What’s all the Fuss?
Using CAD/CAM discussions as a springboard for more sales opportunities.
Mary Yakas
Editor’s Note: At The Dental Advisor, not a day goes by go by without our phone ringing from a customer asking for the "best." As a dental publication that was designed after Consumer Reports, over the past 25 years we have learned one thing - the best changes from day to day. Providing relevant and timely information to customers is something we strive for. This series of columns will focus on how dental sales professionals can sort through the hype, learn more about what makes a product stand out, and most importantly, learn to educate their customer.
With all of the new CAD/CAM equipment on the market, many manufacturer and distributor reps have questions about the impact on their sales business. Digital Dentistry is a complex yet exciting new market. There are basically two schools of operation in CAD/CAM: Chairside scan and mill, such as the CEREC and e4D, or Chairside scan and outsource, such as the LAVA COS and I Tero. Both technologies can positively impact your business, if you understand the details of what CAD/CAM provides to the industry.
If a customer is using a chairside scan and mill, such as CEREC or e4D, there are certain probabilities in your sales. These offices will be highly cosmetic in nature and will need a plethora of accessories to make their clinical armamentarium successful. In addition to the burs, scanning powder (in the case of CEREC), machine blocks, powder delivery systems, isolation and drying devices, and good working equipment, multiple restorative materials will be necessary. In addition, the use of a diode laser can enhance the clinical process by trimming soft tissue as well as preventing bleeding in many cases much faster than traditional techniques.
If a customer is using a chairside scanner and outsourcing their milling, such as the COS or ITero, most of the needs still exist in terms of restorative materials. The only exception would be blocks and burs for the milling unit. A good resource for additional sales is to call on the laboratories receiving the scans from your practices, and in many cases, those labs are in turn outsourcing their copings to a milling center. These are additional prospective customers for you. In the case of LAVA COS, zirconia is milled as an understructure. This material is one of the strongest on the market as an alternative to metal. With it comes the challenges of cutting and trimming. Specialized burs are available for doctors and laboratories working with this material. Milling centers are a new type of customer and will be production oriented, with laboratories being their primary customer.
With any ceramic materials, there is confusion about which restorations should be bonded and which should be traditionally cemented. In any clinical situation, it is necessary to know the condition of the tooth as well as the restorative material before a proper cement can be selected for placement.
Many reps are asking about the impact of digital impressions on their impression material business. Impression materials will never go away. In fact, they will continue to serve a purpose for many doctors until this new technology is perfected. As supplies drop off in impression materials, other opportunities arise to grow your business.
When a customer mentions an interest in CAD/CAM, it is a good time to talk about planning an overall analysis of their basic equipment needs, current functionality in the office, and a digital office plan. Talk with your customer about their plans for the future in terms of technology in their practice. What does their operatory of the future look like? Putting a brand new CAD/CAM unit in an office that has non-fiber optic handpieces, chipped paint on the X-ray units, and torn upholstery may be stepping far into the future without addressing the past. Know your customer and plan with them, not just for today, but for tomorrow.
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