In Focus Archives — Eurodontic

Get the perfect partners for your practice

Your lab will always play an integral role in fulfilling complex cases and turning around high volume work. But investing in a digital workflow for your practice, gives you the means to produce your day-to-day appliances, including retainers, mouthguards and whitening trays. You just need the right products, the right tools, and the right partner to help make it happen.

Why bring appliance production in-house?

Save money – your lab bills will reduce as you transition to in-house appliance production.
Faster turnaround – producing your appliances in-house gives you control over when your patients’ appliances are made and fitted
Upskill your team – ensure your team are trained up on the use of the latest technology and see their motivation and job satisfaction increase
Customer service – with your own machine, you can offer a premium service to your patients, remaking lost or broken appliances and creating relief appliances on the spot
Traceability – you’re in control of buying your own materials so you can be confident in their quality – you can experiment with different options, rather than being limited to the materials stocked by your lab.
Streamlined workflow – whether you’re a digital practice or not, you’ll be able to manage the entire process in-house, casting your own impressions or printing your own models from patient files. Your cases need never leave the practice, so you’re in full control of every aspect of production.

What do you need to get started?

If you have or are planning to buy an intraoral scanner, you can take digital impressions from your patients which will then be used to fabricate the appliances using 3D printing technology.

If your practice still takes alginate impressions, you can cast them up and create your appliances using our pressure forming machines and materials.

The right tools for the job

At Eurodontic, we’ve put together a suite of products that work together perfectly, from intraroral scanner, 3D model printing through to building and finishing.

With our ‘perfect partner’ products you have all the machines, tools and materials you need to manage the production process from start to finish, with no snags or delays.

Everything you need to create long-lasting, quality appliances can be found in one place.

Our experienced Eurodontic team are here to advise you on the best workflow solution for your practice. From purchase to installation, Eurodontic will be with you every step of the way.

Providing training and continued support for you and your team, for the life of the equipment.

DEXIS™ Intraoral Scanner – technology is constantly evolving, resulting in faster, more accurate and smaller scanners
SPRINTRAY PRO95 S is part of the complete 3D printing ecosystem that also includes cloud-based design and printing software, ProWash 2 automated cleaning system and the world’s most advanced post-curing with ProCure 2
BIOSTAR® – This versatile pressure moulding machine is suitable for heavy use by busy labs
MINISTAR® S – offering precise results every time, the Ministar S® is ideal for light to moderate use, and has the same great features as the Biostar®
Pressure forming materials – high quality, long-lasting materials, ideal for a range of applications
Finishing products – our range of trimmers and burs give your splints a high quality finish

You’ll find everything you need in our online shop, or alternatively, feel free to contact us for advice on the right workflow solution for your practice.

Sponsors of AVANT GARDE DENTISTRY – Same Day Smile Courses https://www.avantgardedentistry.co.uk/

Important

A manufacturer of medical devices must register with the MHRA (Medicines and Health Regulatory Agency) and must understand and comply with (MDR) Medical Device Regulations.

The regulations stipulate that appliances must be manufactured with acceptable materials and must be signed off by a GDC-registered person.

A manufacturing organisation requires a responsible person who is two years post-qualification and is competent in the area of appliance manufacture.

The use of isopropanol (also known as isopropyl alcohol and IPA) in dental labs has increased exponentially in recent years, along with the rise in popularity of 3D printing. Its efficacy as a cleaning solution and relatively low cost have made it an understandable, if not popular choice for the dental technicians among us.

I say ‘not popular’ because there are definite downsides to the use of isopropanol. Users often complain about the acrid smell, which can cause headaches with prolonged exposure.

No one wants to work in a foul-smelling environment, but compared to the more serious drawbacks of isopropanol use, the smell should be the least of our worries.

In this article, we look at the safety issues presented by the ongoing use of isopropanol by dental professionals – and how to counter them.

Flammable solution

Isopropanol is a highly flammable solution which can easily ignite. It must be kept safely away from all sources of heat, sparks and flames. It must also be kept away from strong oxidisers, acids, chlorine, ethylene oxide, acetaldehyde and isocyanates. We recommend storing it in a flammable safety cabinet.

