Monday, September 24, 2018
Technology is created with a goal of making things faster, easier, smarter, and better. This is true in any industry, whether it’s consumer electronics or dentistry. It’s no secret that advances in a wide range of technologies are changing the way dental practices are run and patients are treated. Digital, lasers, 3D, and AI are just some of the tech buzzwords all over products and systems for operatories, labs, front desks, and back offices, and the pace of change continues to increase.
These changes should benefit everyone, but not every innovative idea is going to make a difference for every practice. Discovering and embracing the tech that matters today and will still matter in the future is a key to navigating this turbulent industry. The Cellerant Best of Class Technology Awards (BOC) are a great guide to these technologies that matter.
Selected by an unbiased panel of dental technology experts and presented by Cellerant Consulting Group, these annual awards highlight products capable of making a difference for practices and patients right now, while keeping an eye on trendy tech with big potential. The awards are not always presented to the newest technologies, and many products repeat as winners, as the technologies continue to prove their worth.
The 2018 Cellerant Best of Class Technology Award recipients include a wide range of innovative ideas with some seemingly simple devices that are elevated by elegantly innovative updates. Here are the 2018 BOC winners:
Emerging Technologies
DEXvoice from DEXIS and simplifeye
Voice commands are the hot way to control our devices these days, and this collaboration between imaging leader DEXIS and communications software upstart simplifeye goes beyond voice-based perio charting or notes dictation and puts Amazon’s Alexa to work in the operatory. Controlling the images from within DEXIS’ imaging software with voice commands via DEXvoice allows clinicians to keep their gloves on and improve the infection control standards within an operatory. Certainly an intriguing start, but this technology seems to be just the beginning as it seems only a matter of time before voice control comes to more dental technology.
Amplify from simplifeye
The other emerging technology coming from simplifeye is a way to engage patients on your practice website. Amplify is a customizable chat platform that allows patients visiting a practice website to securely chat live with a Smile Specialist who can answer questions about your practice and screen prospects for the best potential patients. The Internet is a 24/7 information platform, and this solution provides a way for your website to keep your practice open for business 24/7 too.
First Time Winners
NextDent 5100 from 3D Systems
At this point there is zero doubt that 3D printing has a very large part to play in the future of dentistry. 3D printers are already in use for restorative cases, orthodontics, implant cases, sleep medicine, and much more. It’s also a crowded field with a vast range of printers of different sizes and capabilities. The NextDent 5100 made its mark on this scene because it pushes two boundaries. Not only is the NextDent a fast system, but it’s compatible with a roster of 30 materials allowing it to handle numerous production tasks. A robust system with versatility is exactly what a dental lab or practice needs in a 3D printer.
Calset Composite Warmer and CoMax Composite Dispenser from AdDent
Far from the flashiest innovations among this year’s award winners, AdDent’s Calset and CoMax actualize a pair of great ideas to make working with highly-filled dental composites far more efficient. It’s such a simple notion to warm up composites before use to make them easier to place, and AdDent nailed it with a number of configurations to allow any composite format or workflow to benefit from consistently warmed composite materials. Research even shows composite cures faster with reduced marginal leakage when warmed. Riding shotgun to the Calset is the CoMax dispenser, which features a patented mechanism that reduces the force required to express highly-filled composites. It seems rather simple, but it can certainly increase practice efficiency.
Dentrix G7 from Henry Schein One
Practice management software remains the backbone of a busy practice and Dentrix continues to evolve as one of the most comprehensive platforms available. With the latest update, G7, the software takes imaging integrations to new depths. Imaging systems can now be initiated directly from the clinical chart. By simply selecting the teeth to be imaged, a clinician can enter the CDT code for the planned pictures and the appropriate sensor will be primed to capture the desired radiographs. The integration also allows clinicians to see what images of a particular tooth are available, making imaging and diagnostics even more efficient.
DEXIS FS Ergo by KaVo
Making patients comfortable at the dentist’s office is always a challenge, but this new sensor from DEXIS and KaVo makes imaging less invasive. With a flexible sensor technology, the FS Ergo offers up a bit of “give” in the patient’s mouth to make things more comfortable. This cushioning effect is ideal for patients who provide challenges to traditional imaging protocols. But while the sensor has a soft feel for patients, it still provides the durability necessary to stand up to the use it will receive in a busy practice.
