Edinburgh practice builds a wider digital workflow for restorative and cosmetic dentistry
An Edinburgh dental practice is putting digital dentistry at the center of its restorative and cosmetic work. The Row Dental has committed significant investment to technology from SprintRay and SHINING 3D, with the goal of bringing more of the design and production process inside the practice rather than routing every stage through an external laboratory.
The shift is not just about buying equipment. It depends on training, workflow redesign and a willingness to rethink how crowns, onlays, veneers and related restorations are planned and delivered. At a time when digital scanning and in-house fabrication are becoming more common across dentistry, the practice is trying to move from isolated digital tasks to a more integrated clinical system.
Dr Slaine Ker’s visit to Seattle earlier this year marked the start of that transition. The trip prompted a broader move toward digital workflows at The Row, followed by ongoing investment in both technology and staff training throughout 2026.
In-house production is changing the pace of treatment
Digital dentistry can compress steps that once depended on multiple handoffs. Instead of taking an impression, sending it to a laboratory and waiting for fabrication and delivery, clinicians can scan, design and produce a restoration within the practice. In the right case, that can support same-day treatment and shorten the overall pathway for patients.
A single scan can also do more than capture anatomy. It can feed treatment planning, diagnostic models, wax-ups, splints, surgical guides and temporary restorations, all within the same digital ecosystem. Those applications are already in use at The Row, and they form the base on which more advanced restorative printing workflows can be built.
A shorter route does not automatically mean a simpler one. It places more responsibility inside the practice, where accuracy of capture, digital design, material selection and post-processing all become part of the clinician’s direct remit.
Training has become part of the technology purchase
This month, two members of the clinical team will travel to Florida for further intensive training in digital restorative dentistry. The programme will include workflows for digitally designed and produced restorations inside the practice, along with hands-on work around same-day restorations and newer 3D-printing applications for longer-term restorations such as veneers, crowns and onlays.
That emphasis on education matters because the technology is still evolving. The practice is not presenting 3D printing as a finished substitute for every porcelain or composite restoration. Instead, the focus is on learning where printed materials can fit safely and predictably into existing restorative protocols, and where they should remain a future option rather than an immediate replacement.
Dr Ker described the Seattle visit as the beginning of the journey and said the practice decided to invest heavily not only in the equipment itself but also in the training required to use it properly. The clinical logic behind that approach is straightforward: digital tools only improve care if the team understands how to use them consistently and critically.
Printed restorations may broaden options, but predictability still drives adoption
Porcelain veneers and composite bonding remain established treatments. They have a long record in aesthetic and restorative dentistry, and they continue to set the standard against which any newer workflow must be judged. What is changing is the range of materials and printing capabilities now available, which is opening the possibility of digitally designed restorations being printed directly within the practice rather than manufactured entirely elsewhere.
For clinicians, the attraction is obvious. Digital fabrication can offer tighter control over design, faster turnaround and more predictable integration with intraoral scanning. For patients, the practical consequences can include fewer visits, a more comfortable experience and a clearer picture of the planned outcome before treatment begins.
Precision is not the only issue. Material performance over time, esthetics, fit and the durability of printed restorations all remain central questions in everyday practice. Even with a sophisticated digital setup, every case still has to be judged on biology, occlusion, margin quality and the demands of the individual patient’s mouth.
Patient-facing benefits depend on workflow control, not equipment alone
The Row’s strategy centers on keeping more of the workflow under one roof. That can reduce reliance on traditional impressions and external laboratory stages, while giving clinicians more direct control over planning and fabrication. It also allows patients to visualize elements of treatment before it starts, which can improve understanding and consent in procedures that often involve both functional and cosmetic considerations.
The practice is positioning that model as a way to improve treatment quality rather than as a marketing exercise. Dr Ker said the investment has to translate into better care, whether through greater precision, a more comfortable process, fewer appointments or access to treatment options that were not previously available.
In practical terms, those are the questions that will determine whether digital dentistry becomes routine in the clinic or remains reserved for select cases. A scanner and printer can accelerate the process, but the value comes from how seamlessly they are incorporated into diagnosis, design, fabrication and follow-up.
Edinburgh is becoming part of a wider digital dentistry transition
The Row Dental is a private multidisciplinary practice offering general, cosmetic and specialist care in Edinburgh. Its current investment places it among the practices exploring how scanning and 3D printing can move from planning tools into everyday restorative dentistry.
The clinical direction is clear: more digital capture, more in-house production and more training to support both. What remains open is how far printed restorations will go in routine care, how rapidly the materials will mature and where the strongest evidence will settle around safety, durability and predictability in real-world use.