IPA can enter the body through ingestion, inhalation, and absorption.

Ingesting isopropyl alcohol

Although it is unlikely to be ingested in a professional setting, you do need to be aware of the dangers. Ingestion should be treated as a medical emergency, as IPA poisoning can cause seizures, induce hypothermia and subsequently lead to cardiac arrest.

Limiting access to large amounts of Isopropanol can deter misuse. It should always be kept in a clearly marked container and never kept anywhere or in anything that might cause confusion, for example in a water bottle.

Inhalation

Isopropyl alcohol inhalation occurs whenever you are in the vicinity of an open container.

Working with reasonable amounts of IPA is generally considered to be safe, but it can lead to headaches. However, inhaling large amounts can cause nausea, vomiting, irritation of the nose and throat, and difficulty breathing.

Absorption

Isopropyl alcohol is quickly and easily absorbed through the skin, so an accidental spill on to the skin may cause poisoning if in a large amount. Small amounts of IPA on the skin are generally not dangerous, but repeated exposure can cause symptoms such as itching, redness and rashes. Prolonged exposure can cause skin corrosion.

If contact with the skin occurs, the area should be thoroughly rinsed, then washed with soap and water. In the event of a spill over a large area of skin, follow the steps above and monitor for signs of poisoning. Seek immediate medical assistance if symptoms appear.

If an affected individual is wearing contact lenses, they should be removed. The eyes should be flushed with water or saline solution for 20 -30 minutes.

Symptoms of Isopropanol poisoning?

Common symptoms and signs of Isopropanol exposure include:

Dizziness
Slurred speech
Slow breathing
Vomiting
Unresponsive reflexes
Low blood pressure
Stomach pain
Nausea
Rapid heart rate
Low body temperature
Throat pain
Seizure
Coma

If you or someone you’re with experiences any of these symptoms, the first step is to act quickly to prevent further exposure and then move to fresh air. If symptoms persist, seek medical attention urgently.

IPA should always be used under controlled conditions, in a ventilated area, by well-trained staff using proper safety equipment. Ensure your staff understand the symptoms of poisoning so that they can recognise it in themselves or others, and that they know what to do in the event of an emergency.

Switch to IMPRIMO® Cleaning Liquid

Isopropanol can be a useful material within the lab, as long as the proper precautions are taken. However, the risks are undeniable, which is why our laboratory has chosen to move away from its use altogether and switch to IMPRIMO® Cleaning Liquid. This a is a water-based cleaning agent for the effective removal of generative resin residues on 3D printed objects. There’s no nasty Isopropanol smell and most importantly, there is far less risk!

Because it can be diluted with water by up to 50%, IMPRIMO® Cleaning Liquid’s concentrated formula is long-lasting and cost effective.

We think it’s a no brainer. If you’d like to try replacing the Isopropanol in your lab, click here to take a look at a safer, gentler alternative.

The team at Eurodontic are now back from the Dental Professionals Conference which took place in Edinburgh last week.

Run by the Orthodontic Technicians Association, the event is a great opportunity for orthodontic teams to get together, network and hear from leading voices in the industry. It was good to see that the OTA is gathering new members and we also saw new faces on the organising committee.

The lectures on offer were varied, informative and interesting. We especially enjoyed Andrea Johnson’s session on pressure forming, which was well-attended and well-received. Best of all, each lecture took place twice, giving delegates the opportunity to see everyone, rather than having to choose.

On the Eurodontic stand, we really enjoyed catching up with old friends and meeting new customers and acquaintances!

The team at Eurodontic are now back from the Dental Professionals Conference which took place in Edinburgh last week.

On the Eurodontic stand, we really enjoyed catching up with old friends and meeting new customers and acquaintances!

Andrea Johnson is Chair and a founding member of the charity Den-Tech, Orthodontic and maxillofacial laboratory manager at Montagu hospital, Mexborough and the current Chair of the Orthodontic Technicians Association (OTA).

