How Articulab works

The big idea

Every case in the lab gets a sticker. The sticker has a small square pattern on it called a QR code. Think of it like the barcode on a box of cereal at the grocery store.

Each time a case moves (it arrives, someone works on it, it goes in the truck, a dental office receives it), someone points a phone at the sticker. That's called scanning. The phone tells the computer where the case is now and who had it.

That's it. No more paper slips, no more guessing where a case is, and no more phone calls asking "is it ready yet?"

Words you'll see

Case

One order from a dental office for one patient. For example, an upper denture for one patient is one case.

Ticket

The printed sheet that travels with the case through the lab. It has the QR code at the top.

Label

A smaller sticker for the outside of the box.

Scan

Pointing the phone camera at the QR code until it beeps.

Station

The spot in the lab where work happens, like "Setup & wax" or "Quality check."

Try-in

When a denture or partial goes to the dentist so the patient can try it on before it's finished. It comes back to the lab afterward.

Route

The driver's list of dental offices to visit today.

Stop

One dental office on the route.

Patient reference

The number the dental office uses for the patient. We never write patients' full names in the app, only this number and their initials.

Where a case can be

Every case shows one of these colored tags so you know where it is:

Ordered

The dental office asked for it online. The lab doesn't have it yet.

Picked up

The driver has it in the truck, on the way to the lab.

Received

It arrived at the lab.

In production

Someone is working on it.

Quality check

It's being checked before it leaves.

Ready

It's done and waiting on the shelf for the driver.

Out for delivery

It's in the truck, on the way to the dental office.

At clinic for try-in

The patient is trying it on. It will come back to the lab for finishing.

Delivered

The dental office has it and someone signed for it. All done.

On hold

Work is stopped until a question is answered. The reason is written on the case.

If you work in the office

You'll use a regular computer. After you sign in you land on the Dashboard, a summary of today.

When a new case comes in

1. Click New case (the green button, top right).
2. Pick the dental office and the doctor.
3. Type the patient's reference number and initials. Never type the patient's full name.
4. Under "What to make," pick the product (for example "Full upper denture"). Click Add another item if there's more than one.
5. Check the due date. Tick "Send a try-in" if the patient needs to try it on first.
6. Click Create case.
7. Click Print ticket. Put the printed ticket in the case pan so it travels with the case.

Every day

• Check the Overdue box on the Dashboard. Red numbers need attention.
• If the driver brought in a box with no order, it shows up as needs details. Open it and fill in what's missing.
• If you need to stop work on a case (for example, waiting on the dentist to answer a question), open it and use Put on hold. Write why.

Bills

You don't make invoices by hand. When the driver delivers a finished case and someone signs for it, the bill is made automatically. Try-ins and remakes aren't billed. Offices that pay once a month get one bill: go to Billing and click Create statements now at the end of the month.

If you're a lab tech

You'll use a phone. The app shows one screen: the scanner.

The first time

1. Sign in.
2. Tap the name of your station (where you work). The phone remembers it, so you only do this once.
3. Tap Start scanning. If the phone asks to use the camera, tap Allow.

Every time a case reaches you

1. Hold the phone about a hand's length from the QR code on the ticket, so the code sits inside the white box on the screen.
2. Wait for the beep and the green flash. That means it worked.
3. Keep going with the next case. You don't need to tap anything between scans.

A red flash means something's wrong. Read the message on the screen; it tells you what happened in plain words.

Scanned the wrong case? Tap Undo next to it in the list of recent scans.

Working at a different station today? Tap Change station at the top.

If you drive

You'll use a phone. The app shows your route for today.

Before you leave

1. Sign in and tap Start today's route.
2. Tap Start scanning and scan every finished case as you put it in the truck. Each dental office gets added to your list of stops by itself.
3. Need to visit an office just to pick something up? Use Add a pickup-only stop and choose the office. Offices that asked for a pickup are listed first.
4. Use the ↑ and ↓ arrows to put the stops in the order you'll drive them.

At each dental office

1. Tap the office on your list. Tap Directions if you need a map.
2. When you hand over the boxes, tick each one under Drop off, or tap Scan boxes and scan them.
3. If they give you boxes to take back, tap Picked up next to each one. Got a box that isn't on the list? Type what it is under "Got a box that isn't listed?" and tap Add unlisted box.
4. Type the name of the person who took the boxes. Hand them the phone so they can sign with their finger.
5. Tap the big green button to finish the stop.

When you get back

Tap End route. Anything still in the truck goes back on the "Ready" shelf in the app, so the office knows it didn't get delivered.

The signature is the proof the office got their case. If they ever say "we never got it," the office can show the signature and the time.

If you work at a dental office

You can use a computer or a phone. You only ever see your own office's cases.

To order new work

1. Click Place an order.
2. Pick the doctor, then type the patient's chart number and initials. Please don't type full names.
3. Pick what you need made, and add any instructions.
4. Leave "Ask the driver to pick up the impression" ticked if there's something for the driver to collect.
5. Click Place order, then Print box label. Stick the label on the box.

To check on a case

Your home page lists every case with its colored tag. Click a case to see each step it went through and when. After delivery you'll see who signed for it.

To get a pickup

On your home page, click Request a pickup. The driver will stop by on their next route.

When something goes wrong

Keeping patient info safe

• Never type a patient's full name anywhere in the app. Use their chart number and initials.
• Don't share your password, and don't sign in as someone else.
• On a shared phone, sign out when you're done (the Sign out button at the top). That also wipes any saved screens from the phone.
• Lost a phone that was signed in? Tell the office right away so they can turn off that login.