	It can be complicated to keep track of everything happening around your lab. After all, you work hard on the bench top each and every day, providing your clients great esthetics and long-lasting quality-and then you have to run a business and all that comes with that.

That's where lab and case management software come in. Here are five reasons why investing in software now can make all the difference as you juggle being a great artist and a great business owner:

With management software, it’s easy to track the entire course of a case. View all of the dentist’s notes, scans and images in one spot, and follow the workflow of the case, to see where it is in production and who is working on it.

Easily send messages internally, or externally to your clients. With all your contact information centralized in one system, you can easily send communications to dental practices with updates or questions about specific cases, marketing materials, announcements and more. You can even use some software to communicate with a dentist about a case in real time.

Keeping track of invoices and deadlines can be a pain, but management software can keep tabs on all those terms and dates for you. You’ll never have to wonder if an invoice has been paid again.

4. It helps manage your clients and your team.

Payroll, billing and tax tracking, all in one place? Lab management software makes it easy to keep your financials and employee information in order.

With real-time information about every case at your fingertips, duplications or miscommunications won’t be a problem, saving your lab time and money. Additionally, it will free up your time (and your team’s time) to do the work you actually want to do. 

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 It can be complicated to keep track of everything happening around your lab. After all, you work hard on the bench top each and every day, providing your clients great esthetics and long-lasting quality-and then you have to run a business and all that comes with that.

Top 5 ways lab management software can save your lab time and money

	In this case study, a 70-year-old individual with advanced periodontally involved teeth having class three mobility presented for comprehensive implant restorations.

He had few remaining teeth, necessitating extractions. His desire was for fixed restorations, not removable prosthetics. The patient was in good health with no medical contra-indications for the surgical/prosthetic endeavors he was about to undergo.

After a necessary prosthetic workup, which consisted of diagnostic models and records, according to standard prosthetic protocol, treatment dentures were constructed. The maxillary arch had sufficient bone volume and adequate width and vertical height for implant protocol without grafting. A cone beam CT was taken with a treatment denture with radio-opaque markers for designing a stereolithographical stent for a mucosal-born surgical guide for the placement of seven maxillary implants. Our oral surgeon placed the implants and, after sufficient healing time, the impression of the maxillary implants using open tray technique.

Related reading: Bench mastery: How to foresee the final outcome of a dental restoration case

 The healing was uneventful. The patient followed recommended care for plaque removal around the healing abutment and cleaning of the denture. His hygiene was excellent. Four months later, after ascertaining integration, the technician proceeded with the sequence needed for completion of the maxillary arch.
	

In order to establish a stable centric relation record, it is necessary to utilize a treatment denture setup that is stabilized on two implants. This denture is screwed into the two implants for stabilizing of the maxillary rim to establish centric relation record. After the multiple sequence consisting of framework and bisque bake try-in using the lab protocol, the maxillary prosthesis was completed. It was decided to divide the maxillary arch into two units.
	

Four implants with the final right segment were completed.

Bench mastery: Custom shade matching with an anterior implant case

 This article would not be complete without describing the protocol and procedures in the reconstruction of the mandibular arch. There are several steps required for understanding of aberrant bone level. This image shows few remaining mandibular teeth that required extraction. Notice the bone level in the mandibular anteriors was not in harmony with the mandibular bilateral posterior ridges. The remaining bone was thin from a labial lingual view. Bone supported steriolithographical surgical guides Fig. 10 were fabricated for bone reduction and implant placement. It was necessary to use the bone reduction guide seen here to perform a horizontal osteotomy to level the bone in the mandibular anterior to create a harmonious arch. After completion, note the surgical guide was used after the anterior reduction was accomplished, during which four implants of wide diameter and 15 mm in length were surgically placed. It was determined that stability using wide body implants and 15 mm length with 3 mm of circumferential bone around each implant, accomplished with a horizontal osteomtomy, was adequate to accommodate a fixed restoration.
	

The complete review of all the necessary surgical stents required to achieve results discussed above.
	

 The restorations with pink gingival color porcelain support were completed, maxillary and mandibular arch, as illustrated. The design of the prosthesis was in accordance with the patient’s ability to maintain oral health. All openings for floss were created from the lingual for oral hygiene maintenance by the patient.     
	

The patient was pleased with the fixed implant prosthesis. 

Check out the following video to view the step-by-step case:

Luke S. Kahng is an accomplished lab technician specializing in high-end ceramic restorations. Frustrations with the shade matching systems available to him inspired his creation of the 

. Originally comprised of Volumes 1 and 2, it was later expanded into a unique ceramic shade guide system, the 

. As an active contributor to the dental community, he has also held positions on several major dental journal boards, and is frequently a keynote speaker at numerous conventions, labs or his own lab-hosted seminars. Luke is also the owner and president of 

, high-profile entity. Located in Naperville, Ill., LSK121 provides oral restorative services and assistance transnationally.

Video: Bench mastery: Treating the dental-phobic patient

 In this case study, a 70-year-old individual with advanced periodontally involved teeth having class three mobility presented for comprehensive implant restorations.