We’re proud to be sponsoring her session at this year’s Dental Technology Conference, which takes place in Edinburgh on 27-28 September.

The session, titled ‘Under Pressure – Thermoforming Tips, Tricks and Advice’ will introduce a range of thermoforming techniques using SCHEU equipment and materials, which will be invaluable both for beginners and more experienced technicians alike.

In April 2019, Eurodontic had the privilege of arranging for Andrea to visit SCHEU’s HQ in Iserlohn, Germany.

Here’s what Andrea made of the visit…

‘SCHEU-DENTAL was founded in In 1926 and is still a family-run business. They develop very high quality dental products and services, including a large range of pressure-moulded appliances, sleep medicine and now 3D printing.

It was with this in mind that I embarked on this journey. I have a very well-loved, old and battered Biostar pressure moulding machine in my lab and quite frankly was looking forward to seeing first hand from the experts how this can be used to its maximum potential with the materials developed especially with it in mind.

I arrived in Iserlohn the evening before my scheduled day at SCHEU and was able to have a little wander around the town. It is a very lovely place and full of the character I have come to expect from the German towns I have visited. It has a very ‘olde world’ feel to it with cobbled streets and characteristic buildings cleverly mixed in with the new without spoiling the overall feel.

The following day was a real learning exercise. I was collected from my hotel in the morning by Martin Göllner who is SCHEU’s sales director. We drove the 10 minutes to the company where I was introduced to Martin’s colleague Antji who was my instructor for the day. I was very impressed by Martin and Antji’s English, it was certainly a huge amount better than my German and the hospitality of them both throughout the day was incredibly impressive.

I spent the day with Antji who is an excellent technician and a complete expert on all of Scheu’s products. We covered topics such as the pros and cons of pressure forming versus vacuum, model prep using BLUE-BLOKKER®/SIL-KITT/BIOPLAST® insulating, different retainer blanks and applications, DURASOFT® pd, bleaching trays and mouthguards. It was a very intense day but it was great to see how the company intends and recommends its products to be used to gain the maximum potential from them.

I have to say that I have definitely changed, and I believe, improved the techniques that I was already using and feel that the end products that I now produce are better and more durable than before.

If anyone gets the opportunity to visit this facility and attend one or more of their courses I would highly recommend it. In the meantime I hope to be able to use the skills and techniques I have learnt to show others too how they can achieve the best possible results from these materials.

Huge thanks to both Scheu and Eurodontic for your support and the opportunity.’

Don’t forget to book your place at the DPC Conference, to take part in Andrea’s workshop and of course visit the Eurodontic stand!

We’re looking forward to descending on the fabulous city of Edinburgh for this year’s Dental Professionals Conference on 27-28 September.

Hosted by the Orthodontic Technicians Association (OTA) the event features a real mix of sessions covering topics including pressure-forming, digital workflow and infection control as well as an all-important briefing on forthcoming legal changes.

We’re thrilled to be sponsoring one of the key sessions, led by Andrea Johnson, Chair and a founding member of the charity Den-Tech, Orthodontic and maxillofacial laboratory manager at Montagu hospital, Mexborough and the current Chair of the Orthodontic Technicians Association (OTA).

Andrea’s workshop, ‘Under pressure – Thermoforming tips, tricks and advice’ takes place at 10am and 11.15am on Friday 27^th September.

During the session Andrea will demonstrate some common thermoforming techniques both to inform and educate those new to thermoforming, as well as offering tips, advice and possible alternative techniques to those with more experience.

She will be using a SCHEU Ministar Pressure Thermoforming Unit and range of SCHEU products to demonstrate these techniques.

We’re very much looking forward to exhibiting at this event. We’ve been supporting the OTA for many years and it’s great to see such a packed line up. Do come and say hello to us on the stand – this promises to be a great show!

Visit https://ota-uk.org/dcp-conference-2019/ for more information.

Thermo-active, flexible splint material with memory effect.

The new, high-tech resin DURASPLINT® flex belongs to SCHEU’s suite of ‘Smart Materials’ and is specifically designed for the fabrication of functional occlusal splints.

