At SOL Dental Arts, technology is not about adding equipment for the sake of appearing modern.
It is about having greater control over the details that influence how a restoration fits, functions, looks, and feels. Our extensive in-house digital restorative workflow allows us to manage many stages of treatment within our own practice rather than relying entirely on outside laboratories.
For patients in Maspeth, NY, this approach can mean more precise digital records, better communication throughout treatment, and restorations that are designed and evaluated with close attention to bite, contours, aesthetics, and long-term function. In appropriate cases, it may also shorten the time between preparation and final restoration.
Digital Scanning & More Comfortable Impressions
Traditional impression materials have been used successfully for decades, but digital scanning gives us another way to capture highly detailed information about the teeth and surrounding structures without relying on conventional impression trays for many procedures.
SOL Dental Arts uses both 3Shape and Medit intraoral scanning systems. These scanners create detailed digital representations of the mouth that can be reviewed immediately and incorporated directly into our restorative design process.
Digital scanning allows us to:
- Capture detailed information about tooth shape, position, and surrounding anatomy.
- Evaluate a scan immediately rather than waiting for an impression to be poured into a physical model.
- Rescan specific areas when additional detail is needed without repeating an entire traditional impression.
- Share accurate digital information between the clinical and laboratory portions of treatment.
- Maintain digital records that can be referenced during future restorative planning.
Because the information moves directly into our digital workflow, there are fewer transitions between separate physical steps where information can potentially be lost or distorted.
CAD/CAM Design & Restorative Planning
Once a digital scan has been captured, CAD/CAM technology allows restorations and other dental components to be designed virtually. This gives our team the ability to evaluate more than whether a restoration simply fills a space.
The digital design process allows us to carefully consider the contact between neighboring teeth, the shape of the restoration, the way the upper and lower teeth come together, and how the final result integrates with the surrounding smile.
Rather than sending every case away and waiting for an outside laboratory to interpret our instructions, our in-house capabilities allow us to remain closely involved in the design process. Adjustments can be made digitally before manufacturing begins, giving us another opportunity to refine the restoration before it ever reaches the mouth.
Roland Milling & In-House Restoration Manufacturing
SOL Dental Arts maintains Roland milling capabilities as part of our fixed-restorative workflow. Milling uses digitally designed information to shape restorative materials with a high degree of precision.
Having milling equipment within the practice gives us direct oversight over an important stage of restoration fabrication. Instead of designing a case and handing the manufacturing process entirely to another facility, we can evaluate how the restoration progresses from digital design to a physical result.
Our workflow also includes wet-milling capabilities, expanding the range of materials and restorative situations that can be managed in-house.
This additional control is especially valuable because small details matter. The fit along the prepared tooth, the contours near the gumline, the relationship between adjacent teeth, and the bite all influence the success of a final restoration.
3D Printing & Digital Manufacturing
Our in-house digital laboratory includes multiple 3D printers, including Formlabs systems. 3D printing allows digital designs to be transformed into highly accurate physical components that support different stages of dental treatment.
Depending on the clinical situation, 3D printing may be incorporated into planning, models, prototypes, restorative workflows, or other customized dental applications.
Keeping these capabilities within SOL Dental Arts allows our clinical and laboratory processes to remain closely connected. When something needs to be evaluated, modified, or reproduced, our team can work directly with the digital information rather than coordinating every adjustment through an outside facility.
In-House Laboratory Workflow & Quality Control
One of the most important advantages of our technology is not speed. It is supervision.
SOL Dental Arts has developed a substantial in-house fixed-restorative laboratory workflow so that many of the steps involved in creating a restoration remain under our direct oversight. This gives us greater control over details that can be difficult to communicate through a laboratory prescription alone.
We can evaluate:
- How precisely the restoration fits the prepared tooth.
- Whether the contours support comfortable cleaning and healthy surrounding tissues.
- How the restoration contacts neighboring teeth.
- How the bite interacts during normal function.
- Whether the shape and proportions complement the surrounding teeth.
- Whether additional finishing or characterization would improve the final appearance.
For patients seeking restorative care in Maspeth, NY, this means the dentist and team responsible for the clinical outcome remain closely involved in how the restoration is designed, manufactured, finished, and evaluated.
Same-Day Restorations & Thoughtful Timing
Our digital workflow makes it possible to complete certain restorations on the same day when the clinical situation and material requirements make that appropriate. Digital scanning, CAD/CAM design, and in-house manufacturing can eliminate several steps that traditionally require a temporary restoration and an outside laboratory turnaround.
However, same-day treatment is not automatically the goal.
There are cases where we may intentionally complete the final restoration the following day. Additional time can allow for careful finishing, characterization, polishing, or quality-control checks that improve the final result.
We do not believe a restoration should be rushed simply because technology makes faster treatment possible. The timeline should reflect what gives the individual case the best opportunity for a predictable result.
Technology & Better Dentistry
The value of advanced dental technology ultimately comes down to how it is used. At SOL Dental Arts, our scanners, CAD/CAM systems, milling equipment, 3D printers, and laboratory capabilities are integrated into a larger philosophy of careful diagnosis and deliberate treatment.
Technology gives us more information and more control, but clinical judgment still determines how that information is used.
Our goal is not simply to manufacture restorations more quickly. It is to use a closely managed digital workflow to improve precision, communication, customization, and quality from the initial scan through the final placement. When technology allows us to provide a better result efficiently, we take advantage of that opportunity. When additional time would benefit the final restoration, we take that time.