Leading cosmetic dentist Dr. Diana Tadros shares her experience with Smile Creator and explains how investing in exocad digital design software transformed her chairside restorative workflow.
When it comes to dental technology, the term “game-changing” is perhaps an overused description. Yet it’s a phrase that Dr. Diana Tadros feels confident using to describe her journey with exocad, a complete software solution for digital dentistry that has made an incredible impact on her small fee-for-service practice in Fort Lauderdale, FL.
Born out of a desire to bring her wax-ups in house and cut down on lab cost and turnaround time, Dr. Tadros’ exocad journey began by investing in Smile Creator, a digital wax-up module. This got her feet wet with the software, improved conversations around treatment, and made it faster and easier for patients to get started.
“Many dentists are stuck waiting two or three weeks to get wax-ups back from the lab,” shared Dr. Tadros. “But digital technology like exocad gives us the ability to use the same pre-made templates the lab is using and move the teeth around on a digital screen, which speeds up treatment and levels out the playing field.”
Streamlining the chairside restorative workflow
Of course, the lab is still an important piece of Dr. Tadros’ chairside restorative workflow, and exocad helps her better communicate with lab technicians in a way that decreases errors and send-backs. Instead of sending lengthy paragraphs of what she envisions for tooth shape and size, she can simply send the lab a wax-up scan merged over a digital impression.
“There have been times that a patient comes in with a broken front tooth and I can use exocad to digitally veneer the adjacent tooth, and then send the 3D design to a ceramist to replicate. In other situations, I’ve found that the two front teeth are actually different sizes, so I can tell the ceramist to mirror the tooth but leave the space open so I can close it up with a little chairside bonding. So, my lab communication has become a lot more seamless, and I don’t have to correct things chairside.”
A flexible powerhouse
No dental technology exists without a learning curve, however short or long it may be. One of the things Dr. Tadros appreciates most about exocad is its flexible design that allows her to tackle as much or as little as she wants. Her initial investment in Smile Creator proved to be the tip of the iceberg, as she now regularly designs and 3D prints casts, temps, surgical guides, night guards, and more.
“When you get something like exocad that covers every single aspect of dentistry, you start adding on treatment modules as your interest level and skillset peaks. You have the flexibility to start as a beginner using one module to make temporaries or wax-ups, and then as you get more and more proficient, you can start to digitize other aspects of your dentistry.”
This article was originally published in Dental Product Shopper, April 14, 2021
Dr. Diana Tadros owns a private fee-for-service practice in Fort Lauderdale, FL where she was recently named America’s Top 40 under 40 Dentists, as well as Best Dentist in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. Currently she is a Key Opinion Leader for exocad and Sprintray 3D printers. Prior to Florida, she practiced for numerous years in Manhattan in a premier cosmetic practice. Obtaining over 1000 hours of continuing education, Dr. Tadros now holds fellowship status in the Academy of General Dentistry and International Congress of Implantologists. She is also an Accreditation Candidate of the American Academy of Cosmetic Dentistry. A graduate of the Kois Center, Dr. Tadros believes that a true cosmetic dentist must first understand the complexities of risk assessment and comprehensive dentistry. Dr. Tadros completed an AEGD Residency at the University of Florida. To learn more about Dr. Tadros’ experience with exocad, you can watch her online seminar "From Disaster to Master: The Journey of a Cosmetic Dentist" or check out one of her live trainings. You can also follow her on Instagram to see her latest cases and lip art.