Composi-Tight 3D Fusion from Garrison Dental
The innovations that power the Composi-Tight 3D Fusion to its BOC award are all little steps to make using a sectional matrix system easier and more consistent. The system features improved touches to every component from the rings to the bands to the wedges and even the forceps. The rings are specially shaped for easier opening but greater separating power. They’re notched to easily fit over the wedge and designed to be stackable, allowing the system to be effective in a greater number of clinical situations. A wide prep ring is available, and paired with wide matrix bands, allows the system to tackle larger preps. The wedges feature flexible fins to prevent them from backing out. Even the forceps offer advanced features for easier use and even compatibility with other matrix systems.
2 Time BOC Winners
Tornado S from Bien-Air
Last year the Tornado highspeed handpiece claimed a spot among the BOC winners as a powerful handpiece with low noise. Now an updated version offers those same benefits with an even smaller head. The Tornado S brings the power and precision of its predecessor and adds the benefit of enhanced visibility because the handpiece head is now even smaller. This combination puts it ahead of many competitive handpiece options.
LŪM G2 from Digital Doc
Discovering caries is one of the core tasks of a dental practice, and while the explorer remains a common tool, technologies to make the task easier and the search more effective abound. Digital Doc’s solution stands out for its simplicity. An attachment for the company’s IRIS intraoral camera, the LŪM G2 provides its own lighting to allow the camera to almost see through a patient’s teeth. This sub-enamel illumination makes possible caries stand out from healthy tissues on images that look similar to radiographs. The camera can capture the images and integrate them with the patient record, making it simple to diagnose, document, and track cracks, lesions, and other problems.
Gemini 810 + 980 Diode Laser from Ultradent
The diode laser is a major part of many practices as it can be quickly implemented to improve small tissue management and treatment, among many other applications. Ultradent’s Gemini retains its spot among the winners because of its power, style and versatility. With 20 watts of laser power, the Gemini can cut more smoothly and efficiently than other diodes, and its dual wavelengths allow the appropriate system to work at peek performance on a wide range of clinical tasks. But this laser does far more than just get the job done, it also catches people’s attention with its sleek design and electroluminescent display. This is a diode that’s staying ahead of the crowded field of soft tissue lasers.
EyeZoom from Orascoptic
Loupes are an essential tool for most dental professionals, but they hardly seem like a high tech piece of equipment. Most loupes are frames and specially set up magnifying lenses, and there would seem to be little to innovate within this set up. But Orascoptic’s EyeZoom changed all of that by making it possible for a clinician to change magnifications without changing loupes. These loupes make it easier to take a closer look or change from one part of a procedure to another that requires more or less magnification. Changing from 3X magnification to 5X takes just a twist of the lens. It’s incredibly simple, and incredibly efficient and cost effective too.
3 Time BOC Winners
MMG ChairFill from MMG Fusion
MMG Fusion’s ChairFill application is another example of a product growing and adding features to retain its innovative edge. This time the practice marking platform is leveraging artificial intelligence systems to power a practice marketing and patient communication system that runs all by itself in the background to not only fill holes in the practice schedule, but to fill them with the most profitable patients. ChairFill takes advantage of the data a practice already has and mines that information for actionable opportunities to push out pre-set marketing campaigns or connect with patients to fill the schedule. This is technology that does its job without much help, and that’s a huge boost to efficiency.
Spark from Orascoptic
Another simple innovation that continues to be a big deal is the Spark headlight from Orascoptic. Loupe-mounted headlights have gained a lot of traction because they move where you move, and make the overhead operatory light less necessary. This means you won’t need to adjust your head or body to avoid blocking the light as often. Prior to Spark, wearing a headlight meant plugging in and having to manage cords to a battery pack. Spark ends this fuss as it’s a completely cordless LED headlight. It simply connects across the bridge of the frames and lets clinicians get back to work. That’s a lightweight innovation with a heavy impact.
