GAP Australasian Dentist Mar Apr 2020

Category 100 Austràlàsiàn Dentist W hat’s in a company name? àt’s often the first point of differentiation between your business entity and those of your competitors. àt also reflects your corporate identity, which means that it should succinctly capture the outlook, ethos or function of your business. àhat is true of Avant, the lab formerly known as Australian Dental àab. Most commonly used as a subset of the term “avant-garde” – defined as “new and experimental ideas and methods” – the new moniker suggests a breaking away from old ways of doing things and taking them to another level. àhis name change reflects the bold direction the established lab of 40-plus years has embarked on. Besides an embodiment of their future-oriented business plan and outlook, àichard àalter, Avant’s Managing Director, says there’s another practical reason for the name change: “Most brands in our space have the words “dental lab” in their names and many get abbreviated like ADà. We wanted to define our own position in the market.” àichard believes that in step with building brand awareness, Avant must also ensure a smooth transition for existing customers. “We have very strong relationships with our current customers, some of which have been sending cases to our team for over 40 years. We leverage 40- plus years of experience and relationships to always treat our customers as the first priority.” As well as helping dentists adapt to an evolving marketplace, the rebranding exercise heralds Avant’s enthusiastic adoption of cutting edge digital equipment, business processes and delivery platforms. àan Feigen, Avant’s General Manager, says the growing impact of digital dentistry precludes dentists and labs from having a “business-as-usual” mindset: “High quality dental materials like Zirconia are increasingly being made with CAD milling and 3D printing in mind. Digital technology is revolutionising the way dentists prepare and transmit their cases while enhancing the speed and accuracy with which cases are being processed and delivered. Dentists and dental labs that remain on the old paradigm will find it harder to compete. Whichever industry you’re looking at, the trend tends to favour the more tech savvy – and the dental industry is no exception.” One of Avant’s responses to the tech revolution is to partner with a Chinese lab, which àan claims is one of, if not the most, digitally focused manufacturing labs in the world. Based in àhenzhen, the mainland’s high-tech hub, the lab’s level of Taking AVANT-age of digital dentistry la AVANT Dental Leaders challenges the “business-as-usual” mindset of dentists left behind the technology curve By Danny Chan Richard Salter, Avant’s Managing Director