Open Architecture – What it Means and What it Means for Your Practice

Open Architecture – What it Means and What it Means for Your Practice
Friday, January 25, 2013

There are always buzz words and phrases floating around our industry.  Terms such as CAD/CAM, Digital Dentistry and All Ceramic can mean different things depending on the application they refer to, be it a material, a technique or a piece of hardware.

Open Architecture, the phrase I plan to address in this article, has been around for a while in the dental lab industry and is starting to pop up in clinical dental literature as well as marketing materials. When referring to clinical technologies open architecture is a term most likely to be applied to digital impression or in-office milling systems.

Defining Open

Open Architecture is a term with a polar opposite, Closed Architecture and the concept of the two terms is fairly simple. The two terms most often refer to what can be done with the digital file created from a chairside intraoral scanner or a model scanner in a dental lab. If a system is open architecture the files it creates are saved in a commonly used format (.stl is a common file type for 3D models), and these files can be imported into any CAD software capable of working with that type of file, and then sent for production on virtually any type of mill, printer, or other piece of hardware that accepts that file type—i.e. is also an open architecture system. When a system operates with a closed architecture the files are in a proprietary format that only works with the software and mills or printers that are included in the closed system.

ImageA good way to visualize the Open/Closed Architecture concept is to think about when Apple launched the first iPhone. AT&T was the only carrier option, and Apple’s App Store was the only place to get new software for your smartphone. This was a closed system. There was no choice or option to go with another service provider, if you wanted an iPhone, for better or worse, you were locked into a service contract with AT&T, and there was only one place to go for apps. Today this system is partially open as iPhone users now have a choice of numerous service providers, but the App store is still the only place to get software for the device.

This tends to be the path technologies take as they mature, improve and evolve. Manufacturers realize consumers want and need choices and flexibility in how they use the technologies they adopt, and they usually can sell more of their products if consumers have options after the purchase instead of being forced to compromise and live with restrictions.

Open Vs. Closed in the Dental Lab

I manage Ziemek Laboratories, a lab that has been on the cutting edge of dental laboratory technology since before the terms open and closed architecture were common in our industry. Years ago when we began purchasing and implementing digital scanners and milling systems in our lab, most of the available technology was Closed Architecture.

ImageSystems we invested in such as the 3M ESPE Lava Milling System and custom implant abutment systems from Nobel Biocare and Straumann represent some of these closed systems. These systems provide access to one process and brand of product which helps to drive business back to the manufacturer.

But even at that time we could see there would be more options and choices heading our way and how important it would be to consider open versus closed architecture when deciding which digital systems to purchase. We quickly realized that open architecture technologies were going to be the ones to provide us with the ability to adapt quickly to the demands of our changing industry.

We want the ability to provide our dental clients with options and our newer investments have been in open architecture scanners and mills that allow us to send our designs to virtually any machine we desire and mill from whatever material we choose be it zirconia, titanium, wax, acrylic, etc.

It is important for me to note that the closed architecture systems we’ve invested in from 3M ESPE and others work well and continue to be productive parts of the lab by allowing us to provide our clients with genuine Lava copings and frameworks, Nobel Biocare custom abutments, genuine Stramaunn custom abutments, and other restorative brands. We purchased these systems aware of their limitations and knowing the role we had for them in our lab.

As with the iPhone, most dental CAD/CAM companies have realized open architecture platforms provide customers with the options they desire and are moving to open platforms or at least to Selectively Open systems which can convert their files to formats accepted by a handful of other systems.

Chairside systems are now seeing a similar transition. For years Chairside CAD/CAM and digital impression systems were all closed, but new digital impression systems such as 3Shape’s TRIOS and 3M ESPE’s 3M True Definition Scanner are designed to be open systems, allowing clinicians to send files directly to a dental labs with compatible systems and providing access to more restorative materials and options. Dentists now have a choice between open or closed architecture and this means knowing exactly why you are investing in a system and the big picture of what it will do for your practice is priority number one.

Diligent research and thoughtful decision making are keys to sorting out your digital purchases in the coming years. Understanding exactly what the difference between open and closed architecture systems will mean to you and your patients will be very important.

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