PROCEDURE

Digital Case Design Collaboration

Most labs send a crown back. Dani Dental sends a conversation first. Our digital case design workflow puts a named technician on a shared screen with your scans before fabrication starts, catching case-planning gaps that account for roughly 60% of avoidable remakes.

  • Margins verified against your prescription
  • Pre-paid two-way shipping
  • Talk to the technician who built it
  • Full digital workflow

Every digital collaboration case at Dani Dental opens with a structured Pre-Fabrication Design Review, run inside exocad DentalCAD paired with a shared screen session or asynchronous annotated screenshot exchange, your preference. The assigned technician pulls the intraoral scan or CBCT-derived STL, loads it against the opposing arch, and flags occlusal contacts, margin depth, and emergence profile before a single block is milled. That review is documented in a case file and sent to the referring clinician for sign-off. Nothing moves to the milling stage until both the technician and the doctor have agreed on the design parameters in writing. For anterior esthetic cases, the design review extends into a Digital Smile Design pass using the DSD workflow, mapping tooth proportions against the patient's facial midline from photographs the doctor uploads through the Dani Dental case submission portal. This step is not optional on anterior cases of four units or more. The reason is simple: shade and proportion decisions that miss at the design stage cannot be corrected at the seating appointment without a full remake. Catching them on screen costs 20 minutes. Fixing them at the chair costs everyone far more. Full-arch implant cases follow the Full-Arch Collaboration Protocol, a three-checkpoint sequence developed internally between 2021 and 2022 after auditing remake patterns on All-on-X and zirconia bridge cases. Checkpoint one is the implant position and angulation review against the surgical guide data. Checkpoint two is the provisional-to-final transition review, where the technician compares the approved provisional shape against the proposed final framework before milling. Checkpoint three is the pre-delivery fit verification, where the final restoration is seated on a printed model matching the doctor's implant analog positions and photographed with measurement overlays before shipping. Communication runs through a direct technician line, not a general lab inbox. Every case file includes the assigned technician's name and a direct phone number or messaging thread. Response time on open design questions is stated at four business hours or less during normal operating days. If a case is time-sensitive, that context goes into the intake form and the technician schedules a live call rather than an asynchronous exchange. The case file closes only after the doctor confirms delivery and documents any seating notes. Those notes feed back into Dani Dental's internal QC log, which is reviewed quarterly to identify any pattern shifts in margin calls, shade outcomes, or occlusal contact complaints. That loop is how the under-2.5% remake rate stays under 2.5% rather than drifting upward as case volume grows.

HOW IT IS BUILT

From prescription to seated case.

01

Prescription in

Send a scan file or a model with your RX. A technician reads your intent before any design begins.

02

Design & verify

We design to your margin and occlusion, then verify the fit against your prescription before it ships.

03

Build at the bench

Milled, pressed, or hand-layered as the case calls for, finished by a named technician.

04

Back to your chair

Pre-paid shipping returns the case ready to seat, with the technician reachable if anything needs an adjustment.

This is our standard pipeline. The exact steps for Digital Case Design Collaboration are being detailed and will appear here.

MATERIALS

What goes in the mouth.

The material options for Digital Case Design Collaboration, from zirconia and lithium disilicate to hand-layered porcelain, are being written up. Ask for a Doctor Kit and a technician will talk through the right choice for your case.

CASE WORK

Judge the work on its result.

Before-and-after case work for Digital Case Design Collaboration is being photographed at the lab. The best proof is a case of your own. Send one and see the finish on your chair.

COMMON QUESTIONS

What dentists ask about Digital Case Design Collaboration

What file formats do you accept for digital case submission?
Dani Dental accepts STL, PLY, and OBJ files from any major intraoral scanner, including iTero, 3Shape TRIOS, Medit i700, and Carestream. CBCT data is accepted in DICOM format for implant and surgical guide cases. If your scanner exports a proprietary format, contact the assigned technician directly and we will confirm compatibility before you submit the case.
How does the pre-fabrication design review actually work in practice?
After your scans arrive, the assigned technician loads them into exocad DentalCAD and runs the initial design. You then receive either a live screen-share invite or a set of annotated screenshots with specific questions or flags, usually within two business days of scan acceptance. You review, mark up, and approve or request changes. Fabrication begins only after written approval. The whole exchange typically takes one to three rounds before sign-off.
Is the digital design review available for single-unit cases, or only complex cases?
The review is available for any case, including single-unit crowns and onlays. For straightforward posterior single units with clean margin scans, the review is brief, often a single-pass confirmation. We make it available across all case types because catching a margin call or emergence issue on a single crown is still faster and cheaper than a remake, even when the original case was simple.
What happens if I disagree with the technician's design recommendation?
Your clinical judgment governs. The technician's design recommendations are inputs to your decision, not mandates. If you want a different occlusal scheme, a narrower emergence profile, or a different shade gradient than the technician proposed, document it in the case file and we fabricate to your specification. The documented exchange protects both sides and gives the technician context if the case comes back for any reason.
How long does the design review add to the total turnaround time?
On average, the pre-fabrication design review adds one to two business days to the front end of a case. That time is recovered at the back end: cases that complete a design review before milling seat in fewer appointments, reducing chair-time loss from adjustments or remakes. The 10-business-day median delivery window cited in Dani Dental's 2024 data includes the review phase, not as a separate buffer.
Can I reach the technician assigned to my case directly, or does everything go through a general inbox?
Every Dani Dental case ships with the assigned technician's direct contact information, either a direct phone number or a dedicated messaging thread, not a shared lab inbox. Response time on open design questions during normal operating days is four business hours or less. For urgent cases flagged at intake, the technician will schedule a call rather than rely on asynchronous messaging.
Do you support Digital Smile Design for anterior esthetic cases?
Yes. Anterior cases of four or more units include a DSD pass as part of the standard design review. You upload facial and retracted photographs through the case submission portal, and the technician maps tooth proportions against the patient's facial midline before designing the restorations. Cases under four units can request the DSD step at intake; it adds roughly one business day to the review phase.
What does the Full-Arch Collaboration Protocol include for All-on-X and zirconia bridge cases?
The protocol runs three checkpoints: an implant position and angulation review against surgical guide data, a provisional-to-final transition review comparing the approved provisional shape to the proposed final framework before milling, and a pre-delivery fit verification where the final restoration seats on a printed model matching your implant analog positions and is photographed with measurement overlays before shipping. The protocol was formalized in 2022 after an internal audit of remake patterns on full-arch cases.

REQUEST A DOCTOR KIT

Send us a Digital Case Design Collaboration case.

Request a Doctor Kit and we will mail RX pads and pre-paid shipping. Run your first cases through the lab and judge the result on your own chair.