The perfect match: Digital dentures | Blog

Tooth loss is a widespread problem. The number of people needing dentures is significant, and the demand for sophisticated, new, customized digital denture technology is greater than ever.

The following interview looks at the benefits of digital dentures based on the experience of Jan Jurgen Dommerholt, a denturist from the Netherlands.

(Image above: Jan Jurgen Dommerholt has been working entirely digitally since more than 2 years)

Focusing on quality, individual needs and prompt service

Jan Jurgen Dommerholt has been a denturist since 2018. Initially, he provided in-home prosthetic care. Since September 2020, he has no longer been focusing on outpatient care, but on oral prosthetic care in the practice. His company MondPro is specialized on digital dentures, using the latest 3D techniques to ensure that the dentures will fit the patients’ needs perfectly.

Especially during the pandemic, it was the aim of the whole MondPro team to deliver dentures very fast with less patient contact, as Dommerholt stated. This was and is also a big selling point for their patients and they were able to deliver this due to their working with the Ivotion Denture Workflow, as Dommerholt pointed out.

(Image above: The design within the Ivotion Denture System is an intuitive process.)

"We use Ivotion because it is predictable and reliable – but also because the quality is convincing, as the denture is made from one piece, which makes it even more beautiful. I love the concept and how it works. Not to be forgotten the esthetics, simply perfect." Jan Jurgen Dommerholt, denturist

Digital dentures and the benefits for patients and practitioners – a win-win situation?

According to Dommerholt, digital dentures are a flexible and durable option of tooth replacement. They offer a high level of comfort and flexibility.

From scanning the impression to creating the denture, everything is done in a digital process with this type of denture. These innovative dentures are processed through CAD/CAM technology, which makes them flexible, accurate and comfortable – so, yes: speaking of a win-win situation is right. We talked to Jan Jurgen Dommerholt and he gave a very personal insight into his worklife experience below.

When and why did you decide to take the first step into digitalization?

Two years ago, I started to work fully digital. I was graduated as a denturist and was looking for opportunities to open up my own practice by providing substantial benefits to my patients. Therefore, I decided to start working with and investing in digital dentures. Because of that, I started researching and obtaining information on suppliers, prices and best practices. In the end, we were the 7th practice in the Netherlands using digital dentures.

"I love being a denturist and helping people having a beautiful smile. As soon as I started working fully digitally, I completely understood that you always must move forward – if you don’t you will probably no longer exist in 10 years' time."

Do you only work digitally, or do you also manufacture conventional dentures?

Since I work with the digital denture workflow, I never went back to working conventionally again, not even for existing customers. In January 2022 we celebrated our two years’ anniversary of working entirely digitally and we are very proud of this achievement. It changed our daily business routines and, in our opinion, it made us even more professional and reliable.

What was your day-to-day learning process and your experiences when using the Ivotion digital denture workflow?

I haven't experienced much change because I'm a "digital native", so to speak, in the digital denture field. For my colleague, some things did change. However, change has many positive effects: for example, he doesn’t need to bond the teeth to the denture base anymore since he started working with Ivotion. We save a lot of working time, especially due to the latest update. After milling, within only 15 minutes of manual working you get your full denture – it’s insane. Also, the milling time with around 1.5 hours – is such a big advantage. Our experiences were really great and convinced us in our decision to go for the digital denture workflow. We are extremely happy with it, also because it’s just one milling process. We are using the Ivotion discs in the Preference base colour, and they are very beautiful.

(Image above: MondPro is milling monolithic digital dentures out of Ivotion discs with a PrograMill PM7)

What do you think are the main advantages of using Ivotion in your technical process?

The main advantages are time and, of course, money. Conventional dentures take up to a month to be completed, which may be too long for some patients. For digital dentures, however, it is only a matter of days. We can produce way more dentures due to the enormous time savings. The system is easy to use, and anything is possible with it. We can do more dentures digitally than we could by hand and therefore, this will result in more denture sales.

From your point of view, what are the main advantages of the Ivotion workflow from a clinical perspective?

It’s fantastic in every way. This innovative denture is made from the high quality materials. It is made from one PMMA unit with no bonding. Traditional dentures are normally completed after several dental appointments involving impression-taking, extraction, fitting, and adjustments. However, a digital denture typically takes only two to three dental visits to be completed. The first visit includes scanning the impression while the next visits are already about picking up the digital dentures.

The CAD/CAM technology helps the dental technician to produce a denture that perfectly fits the patient’s mouth and ensures appropriate bite relation. Digital dentures do normally not cause pain or discomfort in the mouth. They also don’t tend to fall out or become loose.

Talking about quality and esthetics: There are different quality factors when talking about digital dentures – durability, fit, manufacturing process, etc. How do Ivotion dentures meet your expectations and those of your patients?

For me, quality and time efficiency are the most important factors. And that’s also the case for our patients. Most patients find their digital dentures more beautiful than their last dentures. Also, the fit is way better. I have never heard anyone complaining about not being able to proper cleaning their dentures – as they are way easier to keep clean. The patients love them due to their esthetics and the fit of the upper denture in particular. Luckily, everyone is happy, especially with regard to quality and esthetics.

(Image above: Patients love digital dentures due to their esthetics and the fit)

Efficiency and effectiveness: How do you evaluate the investment and the return on invest for the Ivotion workflow? What are your future plans?

I have been leasing the system. I can deal with it, as the whole workflow is way faster than before – and I’m therefore saving time on the patients. However, if this wasn’t the case, it would be kind of hard.

You are working with Ivotion across multiple sites, how do you evaluate the productivity and how future proof is your dental company? Please describe your workflow process.

We are steadily growing, as I bought another practice. We will still only work digitally using Ivotion. This means growth for us.

"Digital Denture is our selling point, it’s fast, of high quality, beautiful and efficient – everything is a big plus point."

What has changed since you have been working digitally?

The biggest point is that you don’t need five to six appointments with the patients anymore. And there is an increase in quality. We have made over 600 dentures with Ivotion and only 3 of them broke after some wearing time, but that was our fault. From our point of view, the quality is just way better than when it’s handcrafted. When every practice starts using digital dentures, it’s a big advantage, as you don’t want patients to ever return to you with a broken denture. You want new costumers.

Would you recommend the system to your colleagues? If yes, why?

Yes, I for sure would recommend to go for the Ivotion Denture System. It is revolutionary. But only to colleagues working 200 miles away from me – just kidding. Honestly, it’s better for everyone, for the denturist, dental labs and of course for the patients! Working with your bare hands is over, just go digital.