NDX nSequence 3D Guided Workflow: A Complete Solution for Immediate Full-Arch Cases

Tramain Watkins, CDT, started working in dental laboratories in 1987. He knows firsthand how far restorative dentistry has come over the past three-plus decades.

"When I started in the field, I used to joke with my friends that I worked in the last ‘18th-century' industry-hand-fabricating custom devices from raw materials," Watkins says. "In those days, we would regularly face situations in which we could not offer a patient a predictable, fixed restoration. We also often had to choose between strength and esthetics when selecting restorative materials."

That is not the case today, says Watkins, who is now the Clinical Director for Guided Surgery at National Dentex (NDX). NDX is a national network of dental laboratories that provide everything from simple restorations to guided immediate full-arch prosthetics. The longtime lab professional notes that the scope of implant restorations and guided surgery options has grown exponentially since those early days.

"With the advent of predictable implantology, material advances in zirconia and polymers, and the widespread use of advanced software for both restorative fabrication and precise implant placement, we're living in the ‘golden age' of restorative treatment," he suggests. "Every patient has a wide variety of excellent restorative options available to them."

One of those options, Watkins says, is the NDX nSequence process, a predictable, comprehensive 3D guided surgical and restorative workflow for immediate loading of full arches. The process, which has been honed, refined, and enhanced over the past 18 years, has been used to treat more than 20,000 full-arch cases, he asserts.

"At NDX nSequence, we work to ensure that our industry-leading full-arch guided surgery and prosthetic workflow gives surgeons and their patients the best possible results," Watkins maintains. He says a collaborative effort takes place among the skilled team of NDX nSequence educators, technical sales representatives, and expert chairside support technicians assisting surgeons and restorative dentists in deploying this advanced technology in their practices.

With the NDX nSequence workflow, on the day of surgery, the surgeon is able to precisely create the optimal amount of restorative space needed through guided alveoplasty, place implants in optimal and stable positions, and safely provide the patient with an esthetic and functional immediate prosthesis in a short period of time, Watkins explains. Moreover, the NDX nSequence process allows delivery of the definitive restoration with only two appointments after implant integration.

"Clinicians can evaluate the specifics of a surgical and restorative situation preoperatively. This allows case optimization and surgical/restorative collaboration before treatment begins," he says. "Anything from the designed smile to the entire surgical plan can be shared with the patient because the entire treatment is digitally planned."

Besides working with the team at National Dentex, Watkins says he also enjoys seeing "the wonder and joy when a person looks in the mirror and first sees their new teeth." Eighteenth-century restorations they are not.

"This is a life-changing treatment!" he exclaims, speaking of the full-arch, implant-supported restorations patients receive through NDX nSequence. "I've seen smiles and tears of joy as people see a full set of beautiful, functional teeth, often for the first time in decades. With a predictable surgical protocol and two-appointment definitive restorations, NDX nSequence breaks down the barrier of complexity that sometimes prevents clinicians from offering such a transformative treatment to their patients."

NDX nSequence
888-809-2777
nsequence.com