Hidden away near Newton Abbot on the edge of the English Riviera is IW Dental Laboratory. The Laboratory was set up in 2009 by Ian Wooley after leaving the successful partnership he helped set up at nearby Custom Ceramics to follow a lifelong dream of owning his own Laboratory. Ian came to the UK from South Africa in 1993 and after working in London moved down to the South West in 2000 where he has built a strong reputation as one of the countries leading laboratory owners. The Laboratory is completely private with the focus firmly on high quality work and superb service underpinned by a strong belief in the 'Open Digital' future for Dentistry. We interviewed Ian to find out how things were going.
Would you say the Laboratory has established itself yet?
IW Definitely, you never know when you set up a new business just how it is going to go, especially given the recent financial climate but things settled quickly and word of mouth has seen our client base grow steadily and new clients are finding us all the time.
You are now very focused on Digital Technology.
IW Yes, I have been involved with Digital Dentistry since the early days when models were sent off to milling centres to be designed and milled. I have always been interested in it and firmly believe it is the way forward, especially now the open systems are making it more affordable. Currently we are a registered Platinum Straumman Laboratory, with our own in-lab scanner, and we have been chosen as a beta tester for the Dental Wings software that will be running with the Etkon scanner soon. Also we recently invested in a new Dental Wings scanner and Roland DWX-50 In-Lab Milling machine. We needed to be able to achieve better quality results, quicker. The time saved using the scanner and milling machine has made a big difference to the lab. The staff are finding deadlines easier to hit and are much more relaxed and able to concentrate on doing great porcelain work. It is a much nicer atmosphere to work in.
How has it affected your work routines?
IW We have adapted to new routines to take the DWX-50 into account. Our implant work is done mainly on the Etkon scanner although we do offer a full range of implant systems. The Dental Wings scanner and DWX-50 do all the copings and bridge substructures. It is used to provide the patterns for Gold Crowns and Emax pressed units and it also does the acrylic temporaries and zirconia copings and crowns, so we save money too.
What has been the biggest advantage to having the in-lab milling machine?
IW I would say definitely the consistency of the work coming off the machine, every job fits superbly and it is just not possible for a person to construct delicate appliances so quickly like the machine does. It makes a big difference to the technicians and to our clients. Also the time it saves gives me time to organise things better and make sure our clients are properly supported. I like the fact we have complete control, if a client needs something done quickly its no longer a problem. I also like the fact we no longer need to touch the dies, in fact after the scanning there is no need to handle the dies at all. Just a quick check before the job is signed off is all that's required.
And the disadvantages?
IW There was a learning curve and some early teething problems. We were one of the first labs in the country to take one of the new 5-Axis machines so that was bound to be the case. I can say that the support from Roland has been nothing short of superb, they respond to every problem quickly. They also organised a valuable training day with the company that provide the software, Sum3D. The DWX-50 machine is simply awesome and working away pretty much all the time, I can't think of any disadvantages!
Has there been any resentment to the introduction of CAD/CAM from the staff?
IW No, in fact it has been quite the opposite. They all love the fact they are under less time pressure and get great substructures to work on every time.
And your plans for the future?
IW Well, we will shortly be busy doing the beta testing for Etkon. We have just bought the Dental Wings chrome base design software and will be trying that out soon on the DWX-50. I just didn't want to be left behind, with more and more of our clients interested in going digital we wanted to be in pole position to meet that demand as it comes. I believe that we are.
www.rolanddg.co.uk
