SensAble Technologies, Inc has announced the availability of a major new version of its SensAble Dental Lab System (SDLS), an integrated CAD/CAM solution to scan, design and fabricate a wide variety of dental restorations. Through its significantly expanded capabilities for full contour crown & bridge restorations, as well as new features that speed the design and production of removable partials, Version 2 offers dental labs a smarter way to go digital. The SensAble solution enables labs to deliver more kinds of restorations from a single system, made with greater precision, increased efficiency and consistency. SensAble will showcase version 2 of the SDLS at the International Dental Show in Cologne, Germany. The SensAble Dental Lab System is the first and the only digital solution capable of creating metal and flexible partials, as well as full contour crown and bridge. Its key components – a 3D scanner, design system, resin printer, and case management software – have been tightly integrated to produce accurate, consistent results in a streamlined workflow. Version 2 increases lab productivity by providing the digital tools to design a wider range of fixed and removable restorations – and the freedom to easily handle real-world cases that are challenging and time consuming for many other CAD/CAM systems. “Our SensAble system paid for itself in just four months, and after completing over 5,600 cases with it, we are so much more productive that I could never go back to our old workflow,” said John Aitchison, CDT, principal at Minot Dental Laboratory. “We can digitally design and wax a 3-unit bridge in less than 10 minutes, when hand waxing used to take 90 minutes. One technician designed a PFM coping literally in 45 seconds. After designing, we simply press a button to create the anatomical coping. Because we’re working digitally, it allows our lab to ensure consistent results across the entire staff, from the most experienced technicians to those newer to our team. As a result, we were able to promote three technicians into ceramicist positions, because they’re freed from mundane hand-waxing work. I jokingly tell everyone that if they took away my SensAble system I’d have to close the lab, and I’m only half-joking,” Aitchison said. The SensAble Dental Lab System is unique in its use of force-feedback haptics where technicians hold a touch-enabled stylus instead of a computer mouse — working with virtual wax-up tools to literally feel the on-screen model as they apply, smooth and carve digital wax. This approach mimics the traditional method of hand modeling dental restorations, allowing technicians to digitally design with unmatched speed and precision, while keeping the artistry and manual dexterity they've spent years perfecting. “If labs do their homework, they will see that nothing else in the market comes close to the SensAble Dental Lab System for productivity and flexibility,” said Bob Steingart, president of SensAble Dental Products. “We are continuing to expand the range of restorations possible from this one system, and are fully committed to giving dental labs the easiest to use, most versatile CAD/CAM system available. I challenge labs to find a system that lets them leverage their technology investment — or provides a better ROI — than the SensAble system.”