Crowning Achievement: Bringing chairside crowns to clinical private practice

According to all the latest literature, digital dental workflows can save time and money, but how does it really work? In an actual clinical dental practice, that is.

To find out more, we spoke with Dr. Sylvie Clermont, founder of Clinique Dentaire Sylvie Clermont in Lévis, Quebec.  A practicing restorative dentist and dental surgeon for more than 25 years, Clermont recently transitioned to a digital workflow to provide her patients with the convenience of same-day chairside crowns and inlays.

Please tell us about your dental practice.
Sylvie Clermont: I have been a dentist for more than 26 years, and I still feel as much passion and energy for practicing dentistry as I did when I first began. My dental office has been located in Lévis for almost 20 years. 

We offer many services in our dental office, like restoration and/or complete rebuilding of dental implants with the All-on-4 approach, as well as esthetic veneers, complete or partial dentures, crown and fixed points, mouthguards, teeth bleaching, Invisalign, periodontal treatment, endodontic treatment, and more. 

“I can now offer same-day crown or inlay restorations to my patients, and they are really happy with this new service.”

We have a large patient base with an age range from 1 to 85 years old which includes many families.  We are readily available to serve our patient’s varying dental needs.

What made you decide to purchase the Roland DG’s DGSHAPE DWX-42W wet dental mill?
We had been working with external dental laboratories for a few years, but I wanted to know more about digital dental workflows.  What intrigued me most about the DGSHAPE wet mill was its rapid production time as well as the advanced software, which is easy to use but allows for very sophisticated adjustments. Those features are very important to me. After talking with my sales representative, Martin Lajeunesse at Sinclair Dental Montreal, and after trying the DWX-42W myself a few times, any doubts I may have had disappeared. 

I am extremely satisfied with how the DWX-42W has expanded my practice’s capabilities. I can now offer same-day crown or inlay restorations to my patients, and they are really happy with this new service.

How accurate are your milled restorations? 
We are currently using the DWX-42W for milling crowns and inlays. The ability to mill many crowns at the same time is another feature I value.
The quality of the DWX milled restorations is surprisingly high. We have had to do very little, or no adjusting at all because the machine is very accurate.  In addition, their fit is very precise, which simplifies their cementation.

How has having the DWX mill in-house changed your operation? 
With a digital workflow, we save money on supplies. For example, we’ve been able to eliminate taking impressions. We are now using an intraoral scanner for the data gathering. Our patients really like this innovative technology, because taking impressions is now both faster and less complicated. 

In addition, with the DWX-42W, we’re able to provide complete restorative care in only one appointment. My patients no longer have to wear a temporary restoration and wait for an extended period of time for the permanent restoration to be ready. Also, the patient only has to have anesthetic once to complete the treatment. 

Another big benefit has been the cost savings as a result of reducing the outsourcing to a dental laboratory.   

Incorporating the DWX-42W mill into my practice was a great decision. My team and my patients alike are very happy to have the innovative technology of DGSHAPE’s DWX-42W wet dental mill available as an everyday part of restorative dental care in my office.