Sirona Dental Systems unveiled its newly revamped Cerec dental CAD/CAM system this week at the California Dental Association (CDA) spring meeting in Anaheim.
"This is much more than an upgrade," noted Roddy MacLeod, vice president of CAD/CAM for Sirona. "This is a major re-engineering of the Cerec software platform."
The new Cerec 4.0 features the following:
- Multiple restoration design. This feature enables users to work on as many different restorations as they want, at the same time. Restorations can also be designed in different modes.
- Work directly on the tooth. Design tools can now be executed directly on the tooth when performing functions such as adding or removing material, rotating or positioning the restoration, or expanding or reducing tooth size.
- Intuitive workflow. This feature lets operators know exactly where they are in the design process and alerts them about the next step to come.
- Streamlined restoration design. At the bottom of the Cerec 4.0 design window, each step is clearly defined, showing the operator the current step as well as which step came before and which step comes next in the process. Going back and forth between steps does not undo previous design steps.
"Cerec 4.0 is very intuitive and sequential," Armen Mirzayan, DDS, a long-time Cerec user and beta tester for 4.0, told DrBicuspid.com. "Major attention has been paid to user friendliness and workflow. I love how much more intuitive it is and how it gives you the ability to do multiple restorations at the same time."
Shipments of the new software will begin in September, according to the company. For existing Cerec AC users, 4.0 is offered as an upgrade at no cost. Cerec 3 users will need to trade up: For new customers, the cost is about $100,000.
"When it comes to cost, you have to look at the long-term rather than the initial cost," Dr. Mirzayan said. "It breaks down to about $2,400 a month, which means that doing about four restorations a month will pay for the machine. It also eliminates your lab bill and creates some tax breaks."
For existing Cerec users, Cerec 4.0 will simplify and streamline the restoration process, while new users will see that it is not that intimidating, he added.
