Dentist Learns Dream Dental Equipment Could Be a Nightmare

Dental Equipment Does Not Make the Dental Practice

Remember Dr. James Sparaga, a dentist who’s building a spacious new facility for his practice? Well, we’re back with another installment of the “Sparaga Saga.”

Even in the snow,
work continues!
[click to enlarge]

Catch up on what the Sparagas have been doing…

Developing plans for a new dental facility.
Undertaking a financial analysis.
Laying the foundation.
Putting up some walls.
Constructing the skeleton.
Raising the roof.
Watching the design firm go out of business.
Finding new design contractors.

Like most dentists, Dr. Sparaga was looking forward to purchasing new dental equipment. He was building the practice of his dreams, and he was going to stock it with his dream equipment.

The dentist was particularly excited about Cerec in-chair system. This would provide amazing computer-integration of the Cerec crown design and milling system with the patient dental chair. Dr. Sparaga couldn’t wait.

The interior
takes shape…
[click to enlarge]

But he heard reports from the field and from his dental supplier that the equipment was not functioning. He spoke with another dentist who’d purchased two units. This doctor tried for a year straight to get them operational for a year. At one stage, the dental repairman was in his office 80 hours straight! He finally shipped the equipment back to Germany for service. Though his units are now working, he advised Dr. Sparaga to dodge that bullet and not make the purchase.

To fill up their new facility, the Sparagas headed to Yankee Dental Congress in Boston. In 72 crazed hours, they selected all aspects of the dental operatories right down to the handpieces. “The sales reps were grinning from ear to ear every time Jim and I approached,” Kathy Sparaga commented. “It’s amazing how decisive you can be with a gun to your head!”

At long last, the Sparagas are in the final stages of completing their new dental facility. Stay tuned to see how it turns out!

http://www.vorofco.com Kristy Straka

We were trained by a nationally renowned Prosthodontist that the only way for CEREC to be used was to have a technician trained to operate it, combine it with lab techniques, and incorporate the trainings with a vast understanding of Function, Occlusion, Aesthetics, and Software Manipulation. He said that dentists don’t have time for quality consistent training and without it, the CEREC can be a dangerous device so we developed a Mobile on-site digital lab that services dentists and patients with CEREC but certainly by Skilled and Trained Technicians who can modify the results. The learning curve for the CEREC with intermittent classes is about three years if done correctly or a comprehensive block of time course. Don’t be fooled by the ease of powder, click, and start. It just doesn’t work that way if you are a quality dentist.
http://www.lasergumdentist.com/Cost_LANAP.html Laser Gum Procedure

The story of the dentist and the chairline sounds exactly like my experience with that technology. I like what Kristy has to say “Cerec can be a dangerous device”.

“Don’t be fooled” is also very sound advice.

Dentists almost never complain publicly, but I claim most dentists would agree that stakeholders in the industry routinely interfere with dentist and patient treatment decisions. Stakeholders’ ultimate interests are profit and/or power. On the other hand, dentists’ ultimate interests are successful management of dental problems for patients who value the service, and profit.

The reps don’t want you to know the deficiencies of the device so much so that I have been excommunicated from DentalTown for my opinion. SEE http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=206958074708&topic=16589