WEO Media
Managing a practice’s online life is just about a fulltime job these days, so services that can combine web development, online marketing, and patient communications into a single operation can be a key asset to a busy practice staff. WEO Media offers all of that and more under one roof. As a one stop shop, WEO is able to make sure all aspects of a practice’s online presence are working harmoniously to attract new patients, retain existing patients, and generally make the practice look great.
4 Time BOC Winner
EyeSpecial C-III from Shofu
Pictures are very important to a dental practice. They document treatments, help validate insurance claims, and make it easier to explain a diagnosis to a patient. There’s no shortage of cutting edge imaging systems for capturing pictures inside a mouth or inside a tooth, but the EyeSpecial C-III is maintaining its BOC winner status because it makes capturing images from outside the mouth as simple as possible. Most extraoral dental cameras are off-the-shelf, high-end DSLR cameras outfitted with special lighting rigs. They have a lot going on, and require some photography knowledge to use. The EyeSpecial integrates all of that set up into a point-and-shoot configuration. It’s easy to use, HIPAA-compliant and designed to stand up to the rigors of operatory use. It’s another perfect example of those simple innovations the BOC Awards are so great at highlighting.
5 Time BOC Winners
iOptima INT from Bien Air
Dental handpieces remain central to most dental practices. And while the mechanism of turning a bur at high speeds is similar from system to system, there’s plenty of variety in how these systems can be controlled and integrated into the operatory. With its iOptima INT, Bien Air brings the elegant interface of Apple’s smartphones and tablets to the operatory as a powerful control system for this electric handpiece system. With the INT iteration of this system everything is hidden with just a small dock and the tablet finding a home with the delivery system. With this simple looking set up, a practice can control a handpiece for restorative work, endodontics, oral surgery, and even a delivery system integrated piezo scaler. It’s all available via an app that displays all the performance metrics from the task at hand. This system continues to provide updates and improvements, keeping it a vital innovation worth the recognition.
DDS Rescue
Data security and information privacy is now a critical concern for any healthcare provider. Hacking, lost data, phishing attacks, stolen hardware, and other threats are real, and having a solid partner to help alleviate these issues is an absolute necessity. DDS Rescue makes it simple to back up a practice’s digital information onsite, online, and remotely so should something happen, the data can be accessible in half an hour and fully restored in a week or less. The system does all this while helping ensure the practice remains compliant with the many regulations and requirements around this healthcare information. DDS Rescue provides practices with a data service, but the real innovation is making the service so foolproof they really sell peace of mind and security. This is another technology that works in the background and eliminates things that can stress a practice and staff.
6 Time BOC Winner
TRIOS Move from 3Shape
The TRIOS Move hasn’t been around for 6 years, but it’s the latest update to 3Shape’s tech marvel digital impression systems, and thus it wears the mantle of 6 Time BOC Winner. The TRIOS continues to break new ground for intraoral scanners. It was the first to automatically match shades, and is among the most open and connected systems available. Now with its sleek body, large and adjustable screen, and available wireless scanning wand, the TRIOS Move makes it easier than ever to not only position the screen for optimal scanning, but to move it where the patient can see and interact with the digital impressions. This allows the scanner itself to be used as a patient education and case presentation system, while onscreen smile design and other features help patients get excited about the possibilities you can offer them. This is a technology that maintains a cutting edge style while continuing to push boundaries with the capabilities it can bring to a practice.
8 Time BOC Winner
VELscope Vx from LED Dental
It seems like it just wouldn’t be a BOC Award roundup without an appearance by the VELscope Vx oral screening system. Using special lighting, this system allows clinicians to detect possible oral lesions that cannot be seen with the naked eye. It’s simple to use and can literally save a life by identifying oral cancer at the earliest and most treatable stage. Over its years as a BOC winner, the VELscope has undergone some updates to make the system even more convenient to use. Smartphone mounts allow for easier image capture. Its non-invasive, powerful diagnostic technology continues to be a difference maker for the practices using it and especially for their patients.
All of the 2018 BOC winning products can be viewed in the Dentalcompare product directory. Check them out to see what they can do and how they stack up against other options in their categories. Those attending the upcoming American Dental Association Annual Meeting in Hawaii can take a hands-on look at the winners at the Cellerant Best of Class Showcase, which will be a part of the Digital Future of Dentistry section of the Exhibit Hall.