Take a look at our video clip from Oswestry Dental’s Michael Cattell. Their milling machine is using a digital data file to cut out and create a new appliance using DURASPLINT® flex.

Durasplint flex video

Self-adjusting for a perfect fit

Thanks to its thermo-active properties, the material becomes flexible and self-adjusting at mouth temperature, to achieve the perfect, comfortable fit for every patient.

At the same time, the memory effect of this material when at room temperature ensures the appliance retains its original shape over the long-term. Splints that are made using DURASPLINT® flex are not only thermally flexible but also tear-resistant and shatter-proof as well as durable and permanently transparent.

High quality materials

The composition of the material corresponds to high medical standards. DURASPLINT® flex does not contain any phthalate-based softening agents, instead using only flexibilisers which are approved for use in medical technology. This significantly reduces the risk of irritation and sensitisation.

Thanks to the use of high quality raw materials, DURASPLINT® flex displays excellent biological and material compatibility, while the unique manufacturing process guarantees the tastelessness of the material.

The absence of amino acid compounds and methyl methacrylate means you don’t experience any yellow discolouration with this product.

The use of DURASPLINT® flex milling blanks in CAD/CAM technology offers greater speed and accuracy. However, if you don’t have a milling machine, the material is soon to be supplied as a polymer and monomer.

Click here to order DURASPLINT® Flex online.

At Eurodontic, we’re still on cloud nine after attending the Dental Technology Showcase 2019 which took place over the weekend at the Birmingham NEC.

Thousands of dental technician and laboratory professionals gathered at the show on Friday 17th and Saturday 18th May, making it the UK’s largest free to attend, education and trade event for the dental technician profession.

From our point of view, it was certainly well-attended, and we were rushed off our feet the whole time we were there. It was great to catch up with our customers as well as meeting plenty of new faces.

We’re happy to report a record number of sales of our SCHEU Biostar® and Ministar® machines on the day, and we’re still busy following up all the enquiries we took.

Our speaker Dr Vanik Kaufman was very well-received, with standing room only during his talk on 3D printing. As a result, we’ve had so many enquiries about our ASIGA MAX 3d desktop printer that we’re planning an in-house training day at our lab in Sheffield, with in-depth demonstrations and tutorials, plus plenty of opportunities to ask questions and try out the machine.

The training day will take place in Sheffield later in the summer, with the date and finer details yet to be confirmed. To register your interest in attending, please email sales@eurodontic.co.uk.

With spring in the air we’re looking ahead to this year’s Dental Technology Show, which is taking place at Birmingham NEC on 17th May.

One of our highlights will be listening to 3D printing expert, Vanik Kaufmann- Jinoian, who’ll be speaking in the Digital and Innovation Theatre from 1.45pm – 2.30pm.

Afterwards, he’ll be joining us on the Eurodontic stand to answer any further questions. We’ll be showcasing one of the 3D printers he uses – the ASIGA Max.

More about the speaker

Vanik Kaufmann-Jinoian was born in 1958 in Calcutta, India. He grew up in Switzerland in a city close to Basel, where he went to school and qualified as a dental technician.

In the following years he optimised his skills in various dental laboratories in Switzerland, mainly in the fields of ceramics and implantology.

He worked for a period of time for VITA-Zahnfabrik in Bad Saeckingen, Germany as an international trainer. At that time he was the youngest international ceramic demonstrator in the world. He opened his own dental laboratory in 1990 in Liestal, Switzerland, which now has 15 employees and covers all fields of modern dentistry.

Learning by doing

Vanik had a fascination for 3D printing a long time before this technology became popular in the dental field. He was enthralled by the complexity of the technology and its potential to automate processes, optimise precision and ensure reproducibility.

Having identified a lack of suitable 3D printing systems, Vanik Kaufmann decided to build – or let’s say to put together –his own 3D printer. This phase can be best characterised as ’learning by doing’ and took up a great deal of time and money. The number of misprints far surpassed the number of acceptable results – and even these were of dubious quality.

