Subject:  Digital Dentistry/Dentist & Lab Communications  |  Audience: Dentists, Assistants, Lab Technicians   |  CE Credits: 3 hours Lecture

Course Description:

LAB DAY SPECIAL EVENT

PREDICTABLE RESULTS WITH BETTER IOS SCANS: What the Lab Needs from Your Digital Impressions — and How to Deliver It (PART I)

Intraoral scanners have transformed how dental practices capture impressions — but a scan that looks clean on-screen doesn’t always give the laboratory what it needs to fabricate a high-quality, predictable prosthetic device. From margin clarity and bite registration accuracy to tissue management and file formats, the gap between what the clinical team sends and what the lab actually receives can mean the difference between a seamless delivery and an avoidable remake.

In this focused 1-hour CE course, Christopher Hernandez — a dental laboratory technician, lab owner, and experienced digital workflow educator — pulls back the curtain on what labs truly need from IOS scans. Drawing on years of hands-on laboratory experience across removable prosthetics, sleep appliances, and digital fabrication workflows, Christopher walks dental teams through the most common scan-related issues that compromise outcomes, and provides clear, immediately actionable protocols for avoiding them.

Attendees will leave with a practical understanding of how scan quality directly impacts the laboratory workflow, and with concrete techniques to refine their digital impression process — resulting in fewer remakes, faster turnaround, and superior prosthetic outcomes for patients.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify the most common IOS scan deficiencies that lead to laboratory remakes or compromised prosthetic outcomes
• Describe the specific scan data elements — including margin detail, occlusal registration, and soft tissue capture — that laboratories rely on for accurate fabrication
• Implement pre-scan protocols for tissue management, patient positioning, and intraoral scanner technique that consistently produce high-quality digital impressions
• Communicate effectively with the laboratory about case-specific scan requirements for different prosthetic device types, including removables, sleep appliances, and implant-supported restorations
• Evaluate scan quality before submission using laboratory-informed criteria, reducing back-and-forth and improving overall case efficiency

About the Speaker:

Christopher Hernandez is a dental laboratory technician, educator, and the owner of Aztec Dental Lab, LLC, based in Missouri. With a career built on precision craftsmanship and a passion for digital innovation, Christopher has developed deep expertise across digital laboratory workflows, removable prosthetics, and sleep apnea appliance fabrication.

Christopher’s laboratory career spans more than a decade of hands-on production, quality control, and team leadership at some of the industry’s most respected facilities. At Dynaflex Laboratory, he served as Supervisor of the Sleep Apnea Department, overseeing production workflows, quality control, and the fabrication of a full range of mandibular advancement devices including DreamTap, TAP 3, Myerson EMA, Herbst, and milled sleep appliances. His earlier work at Apex Dental Sleep Laboratory and Arenas Dental Lab further refined his expertise in both sleep-focused and full-arch removable prosthetics.

A graduate of the Instituto Tecnico Dental Americano (American Dental Technician Institute), Christopher combined a rigorous technical education with real-world laboratory experience to develop a comprehensive understanding of the full prosthetic fabrication process — from analog impression handling to the nuances of modern digital workflows.

Christopher has shared his expertise as a featured speaker at multiple LMT Lab Day events, where he has lectured on digital laboratory workflows and the practical realities of integrating new technology into laboratory production. He has also been featured on the Voices from the Bench podcast, where he has spoken about the communication challenges between dental offices and laboratories and how better digital practices lead to more predictable outcomes.

As owner of Aztec Dental Lab, Christopher continues to oversee all aspects of production and quality assurance while championing stronger dentist–lab relationships built on clear communication, mutual respect, and a shared commitment to patient care. He is bilingual in English and Spanish, enabling him to connect with a broad range of dental professionals and teams.

Financial Relationship – None Reported

Course Description:

DIGITAL DENTISTRY WORKFLOW: From the Dental Office to the Lab (Part II)

This course offers a comprehensive overview of the modern digital dentistry workflow, designed to benefit dental offices and dental laboratories alike — but most importantly, the patients they serve together. Attendees will gain a clear, step-by-step understanding of every stage in the digital process, from initial chairside intraoral scanning through final restoration delivery.

Through lecture and visual demonstration, participants will see how seamless digital communication between the dental practice and the laboratory leads to faster turnaround, fewer remakes, reduced chairtime, and superior clinical outcomes. This course bridges the perspective of both sides of the dental workflow, making it uniquely valuable to a mixed audience of clinicians, dental assistants, and laboratory professionals.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the complete digital dentistry workflow from intraoral scan (IOS) capture through final restoration delivery
• Identify the key benefits of the digital workflow for dental offices, dental laboratories, and patients
• Explain how proper file transmission and quality control at each workflow stage reduces errors, remakes, and patient inconvenience
• Distinguish between milling and 3D printing fabrication methods and explain their appropriate clinical and laboratory applications

About the Speaker:

Michael Wandling began his dental laboratory career in 2001 and holds CDT certifications in Crown & Bridge, Ceramics, Implants, Complete Dentures, and Digital Workflow. A Master CDT — a distinction held by fewer than 50 technicians worldwide — he previously served as Director of Training and Education at Summit-Horizon. Michael currently serves on the National Board for Certification (NBC) Board of Trustees, is a passionate mentor and advocate for certification in the dental laboratory profession, and was named the 2025 CDT of the Year. His deep hands-on experience across both analog and digital laboratory technologies makes him uniquely qualified to guide attendees through the full digital dentistry workflow.

Financial Relationship – Employee: Summit-Horizon Dental Lab