs allowing dental professionals to work smarter through efficient, enhanced and integrated workflows.
Speaking at IDS 2023, Dr Rune Fisker, 3Shape’s vice president of product strategy said: ‘The 3Shape F8 scanner was six years in the making. It came not only from our designers and engineers, but also from lab technicians themselves. 3Shape interviewed hundreds of lab employees around the world to find out exactly what challenges they face, and what solutions would best remedy them.’
The result is one scanning solution designed to answer challenges within the dental lab landscape while effortlessly providing a full service to any dental practice, regardless of whether they have any digital capabilities. With greater speed, versatility and efficiency, it harnesses the latest technology that technicians demand while doing away with manual tasks and restrictive workflows.
With automated scan-to-design workflows, the F8 is a problem-solving scanner that combines speed, accuracy, predictable treatment outcomes and efficiency to bring something different to the lab scanner market.
To find out more about the new 3Shape F8 lab scanner, visit https://www.hsdequipment.co.uk/product/3shape-f8
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Ellis West is Laboratory Telesales Supervisor at Henry Schein Dental
