Dr Neil Harris shares his experience of going digital
Back in 2017 I purchased a Trios 3 from one of the major suppliers in the UK. I was buying a scanner, laptop and 3D printer and they were doing a great deal. They were also going to do a 2 day training course in house to get the clinicians ready to use the new equipment.
The initial delivery date “slipped” and when the scanner did eventually arrive I was told that the trainer wasn’t available and that the sales person would be doing the training, and he would be covering all we needed to know in 1 day not the 2 days.
The scanner, laptop and 3d printer arrived and was installed by the sales person, who then spent about 4 hours doing the training and left us to it.
We started scanning with the Trios 3 and printing models almost immediately, building the digital workflow into the current practice workflows. However, things didn’t go as planned. The models seemed to be inaccurate and weren’t anywhere near fitting the wax bites we had taken in the mouth. Retainers were so far out that we reverted to taking alginate impressions because they were more predictable.
Trying to get the company to come back and work out where the faults were occurring was almost impossible. The support line was always busy and when I did get through I was basically told each time to run some updates and it would be fine.
After 6 months of being on hold, updating software and recalibrating the printer and scanner eventually someone came to the practice to look at the scanner and printer. After a full day of doing exactly what I had done the support technician explained that he thought there was a problem with the scanner and that he needed to take it away to be investigated. This was the last straw and I asked for a full refund from the company, which eventually arrived.
After having a scanner for 6 months and not being able to make it work I really didn’t want to repeat the process, even though I knew that a new digital workflow was what I wanted for the practice.
I asked online and many of my friends, who are well respected figures in the dental community, told me to speak to Mark Barry at ESM Digital Solutions. The story was the same every time – great training, great knowledge and amazing support.
I had a big reluctance to jump into digital again but, after discussing my issues with Mark, I really believed that they could help deliver what I wanted.
Move forward 18 months and we’ve got a great set up. All the staff know how to use the scanner and software after 2 full days of training and installation, and we are now a fully digital practice.
We still get problems; it’s inevitable when dealing with digital workflows. However, the support has been fantastic. ESM have a support team with incredible knowledge and any problem we have has been sorted within 24 hours.
I feel so lucky to have been introduced to Mark and the team at ESM Digital. They have allowed me to develop our set up to the point where we can do anything with our scanning equipment, from full mouth rehabilitations to making our own orthodontic clear aligners. ESM have guided us through the processes when we have had problems and I think of them as part of our team – I truly believe that I would be struggling if I was working with any other dental company in the UK.
Dr Neil Harris, BDS, DPDS, HRS Dental
Gloucestershire, UK