Real Time ROI: Synca Direct’s Fiber Force®

The Lab

Orville Sadler, CDT, is the head technician at Bastrop Denture and Implant Center in Bastrop, Texas. His two-person lab fabricates dentures for one doctor. The lab portion of the clinic does 15 to 20 dentures a day. Sadler has been at the clinic for 6 years and a lab technician for 41 years.

The Product

Synca Direct’s Fiber Force™ is a system of resin pre-impregnated E-glass fibers that are used to repair and reinforce dental appliances as well as for direct and indirect perio and ortho splinting. The fibers come pre-impregnated in a light-cured urethane dimethacrylate resin that reportedly allows appliances to be significantly strengthened without added weight or thickness while maintaining esthetics.

The Results

About six months ago, Sadler saw the product release for Synca’s Fiber Force in the pages of Dental Lab Products, and knew he had to give it a try in his lab. Today, Sadler couldn’t be happier with that decision.

Sadler does a lot of metal frameworks in his lab, he said, and before he started using Fiber Force he had to send those frameworks out. That meant waiting three weeks to get them back. Fiber Force is something he can do himself, in his own lab.

So far, Sadler has completed more than 60 cases with Fiber Force and hasn’t had problems with any of them. This re-enforcement system is stronger than metal, he said, and while it’s flexible enough to give when the patient bites, it doesn’t break.

“It saves me time and money big time,” Sadler said. “And I feel like they’re stronger. I’ve not had a single one come back that’s cracked or broke or anything, and I’ve had that problem with metal frames. They’re too rigid and won’t keep from breaking. I haven’t had one of these break yet.”

Not only are they stronger than metal frameworks, they’re also more affordable, Sadler said, and he’s seen a pretty significant return on investment since he began using Fiber Force. Before, he spent $55 a piece for frames. Now he buys Fiber Force in bulk, and that cost comes to $39 per frame.

Fiber Force also saves Sadler, and his doctor and patients, a lot of time. It only takes about 15 to 20 minutes for him to make a Fiber Force reinforcement, and that means same-day dentistry for the clinic’s patients. What the clinic starts in the morning they can finish in the afternoon, and that’s a huge benefit to everyone involved. Patients no longer have to wait three weeks for their dentures to come in, or worry about scheduling another appointment to get them. Additionally, Sadler can get more done in his lab in a shorter amount of time, and that of course lead to more money coming into the lab.

The esthetics Fiber Force provides are another huge benefit that patients appreciate, Sadler said. The pink acrylic color gives it a more natural appearance that patients really seem to like.

“Yes, every one of my clients (patients) love it,” Sadler said. “You can’t even tell they’re in there because of the color. With metal frames you can. And it’s lighter. So patients are much happier with them. I have some patients who I’ve replaced metal frames with these. They just look better and are more comfortable. They’re not as bulky or as heavy as metal so the denture doesn’t end up being bulky and heavy.”

The esthetics are so much better that you can’t even really tell the patient is wearing a denture, Sadler said, and that of course is a great benefit to the clinic’s patients.

“The fiber, it’s pink colored like acrylic so it blends right in instead of being silver like a cast partial is,” Sadler said. “You have to hold it up to the light to see that it’s in there. They don’t have gray spots. When people smile with metal you can see gray around their teeth because of the metal frameworks. With these you don’t have that problem.”

While he’s only been using Fiber Force for about five months, he’s impressed with what the product has done for his lab, his dentist and his patients and said he would encourage other labs to give it a try.

“It’s just a great product. It really is,” Sadler said. “It just saves me a lot of time and money and they’re so easy to make. It’s easy to do; any lab can do it.”