“Eyes” of my digital pipeline

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“Eyes” of my digital pipeline

Dr Terry Rose runs a fully integrated, digitally enhanced practice that is impressive for its depth and versatility. 

The Vatech Green CT takes on the diagnostic role to complete the seamless workflow. 

Established  since 1989, Smile  in Style is a high-tech   dental practice with branches  in Moonee Ponds and Sunbury. What sets the suburban clinics apart from many of its peers, besides an early focus on holistic dentistry, is their in-house digital pipeline that encompasses everything from 2D/3D  diagnostics (OPG Lat Ceph unit/ CBCT) to laser dentistry to CAD/CAM dentistry. 

In  the middle  of integrating  a 3D printer that will allow him to fabricate self-designed  implant surgical guides, Dr Rose is dovetailing the workflow, granting full  control over a complete spectrum of patient services – including over their  costs and output quality. 

If  you were  to liken Dr  Rose’s well-oiled digitised machinery to a human body, then the “eyes” of this set-up would have to be the OPG and CBCT. It is somewhat illuminating  that the Principal Dentist has entrusted this critical function to the same company twice over a 9-year period. Having owned a Vatech PaX-500 Versa OPG  lateral ceph unit since 2009, the Practice Owner and previous Orthodontic Lecturer for POS had been pleased with the “good quality images and the reliability  of the equipment for a reasonable price”.

When a number of  his patients began  enquiring about CBCT  imaging – during which time he was still referring patients to external imaging services, including for all his implant cases – he reckoned it was time to invest in a CBCT unit. “Having   been happy with Vatech products, I checked out what they had to offer in the CBCT line. The Green 16 unit looked the best fit with its features for what I wanted – large  FOV (16×9) which would cover md + mx arches for implant planning and also airway analysis; clarity of image; good software; low radiation dosage (especially of interest to holistic  patients); open ended system with easy file export were all factors.” “All this at a reasonable price meant it looked the best unit to suit my needs on the market.” Smile in Style Sunbury was the first  dental practice in Victoria to install a Vatech Green 16 unit back in August 2018. While the OPG was still being used on new patients as part of a comprehensive exam, in addition to orthodontic records,  the CBCT unit literally hit the ground running as the diagnostic unit of choice for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea (OSA), root canal and implant cases.A former OSA sufferer, Dr Rose can testify to the image quality of the Vatech Green  16 CBCT, which paved the way for his own successful treatment using a combination of Mandibular Advancement Splint (MAS) and Nightlase, a “Sleep-Apnoea” feature of the Fotona Lightwalker Laser: “The airway analysis component of the  cone beam software shows a great image and good analysis of the airway volume.

”Dr Rose and his dentists perform root canal  treatments – they use the Fotona Lightwalker SWEEPS and PIPs technology to   gain improved levels of root canal disinfection and debridement – the Green 16 also plays a supporting endodontic role: “Holistic  patients are often interested in issues surrounding root canal treatments and bone infections, and the CBCT is a

great  tool to  look for problems  in these areas.”

For  guided  implant surgery,  Dr Rose uses the Green  16 to generate a Dicom file  for easy import into Blue Sky  plan software, which he is more familiar  with and uses to design the implant surgical guide.   The CBCT unit’s open source image output allows a seamless workflow with the software, Lightwalker laser, POS orthodontic, 3D printer, intraoral scanner and  CEREC intraoral scanner system to give Dr Rose a full control of the process. 

More   than just   a daisy chain   of hardware and software,  Dr Rose’s advice to newbies attempting  a similar set-up is this: “Training and  knowledge is critical to success”.

“I  have  been down  this path many times  – including extensive training  in orthodontics, CEREC and lasers.  A lot of time spent learning how to  use high-end equipment is imperative before  you can reap the benefits.

”It  also helps  to have the  assistance of an  able equipment specialist  team when making a new hardware  purchase. In the case of Vatech Green  16, Dr Rose says the local supplier, Medi-Dent,  played an invaluable training role:

“Andre   Fourie and   his team from Medi-Dent  have been a pleasure to work with   to enable equipment installation and  training. We also had regular contact with  the staff from the Sydney office. It was necessary  to have our CBCT room comply with radiographic specifications and  our dentists licenced to take images have also taken a CBCT licensing  course with Louise Brown (Dentomaxillofacial Radiologist, Teledent) here.”

Diagnostic  abilities notwithstanding, Dr Rose thinks the Vatech Green 16 should also be viewed as a practice-building asset.

“When  many of  the patients  first seethe unit  and the images generated,  you can tell there’s a certain  wow factor. In terms of health and  safety – a major area of concern for  our holistic patients – the Green 16 unit   has one of the lowest radiation exposures on  the market and still is able to generate reasonably accurate and clear images.

”Ultimately, Dr Rose says that patients enjoy  the convenience of having all their services  located under one roof – and are “happy to pay for it”. While it’s awesome that the Veteran Dentist deems the CBCT a  sound investment – “because we are using the Green CT everyday so it is paying for itself” – it’s what he continues to say that truly resonates: “I   am happier doing my job, still passionate about dentistry and learning something new every day.”

For more information on Vatech x-ray system – Including Green CT – contact Vatech Australasia (1300 789 454).

This article was originally published on Australasian Dentist.

 

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