Digitaler Wandel im Dentallabor: Auswirkung neuer Kommunikationstechnologien auf die Prozesse in der Zahntechnik

Abstract

Dental technology is undergoing profound change in the course of digitalization. Digital communication technologies and automated production methods are not only changing internal laboratory processes, but also increasingly the type of communication between dental practices and dental laboratories. In the course of an internal laboratory digitization initiative, which had a strong influence on the process for the production of removeable partial dentures, many findings and new data emerged, which provided the basic motivation for the topic of this thesis. First of all, various theoretical aspects are addressed and discussed in more detail in order to create a basic understanding for the further course of this work. These theoretical foundations were compiled and presented in a comprehensive literature review before the focus shifts to the practical aspects. At the center of this practice is the comparison of two variants of a classic work process in dental technology, which differ fundamentally in their strategy. Although the finished product does not change, the second variant of the process is clearly influenced by digitalization, as digital communication methods and automated production come into play here. Both variants are visualized, quantified data is compared and analyzed. These analyses are then supported by various calculations that make the economic circumstances and challenges, as well as the impact on the company's success, tangible. Real data from an example company provides the basis for this. The results of this work show a significant increase in efficiency and quality through the use of various technologies. Throughput times can be reduced by up to 32%, while the error rate drops from 5% to 2%. The impact of a worst-case scenario on throughput times can also be reduced by 36 days. From an economic perspective, although the initial costs for the introduction of digital communication methods and automated production increase many times over, these investments are amortized by an increased throughput rate by the end of the second year and offer enormous economic potential over the period of use of the technologies mentioned, which can greatly support the future competitiveness of the company. The list of various technological and human barriers to implementation can also provide a good overview of the situation presented and act as a kind of guide for up-andcoming companies in the dental industry in the future.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	German (Austria)
Supervisor	Nicole Scheidleder (Supervisor)