Bench mastery: Complete implant maxillary and mandibular reconstruction

	Christian Campian at BonaDent discussed 

 is a full-service lab that has been family-owned and operated for almost 65 years. Founded by Dental Lab Technician 

 and now in its fourth generation of ownership, BonaDent has made investments in technology that allow it to offer a full range of services, including removables, ceramics, implants and hybrid restorations. It also recently began providing chairside services for clinicians performing full-arch rehabilitation with immediate temporization. BonaDent has become known in the industry as anterior and complex case specialists.

With locations in Seneca Falls, N.Y., West Melbourne, Fla., and Greenville, S.C., BonaDent prides itself on offering personalized, small-laboratory service with large laboratory resources. Clinicians have a direct line to their personal technical lead contact whenever they have questions or concerns or want to discuss the best treatment for any patient. Plus, BonaDent has worked to further its technicians’ training and has developed tools for its clinicians to best utilize their expertise.

Related reading: Ivoclar Vivadent teams up with BEGO USA to offer new SLM options

Ivoclar Vivadent’s SR Phonares II are a range of tooth molds designed for a natural look with high wear resistance that matches the age and characteristics of the particular patient. Available in 16 A-D shades and four bleach shades, SR Phonares include 18 upper anterior molds and six lower anterior molds. In addition, there are two posterior tooth lines, each containing three maxillary and three mandibular sets.

SR Phonares II are made from nano hybrid composite (NHC) material. The new technology incorporates inorganic micro fillers and silica-based nano fillers to provide increased durability. Also, the hybrid makeup of the fillers encourages natural light transmission for optimal translucency, opalescence and fluorescence.  


	Christian Campian serves as removable department manager for BonaDent’s Florida division. In this role, he learns each of his clients’ preferences and ensures  those high-quality standards are met on every case that comes through the door.

Campian started in the field when he was just 13 years old.

“It started as a punishment but ended up becoming my career,” Campian says. “My father gave me the basic knowledge and encouragement to start me on the path to getting where I am today.”

Campian says every job he’s had has helped him grow as an individual and expand his expertise. For example, he had the great opportunity to work with a periodontist and prosthodontist for a few years. The job helped improve his precision and accuracy, he says, and helped him understand the unique needs of the patient when treatment planning.

Video: Ivoclar Vivadent reveals IPS e.max Press Multi

Read about Campian's results on Page 2 ...


	Campian has used SR Phonares II in his lab for nearly two years and says,  overall, the product has done a great job simplifying and improving the lab’s workflow.

The variety of shades and sizes means there’s always the right fit for the right case, he says. SR Phonares II has been designed to match the age and characteristics of the individual patient. The tooth molds are available with soft and bold characteristics and divided into three age groups: youthful (with an unabraded incisal edge for pronounced facial curvature), universal (with a slightly abraded incisal edge for reduced facial curvature) and mature (with a heavily abraded incisal edge for flat facial curvature).

“SR Phonares II are just more accurate when shade matching denture teeth to porcelain crowns-hands down,” Campian says. “The final result just looks more esthetic and more natural when using them. They’re an all-around superior product.”

Related reading: Ivoclar Vivadent brings back Just Cure It!

On top of delivering more accurate, precise shade matches, SR Phonares II are also much stronger and more durable, he says. Many denture materials deteriorate or even break after prolonged chewing. SR Phonares II molds are made with two outer layers of nano hybrid composite (NHC) and two inner layers of PMMA material, a feature BonaDent’s clinicians (and their patients) appreciate, Campian says. In addition, the product fits BonaDent’s business objectives of earning customers for life and making its doctors successful and their patients happy.

“Doctors and patients love SR Phonares II,” Campian says. “They’re strong. They look like real teeth. Clinicians who prescribe them are always satisfied. The patients improve their smile, and the doctors improve their bottom line.”  

SR Phonares II also fit well with Ivoclar Vivadent’s  

 campaign, which has helped BonaDent talk to clients and customers about various removable options. The site, morethanadenture.com, has portals for both consumers and professionals and offers information ranging from dental success stories and what to expect as a consumer to scientific documentation and display information for clinicians.

“I’d say the campaign has been a useful tool in helping to sell SR Phonares II,” Campian says. “It’s always nice to offer a place for supplemental information for clinicians-someplace they can go to when they want to dive a little deeper into what kind of removable services our labs offer. And it’s also a useful reference for patients. Doctors can send patients there for support and to ease the anxieties they might be feeling about getting dentures.
	“And, of course, I always recommend purchasing a smile design kit so our clinicians have the best tool possible to begin prescribing removables from our lab.” 

A better press: The Programat EP 5010 from Ivoclar Vivadent

 Christian Campian at BonaDent discussed Ivoclar Vivadent's SR Phonares II with Dental Lab Products' Danielle Toth.

Dental Lab Products February 2015

Top 5 ways lab management software can save your lab time and money

Bench mastery: Complete implant maxillary and mandibular reconstruction

A better way to create lifelike, durable dentures