Dr. Husam Elias, MD, DMD, FACS
What are the Advantages of an All On X Digital Workflow
Burbank Dental Lab is proud to collaborate with Dr. Husam Elias of the Southern California Center for Surgical Arts, who is recognized as one of California’s leading Oral and Maxillofacial surgeons. Operating from busy offices in Pasadena and Sherman Oaks, Dr. Elias has established a practice dedicated to providing exceptional plastic and oral surgery services to the community.
In this article, Dr. Elias discusses the benefits of a digital workflow in three videos, highlighting the significant time savings and added patient benefits.
5 Advantages of A Digital Workflow
ACCURACY: The fit you get with a photogrammetry scan is second to none and the accuracy of fit and position of implants takes away the guesswork. CONVENIENCE: It makes it very convenient for patients. In the past, we used to do full arch cases where the surgery would take about 2 hours, and the conversion to give the patient a provisional prosthesis would take another 4 to 5 hours! Now, we have eliminated that.
TIME: We scan on the same day of surgery, and the patient receives a very accurate, very aesthetic prosthesis the next morning.
AESTHETICS: There is no acrylic, grinding, or polishing — it fits like a glove.
CONFIDENCE: It fits like a glove.
The Digital Workflow
In this video, Dr. Husam Elias explains the Digital Workflow step-by-step.
TRANSCRIBED FROM VIDEO:
Dr. Husam Elias:
The process is relatively straightforward. The patient visits our office, and we have a consultation regarding All On 4 treatment or full arch reconstruction. We take digital photos, a CT scan, and an intraoral scan. After that, we send all the information to Burbank Dental Lab. Burbank will then create a smile design that we can present to the patient to show them what their teeth will look like.
The patient selects their tooth color, shape, position, and even some characterization depending on their needs. This allows the patient to preview the results before undergoing any surgical procedures. In the past, the process involved taking an impression and sending it to the dental lab, where a denture was made. The resulting denture was nothing more than a piece of plastic and very unattractive.
With our modern 3D printing technology, we can produce high-quality material that is as accurate as possible. Once the patient sees the smile design, they’re convinced because they can visualize what they will look like after the surgical procedure. This advanced technology ensures the patient’s confidence in the treatment’s quality and accuracy.
Now, we embed the new smile design into a two—or three-dimensional photo of the patient that the patient provided so they can visualize the way they’re going to look following surgery and treatment. After the treatment, the designed arch is saved to the software guide, and on the day of the surgery, we proceed with putting in the implants.
Whether it’s traditional dental implants or remote anchorage implants such as zygoma, turbos, or nasal implants, it doesn’t make a difference. Once we place the implants in the surgery and ask the specialist from Burbank Dental Lab, we use scanning using photogrammetry technology, which provides an accurate position or a replica of the position of the implant based on accurate vectors and dimensions.
This cannot be replicated by traditional intraoral scanning. It definitely cannot be replicated by conventional impressions we used to do in the past. Once the photogrammetry scan is completed, we take the scan and merge it with a preexisting smile design to pinpoint the exact position of the implants. Whether the implants are put straight or angled up to 60 degrees, it doesn’t make any difference because we will adjust the position based on how we want it to be. It can then be built into the prosthesis that Burbank Dental Lab will fabricate.
So, the significant benefits of this process are time, accuracy, and aesthetics.
In this video, Andrew Sedler, the COO of Burbank Dental Lab, explains the iMetric photogrammetry scanning service offered by Burbank Dental Lab and demonstrates how easy it is to use the service for both you and your patients.
Two Patient Stories
Dr. Husam Elias shares two recent patient stories where he worked with Burbank Dental Lab to provide a fully digital workflow.
