Dental Lab Blog

I'm Ryan McKee, lab manager at McTech Dental Lab in Billings, Montana, and I’ve become an expert at taking photos that my technicians love. Over the years, photography has slowly become one of the most important things I do. It started with taking photos of our custom shades, which led to researching and procuring information, methods and equipment to more accurately capture color information and dimension. Taking photos of work my technicians were proud to show for marketing had the effect of allowing them to critique themselves on a new level. Seeing their work blown up on a 72” TV at a dental meeting booth, gives a technician plenty of time to think of ways they could improve. Taking smile design before photos gave my technicians another dimension of artistry into their designing. And doing after photos at the lab certainly had the effect of bringing my technicians and I closer to the impact the final outcome has on patients when documenting complex cases. Seeing their work in the mouth accelerated growth in a profound way. Once I started seeing how much photography could affect case outcomes, I knew high quality dental photography was exactly what our patients deserved.

My first and most highly recommended piece of photography equipment is a dedicated space for photography. A practices photography space should account for this number one variable in photography, light. Portraits and intra oral photos both benefit from having the patient seated upright against a wall. Throughout this read I will continually mention the advantages of having this foremost recommendation covered.

My first and most highly recommended piece of photography equipment is a dedicated space for photography. A practices photography space should account for this number one variable in photography, light. Portraits and intra oral photos both benefit from having the patient seated upright against a wall. Throughout this read I will continually mention the advantages of having this foremost recommendation covered.

In March of this year McTech Dental Lab distributed a letter to our doctors discussing the use of PEEK scanbodies and the flaws they can sometimes produce. This blog is a background and discussion around this letter, the cases that provoked it, and the subsequent research. To skip to a copy of this letter click here.

Photography is a powerful tool to help overcome the problematic nature of restorative dentistry. To facilitate it’s use, I made it one of my mission to master this skill when I first arrived at McTech from college. Years later and I have authored this entire walkthrough and taken almost all photos myself. If you are a restorative team member of ours, such as a doctor, assistant, or other staff member, I am at your disposal to answer any questions you may have. If you would like to partner together on documenting a case please contact me, I am very interested!

The purpose of this blog is to inform the reader of some ways that McTech incorporates a mix of cutting-edge technology and artistic tradition into our production workflow. As we evaluate the methods we use, we are first answering the question “Does this way or that way of making a crown make the crown better or worse?”. Only after we answer this question can we ask “To what degree is it clinically relevant?”. To fairly evaluate what CAD CAM has truly advanced, we will remember that strengths can be tied to weaknesses and look for “double-edged swords”. This blog is speaking from a fixed dental restorative point of view and does not mince words belaboring terminology. Our goal is to elevate the understanding of a learned audience, our doctors.

I decided to post up some artsy in-proccess shots I've been hiding. Here is a couple photos that many in dentistry will recognize. Mark is performing the final touch to a Lithium disilicate restoration, IPS e.max Press by Ivoclar. At McTech we etch every e.max crown before delivery. We use the IPS Ceramic Etching Gel and follow Ivoclar's instructions.

“As we men of medicine grow in learning we more justly appreciate our dependence upon each other. The sum total of medical knowledge is now so great and wide spreading that it would be futile for any one man…to assume that he has even a working knowledge of any large part of the whole. The very necessities of the case are driving practitioners into cooperation. The best interest of the patient is the only interest to be considered, and in order that the sick may have the benefit of advancing knowledge, union of forces is necessary”

Mark McKee CDT explores the science behind a shade match for Patient:

Melanie (Mel) Burian

Nathan, aged 32, presented to us with diastemas from #5-12. He was unhappy with his smile and wanted the “gaps closed” mainly between #8 & 9. READ MORE...