Australian CAD/CAM wins WOW award

Stoneglass Industries' Australian CAD/CAM system has won a 2009 American Journal of Dental Technology WOW! award based on the quality of its zirconia copings, abutments and frameworks and the system's ability to save dental laboratories time and money. Known as Bio-Infinitum® in Australia, the system is marketed in the US by Whip Mix Dental Technology Solutions under the Vericore® brand name.

"We are very excited to be recognised by such a prestigious Journal for all the right reasons," said Stoneglass Industries' Managing Director Georges Sara. "Nothing makes me prouder than to see Australian technology winning accolades on the world stage and it is of course a great morale booster for our local team here who work at developing the system further every day.

"I was particularly pleased that the award recognises our system's ability to save labs time and money while delivering a product of the highest quality. Up until recently, everyone working in dental technology was simply amazed at what CAD/CAM systems could do, full stop. More recently however and particularly with the slowdown of the world economy, labs considering investing in CAD/CAM technology are becoming far more selective in the systems they purchase. If one system produces a coping or framework that needs to be hand finished before it can be veneered while another will produce a porcelain-ready coping, then there is a significant difference in the unit price as a result.

"If technicians want to compete against the onslaught of cheap overseas work entering the market, then they need to invest in technology that allows them to more productively deploy their labour force. Hand finishing copings, for example, is no longer necessary and it is these differences that set our system apart from many others."

Mr Sara said that local labs were fighting a losing battle with work made in countries with negligible labour costs. The right CAD/CAM technology, however, could even the playing field somewhat when combined with faster turnaround times and clearer channels of communication between technician and clinician.

"The game is changing fast out there and to stay in the race, labs in places like Australia, New Zealand and the US need to use technology to counteract cheap labour from overseas markets. No matter how hard you try, without technology, you will be managing the decline of your laboratory until it is no longer a viable entity.

"This opportunity is not lost, however, on many technicians out there who can see how technology can propel them ahead of the game. Equally, from our perspective as the developers of CAD/CAM technology who have come from the bench, we can see that there is a real opportunity to help labs in a significant way.

"Every step that we can remove from manual input frees up time for technicians to creatively produce on the bench and work with their clients to achieve outstanding results clinically."

American Journal of Dental Technology 2009 WOW! Awards Vericore (aka Bio-Infinitum) Zirconia Copings and Abutments

Saves Time: Proper fitting copings and frameworks with minimal fabrication time.

Saves Money: With Vericore’s Zirconia coping and abutments, you mill once and you’re done. It is a passive framework with proper pontic design from a five-axis aerospace CNC machine.

Improves Quality: The fit and finish of the coping is exact.

WOW!: The final fit is awesome.

Since it launched, the Vericore CAD/CAM System from Whip Mix Dental Technology Solutions (DTS) has gained fans. Count among those JDT’s WOW! panel who named the system’s zirconia copings and abutments to the 2009 WOW! list. Why? The reasons are plentiful, take as an example what one user said when nominating the product:

“We do not have to sprue, invest, cast, metal finish and polish the bar. Do not have to mess with modifying the bar for adding Locator attachments,” according to the WOW! nomination.

Vericore offers high-quality Metoxit zirconia copings, bridges, custom zirconia abutments, and a variety of ash-free, burn-out plastic options for pressing and casting.

The Vericore System utilizes the user-friendly, intuitive 3shape scanner along with five-axis aerospace CNC machines. All Vericore zirconia products, including the 31 platforms of abutments, are available in seven base colours.

Laboratories can either send their models to the Vericore Milling Center for scanning, designing and milling the desired restoration or laboratory owners can purchase their own 3shape scanner.

Information courtesy of the Journal of Dental Technology. ©2009.