Communication between Dental Office and Dental Laboratory: from Paper-based to Web-based

Proper communication between dental office and dental laboratory leads to well-designed prosthesis, satisfied clinician, and comfortable professional relationship between clinician and dental technician. The communication occurs usually through a laboratory work authorization Form containing handwritten instructions from the clinician to the dental technician, that specify the materials to be used and the type of the prosthesis. This paper-based recording has several major drawbacks such as mis-communication between the laboratory and the clinic and lack of visual interactivity. This article discusses the current web-based application for dental office-laboratory communication, and explains system design and requirement for Web Content Management System (WCMS) that can be used for communication between dental clinic and dental laboratory. Recent improvement in internet connection, uploading and downloading data facilitates transferring data between dental office and dental laboratory. Market is now crowded with desktop applications that help to manage laboratory cases and improve online communication between dental clinic and dental laboratory. Dental office-laboratory management systems are available as a commercial WCMS and open-source WCMS. Commercial system is commonly used because it is designed and modified according to user’s requirements. In addition, it is a user-friendly interface and more secure when handling payments. Corresponding Address: Dr. Ibraheem Alshiddi, PO Box 60169, Riyadh 11545, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Assistant Professor and Consultant, Department of Prosthetic Dental Sciences, College of Dentistry, King Saud University, Riyadh. Telephone: +966 11 4677325 Fax: +966 11 4679015 E-mail: [email protected] Received for Publication: May 29, 2014 Revision Received: June 14, 2014 Revision Accepted: July 5, 2014 Original article Prosthodontics