Deep understanding

As soon as the first low-cost 3D printers appeared in the dental sector, he was eager to buy any promising device and developed his own, personal testing system. He started printing huge piles of printed objects, with the machines running virtually around the clock.

Vanik trialled resins and developed processes and applications that had never before been tried, tested or released. More than once, he came up with new perspectives and approaches for product developments.

Throughout the years, Vanik has developed a deep understanding of 3D printing technology and its potential applications. He lectures at major symposiums and is involved with the master technicians school in Switzerland.

In 3D printing technology, Vanik Kaufmann is undoubtedly a true specialist. We’re looking forward to hearing from him.

For more information on the Dental Technology Showcase, visit https://www.the-dts.co.uk/

The issues caused by the withdrawal of Triad Provisional Material (Dentsply) have been well-documented in recent months.

It had been an extremely useful and versatile material for many dental practices and after production was cancelled last year, clinicians were left with the problem of replacing the provisional material.

In the following article, Darin Dichter D.M.D, outlines the case for replacing Dentsply with DURASPLINT® LC, which in his view is the best possible alternative.

Dr. Dichter is a member of the Spear resident faculty, with 20 years of clinical, research and teaching experience, both as a general dentist and as a prosthodontist.

Read the article here.

You can find out more about DURASPLINT® LC here.

Now You See It!

Ultra-Clear Surgical Scans Made Simple

Dental implants are an effective solution for patients with compromised dentition. But identifying the correct position for the implants can be problematic.

CT cone beam scan technology will show bone and anatomical features, but not the position of denture teeth relative to the bone and proposed implant sites.

SCHEU Dental have introduced a new product which overcomes this problem. Ideal for use with the SCHEU BIOSTAR® and MINISTAR®, BIOCRYL® Form X is a new, thermoplastic, radio-opaque material, which is fully visible on scans, with an uniform radio-opacity giving ultra-clear tooth shape.

By allowing tooth position to be communicated on CT scan images without painting anything on to the denture or into an overlay, BIOCRYL® Form X simplifies the stent fabrication process and removes the need for labour intensive processes and workarounds.

With BIOCRYL® Form X, an accurate surgical guide can be produced with ease, leading to optimal restorative outcomes for patients.

BIOCRYL® Form X is now available in the UK, exclusively from Eurodontic. Visit the shop to place your order.

At Eurodontic, we’re gearing up for the next Dental Technology Showcase – the UK’s biggest free conference and exhibition for labs and Dental Technicians.

Taking place on 12-13 May at the NEC in Birmingham, this year’s show promises to be every bit as good as previous events, with a world-class speaker line-up, conference programme and a wealth of exhibitors showcasing the latest tools, techniques and products.

Attendees to this free-to-attend, two-day CPD training and education conference and exhibition will be brought up to speed on the latest techniques, treatments, studies and will be able to tailor individual training paths from a comprehensive speaker line-up, hands-on training and live demonstrations.

You’ll also be able to obtain 40 hours of verified CPD during the course of the event, meaning you can secure most of your annual CPD requirements in one go!

You’ll find Eurodontic at Stand H01 – don’t forget to stop by and say hello!

Earlier in 2016, we launched a very special competition to celebrate 90 years of SCHEU-DENTAL and 25 years of Eurodontic.

We were on a mission to find the oldest SCHEU Biostar® pressure forming machine out there.

We were delighted with the response, with many of our customers sending in photos and serial numbers for their old machines.

However, there could only be one winner, and the oldest Biostar® was uncovered in the Department of Oral Surgery and Orthodontics at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Buckinghamshire. They even had the original instruction booklets!

The machine was manufactured in 1977, and was one of the last Biostar 1 models produced.

It has been well-used ever since, and as recently as 2 years ago, by technicians Julian Myerson and Jal Irani. Its main purpose was to fabricate oral devices to assist spinal injury patients.

Julian and Jal won a brand new Series 7 Biostar with scan facilities and LCD display, as well as a rather lovely winners’ cake!

Congratulations!