There have been plenty of times in my life that I wish I had the ability to see forward in time—for example, every time I have bet on the Super Bowl! Or right before I got into a car accident in high school; I would have never left the house. (Moments before my first wedding … no commentary needed there.)
Seeing into the future would enable us to eliminate many problems before they happen. That technology does not exist yet, but we do have technology from Cayster and Ivoclar that can help us stop future problems with our lab work before they ever happen.
Ivoclar’s VivaScan digital scanner is a nice workhorse scanner for restorative dentistry. Cayster is a software company that specializes in managing the relationship between dentists and their laboratory, which they’ve taken to the next level with their collaboration with the VivaScan. VivaScan users can utilize Cayster software to allow the laboratory into the operatory with us. Having a lab tech chairside with us could absolutely help all of us achieve better results.
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How can Cayster do this? Did they invent some kind of teleportation device? Well, sort of—virtually. With Cayster software and the Ivoclar VivaScan, your laboratory technician can watch while you scan your restorative cases. During that viewing, they see what you see on your scanner. This will give them the ability to check a number of things before you send your scan and dismiss the patient. They will help you determine if you’ve given them enough occlusal clearance to make the restoration you’re ordering.
If you haven’t prepped enough, the fix is so easy. Since it’s happening real-time, the patient is still in the chair, which gives you the ability to adjust the prep, rescan, and give the lab what they need. Certainly, labs could give feedback in the past; the problem is that the feedback would come days later, when the patient was long gone and any adjustments meant an additional appointment and an increase in overhead, pain, and dissatisfaction. With this real-time feedback, we can correct problems before they happen! It’s like seeing into the future.
A laboratory technician may give you feedback on occlusal clearance, or finish line readability, or draw on a multiunit restoration. Any number of potential problem areas can be fixed before they ever become problems simply by using Cayster with the Ivoclar VivaScan system.
Editor's note: This article appeared in the August 2023 print edition of Dental Economics magazine. Dentists in North America are eligible for a complimentary print subscription. Sign up here.
