Philadelphia Eagle running back, Kenjon Barner turned to digital dentistry and its rapid workflow to get a custom mouthguard made in just three days.
Barner desperately needed a new mouthguard because teammates were having a hard time hearing him yell out calls due to the lip protector mouth guard he had been wearing. In the previous divisional playoff game, his communications difficulties led to a botched punt return that could have cost the Eagles the game against the Falcons.
Not wanting to make the same mistake against the Vikings, Barner called mouthguard maker Damage Control on Monday, six days before the NFC Championship. He needed a new mouthguard that would also let him call out signals.
With Damage Control based in New Mexico and Barner in Philadelphia, there was no way he was going to have a traditional gooey impression taken and sent across the country and have a mouth guard shipped back in time for the game.
He turned to digital dentistry. After a quick online search, Mouth Guard recommended Barner go to Philadelphia digital dentist, Dr. Peter Hunt.
Dr. Hunt a leading digital dentistry advocate, uses the 3Shape’s TRIOS intraoral scanner and CAD/CAM software. Dr. Hunt was able to scan Barner’s mouth in minutes using 3Shape TRIOS and cloud send the digital impressions to Mouth Guard in New Mexico in seconds.
Damage Control 3D printed a model replicating Barner's teeth, fabricated his mouth guard, and had it shipped overnight to Barner. All in a matter of three days.
“The digital workflow is just making life so much easier for patients and dental professionals. Treatment is better, faster and much more comfortable. For the professionals using 3Shape solutions, going digital means that their treatment options are nearly endless due to our continually growing open eco-system,” says Tais Clausen, 3Shape Co-founder, and Co-CEO. He adds, “in this case, you might say Danish Vikings helped the Eagles hammer the Minnesota Vikings.” 3Shape is based in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Barner got a custom mouthguard from Damage Control styled with black with gold fangs. He put the lettering I.G.I.T. on the mouth guard, which stands for, “In God I Trust.” Barner and the Eagles went on to defeat the Minnesota Vikings 38-7 to win the NFC championship and earn a trip to the Super Bowl.