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ADDING A NEW DIMENSION TO YOUR PRACTICE WITH 3D PRINTING
User Story
When Dr. Paul Raines brought the fastprint.io ™ 3D Printing Solution into his practice in December 2023, it wasn’t just a tech upgrade — it was a commit- ment to greater precision, efficiency and patient-centered care. Seamlessly integrat- ing with his existing glidewell.io ™ In-Office Solution workflow, this new addition marked a major step forward in his digital journey. CHAIRSIDE ® MAGAZINE: How import- ant is digital dentistry to your practice? DR. PAUL RAINES: I think we are in a digital golden age. From the moment I decided we would be a digital office, the rewards have been great. We’ve been growing year after year because we have really harnessed these digital workflows and are giving patients what they want: convenience, effi- ciency and quality. My digital journey began in 2020 when I got my first iTero Element ® scanner (Align Technology, Inc.; San Jose, Calif.). I bought my first mill in 2022, and demand for same- visit treatment prompted us to get a second mill a few months later. By the end of 2023, we had incorporated a 3D printer. CM: Did you conduct a financial analysis before purchasing your fastprint.io ™ 3D Printing Solution? PR: With every piece of technology, I always do a return on investment analysis
to determine how much new revenue we can bring into the practice. For example, we do around one hundred cases of clear aligner therapy in a good year. If we can 3D print the final retainers ourselves, that saves me money. I can literally say that my printer is being paid for by the clear aligners savings, and everything after that is addi- tional revenue. My lab technician, Tyler, had a lot of training in how to 3D print single-unit and multi-unit implant surgical guides. With a 3D-printed surgical guide, the iTero scanner, and the fastmill.io ™ In-Office Mill, we can quickly and precisely place a single-unit implant. Considering how affordable the glidewell.io In-Office Solution is, the workflow is hard to beat. CM: What other uses have you found for your printer? PR: Let’s take today as an example. The schedule involves a 3D printer in almost every one of our procedures: At 2 o’clock, we are going to extract teeth on a patient’s upper arch and seat a full denture that was 3D printed on the fastprint.io printer. We will also print a 3D diagnostic model for his lower arch to propose a new procedure. Then, we have a surgery case where we will extract a tooth and immediately place an implant using a surgical guide that we printed. Toward the end of the day, we are
Paul Raines, DDS and Tyler Rose, In-House Lab Tech Private Practitioner I Lakewood, CO
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