Keeping My Schedule Filled With the E4D Dentist CAD/CAM System

In today’s economy, every patient counts. When I see holes in my schedule, it’s frustrating to me and challenging to my team. I’ve found that the best way for us to fill or refill our schedule with meaningful production is to convert patients from our Hygiene schedule to the operative schedule.

With the E4D Dentist CAD/CAM system from D4D Technologies and Henry Schein Dental, we have a fantastic way to offer patients one-time appointments or same-day crowns, inlays, onlays, or veneers. Patients really value this service because they don’t want to take any more time off from their busy lives than they have to.

We offer every hygiene patient the option to have his or her restorative work done at the same appointment. I will then immediately come in to diagnose/treatment plan the case/tooth. If the patient agrees, my hygienist will anesthetize the patient and place the rubber dam, and I will then break away and prep the tooth.

My hygienist will scan the prep, customize the design, and mill the restoration using the E4D Dentist system. While the restoration is milling, she will clean the patient’s teeth and then try-in the crown. If it meets the patient’s and our approval, I will cement the crown and the patient can return to work with a cleaning and a new crown. Everyone wins!

For patients who require more time during a hygiene appointment for both a cleaning and perhaps multiple crowns, we will offer to prep the teeth, take an impression, clean their teeth, and then have them returned at the end of their work day to have the crowns cemented. While they are at work, my assistant or hygienist will scan the impression of the preps and make the crowns between patients.

The software is so intuitive it practically designs the crowns by itself. This allows my team to scan, design, and mill multiple restorations throughout the day without disrupting the schedule. Both our office and the patients love this service as well. It is not uncommon for me to prep 3-4 crowns in my hygienist room and cement them at the end of my day.

Anther incredible service we are now able to offer our patients is same-day, no prep, or minimal prep veneers. With the introduction of IPS e.max CAD (Ivoclar Vivadent) high-translucency porcelain, we can mill veneers as thin as .3mm with confidence that they will not break. This allows my hygienist or assistant to take an impression during a hygiene check and use it to create the veneers to be cemented the next day or at the end of the day.

Another great service is the ability to create and seat crowns on implants the same day the abutments are placed—no temporaries or metal post sticking up. Offering these simple, predictable, and very productive procedures in a single visit or with same-day service has allowed my schedule to stay full and my patients to truly enjoy visiting our practice.