The equipment Dr. Sheldon uses for her implant, crown and restoration work includes a CEREC Acquisition Center (AC), powered by Bluecam LED technology, and an inLab^® MC XL milling unit, an inEos^® Blue scanner, and an inFire^® HTC speed high-temperature sintering furnace. While CEREC capabilities include inlays, onlays, partial crowns, posterior crowns, anterior crowns and veneers, Dr. Sheldon really wanted to utilize the CAD/CAM technology especially for performing IPS e.max^® dental crowns and restorations in one day.

Dr. Sheldon admits she was "scared to death" when her first CEREC patient came in. "I thought I would never be able to do all the work in the promised time. That's important to me because my motto is 'Never promise something unless you can fulfill it.'" In preparation for those first patients, Dr. Sheldon attended basic training at the Patterson Dental branch in St. Louis. "They did a wonderful job with helping me manage the transition and market the equipment," she said. "I liked the hands-on experience and talking to other dentists who use this system, and the training at Patterson in a non-intimidating environment was awesome."

Dr. Sheldon's practice features a dental laboratory, which her son operates. "My son has never been so happy," said Dr. Sheldon. "He greets patients and explains the technology to them while they wait for their work to be completed. This has been a most unbelievably positive experience for our dental team and patients."

"The staff have the right attitude," said Tomlin. "They have totally embraced the technology and have pushed themselves to get the most out of it early on."

Dr. Sheldon is currently enrolled in the Patterson Advantage^® program as a Platinum member, which has served her well. "I had a problem with the mill early on," she said, and was very impressed with "how fast Patterson came out and took care of us."

As follow-up support, Dr. Sheldon and her son meet once a week with Tomlin to "iron out any questions or experiences we've had, positive or negative," she said. Tomlin makes sure she is connected with a variety of resources, including CERECdoctors.com and the local CEREC group. "He's been very instrumental in helping us find the information to the questions that we need answered."

"She just lights up when she talks about the system and raves about it," said Tomlin. "I couldn't be more happy for her and the success of her practice."