Dental News - Amann Girrbach presents digital workflows

Amann Girrbach

Fri. 28. April 2023

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COLOGNE, Germany: True to its motto of “Connect to the (Work-)Flow”, Amann Girrbach presented the complete fabrication chain for dental prostheses at this year’s IDS. The focus centred on digital workflows for dentists and laboratories that are connected and organised via the AG.Live cloud platform. The company also showcased product innovations such as the revolutionary Zolid Bion zirconia and a TPO-free 3D-printing material. The company’s participation at the trade show included 34 presentations and training sessions by 21 international speakers.

Amann Girrbach covers the entire dental prosthesis production chain. Dr Wolfgang Reim, CEO of the company, explained: “Regardless of the indication or requirement, we offer the appropriate workflow solution which is both simple and intuitive for the user in the laboratory and the dental practice. Validated workflows ensure high process safety, reproducible results and more economical working. All the system modules, machines, software components and materials are optimally matched to each other. At the same time, the systems are sufficiently open to allow users to remain flexible in the design of their individual processes and to integrate existing machines.”

The presentations and training sessions at the company’s booth provided information about the benefits of Amann Girrbach’s workflow solutions. All the presentations are now available free online at academy.amanngirrbach.com.

Ceramill DRS system and AG.Live cloud platform for single-visit dentistry

Through its modular Ceramill Direct Restoration Solution (DRS) system, Amann Girrbach provides flexible options for straightforward digital prosthesis fabrication workflows. Three combinable kits are available. The system offers a wide range of options, particularly for same-day or single-visit dentistry. With Ceramill DRS, the laboratory can fabricate high-quality restorations within a single day. Simple restorations of excellent quality can even be fabricated chairside in a single session in the dental practice, and customers can also opt for a design service provided by the laboratory. The AG.Live cloud platform plays an integral role here.

“It was important to us to create a validated open ecosystem” – Christian Ermer, vice president of marketing and digital, Amann Girrbach

“By linking the Ceramill DRS System to AG.Live, it is possible for dental technicians and dentists to share information in an uncomplicated manner and to flexibly arrange the distribution of work,” explained Elena Bleil, product manager at Amann Girrbach. With AG.Live, patient cases can be managed centrally in compliance with EU and US data protection laws. Users can directly exchange information such as case files on the platform.

Linking AG.Live with Amann Girrbach’s Ceramill machines brings numerous benefits to the dental laboratory and practice, including process simplification, material management, software updates and support. What’s more, AG.Live can be accessed from any internet-enabled device. “It was important to us to create a validated open ecosystem in which intra-oral scanners from other manufacturers can also be integrated with ease. AG.Live also offers all the advantages of an open workflow for creating the design of the restoration or for commissioning complete fabrication with maximum security and ease of use,” explained Christian Ermer, vice president of marketing and digital at the company.

Zolid Bion is the new high-performance zirconia which takes the aesthetics and naturalness of restorations to a new level without sacrificing strength. (Image: Amann Girrbach)

The new Zolid Bion zirconia is revolutionising the market

At IDS, Amann Girrbach presented a new material based on its over 15 years of experience in zirconia development and three years of joint work with Tosoh, a specialty materials company. The new revolutionary, high-performance zirconia they developed is now available under the name of Zolid Bion, which advances the aesthetics of restorations without sacrificing strength. The material features a smooth colour gradient, increased translucency in the incisal area and a consistent strength of 1,100 MPa, giving restorations an even more natural appearance and ensuring a safe fabrication workflow. In addition, crowns made of Zolid Bion can be sintered in just 45 minutes. Zolid Bion is available in 16 Vita shades, two bleach variants and various blank heights.

Melanie Röschmann, director of Amann Girrbach’s global consumables business unit, enthused: “Zirconia is a CAD/CAM material par excellence. For almost two years now, so-called 3D zirconia materials have been increasingly appearing on the market, and they offer some advantages with regard to aesthetics in the area of the incisal edge. Until now, however, compromises had to be made in the interests of strength. Zolid Bion has succeeded in combining aesthetics, strength and rapid sintering capability in an optimum manner. It is a real game-changer!”

Master dental technician Luis Saraiva was also enthusiastic about the new zirconia. He said, “As the newest member of the Zolid family, Zolid Bion allows us to offer an even wider spectrum of aesthetic solutions made of zirconia. Zolid Bion is a milestone in the field of aesthetics.”

One of the latest developments from Amann Girrbach: the Artex Digiloc adapter creates a link between the digital and analogue model workflow. Shown here with a 3D-printed model made of the TPO-free material Ceramill XTP. (Image: Amann Girrbach)

Innovative 3D-printing materials and fully digital model fabrication

Amann Girrbach also presented new innovations in 3D-printing materials at IDS as a preview of upcoming product launches. With its own development and production of innovative 3D-printing materials, the company is continuing to expand its professional expertise and offer users future-oriented materials. The Ceramill XTP materials portfolio will initially start with a material for precise model fabrication (Ceramill XTP Model) and a special material for the fabrication of thermally stable models for aligner and retainer production (Ceramill XTP Ortho Model).

Ceramill XTP stands for “excluding TPO”, which is the most commonly used photoinitiator for light-polymerising dental polymers. The European Chemicals Agency is currently considering classifying TPO as a carcinogenic, mutagenic and reprotoxic chemical, thereby increasing its hazardous substance classification. An alternative photoinitiator was therefore sought for the development of Ceramill XTP to ensure a high level of user safety.

Speaking about the new material and its technical features, Falko Noack, vice president of research and development at Amann Girrbach, said: “Improved material properties and sedimentation stability contribute to easier and faster processing. The model materials will be available in three shades that are well known and established in manual model making. The Ortho Model material is available in a conventional blue and is characterised by very high temperature stability, as is required for the thermoforming process.”

In addition, Amann Girrbach has connected digital and analogue model workflows with its new Artex Digiloc adapter for Artex articulators. Articulators can be easily integrated into the fully digital fabrication process with the Artex Digiloc adapter. This eliminates the need for elaborate plaster-based workarounds to articulate digitally produced 3D-printed models in the Artex system. The adapter acts as a model fixator for 3D-printed precision models made of the new Ceramill XTP 3D-printing material. “Inserting the 3D-printed models into the articulator is very easy. The printed positioning pins eliminate the need for additional fixation aids and ensure accurate x- and y-axis positioning. Z-axis positioning is also precise owing to the defined supporting bars on the fixator plates. Flat trimming of the printing supports is no longer necessary, owing to intelligent model base design. The benefits of a digital workflow can be fully exploited as a result,” Noack emphasised.