Partial dental CAD handoffs: make unfinished work explicit
A partial delivery can support review only when the receiving team can tell what is finished, what remains unresolved and which outputs may be used. This guide offers an original communication framework—not a Pristine turnaround promise or a substitute for technical approval.
Define the purpose before sending
Name the task the recipient can perform with this package: inspect an arrangement, answer a boundary question, or assess whether more records are needed. “Here is the case so far” gives no reliable decision boundary. A partial handoff should not acquire production status merely because it contains exportable files.
Agree on whether the recipient expects a native project, review images or an exported surface. Record the expected deliverable and its limitations before selecting files.
Use a status matrix
Partial delivery worksheet
Item
Record
Permitted next action
Completed scope
Specific units, stage and revision
Review only the stated scope
Held scope
Missing decision or record; named owner
Resolve the dependency
Provisional element
Assumption used for review, clearly labeled
Confirm or reject before continuation
Excluded output
What this package does not contain
Do not infer completion
Next checkpoint
Required evidence and reviewer
Resume after explicit response
Illustrative handoff note
Illustrative example, not an actual case: “Revision R03 contains the proposed anterior arrangement for review. Posterior design remains held pending the agreed reference record. The images answer the arrangement question only. No production release is included. Please return one consolidated response identifying R03 and the marked views.”
A useful response names the accepted portion and the unresolved portion separately. Silence about one item is not acceptance of that item. If the reviewer changes the reference, identify which completed elements now need reconsideration.
Keep provisional work distinguishable
Use the same case identifier and revision on the cover note and review files. Keep superseded exports outside the current delivery folder. If a receiving process cannot retain partial status, use a review-only package instead of placing provisional files where released outputs are normally collected.
Before continuing, compare the response with the held-item list. Record who resolved each dependency and which revision supplied the answer. Recheck work affected by that answer rather than treating every earlier decision as automatically unchanged.
Close the partial checkpoint
The checkpoint ends with a recorded decision: continue, request clarification, or hold. Update the next deliverable and remaining questions. A partial handoff is useful when it makes the next decision smaller and clearer; if it creates multiple competing versions, simplify the package before sending.
Prepared by Pristine Dental Design · October 6, 2026. Guidance for professional case communication and review. Actual prescriptions, manufacturer requirements and receiving-team approvals govern design and production.
Recheck every handed-off segment that relied on the changed shared reference. A segment can look finished while its earlier review depends on information that has since changed; retain a separate status for each segment and its dependencies.
Map the dependency before releasing another segment
Record each segment's own revision and the shared reference revision used for its review. The matrix is useful when two apparently independent outputs rely on a common relationship or instruction.
Original decision worksheet
Observation or task
Action and evidence
Segment A reviewed against reference J02
Record A's revision, review evidence and J02 as its dependency.
Segment B waiting for clarification
Keep B's unresolved question separate from A's status.
Shared reference becomes J03
Determine whether J03 changes the basis of A's review and B's ongoing work; assign a reviewer rather than inheriting A's old status.
Example: a changed relationship reference
A hypothetical review packet contains A-R02 and B-R01, both linked to J02. The sender later replaces J02 with J03. The handoff owner marks the affected rows for reassessment and tells the receiver exactly which earlier reviews depend on J02. The owner does not simply rename the packet and leave A marked accepted.
When the receiver cannot preserve partial status
Ask whether the receiving workflow can keep an unresolved segment or changed dependency visibly on hold. If it cannot, agree on a review-only packet or another supported boundary before sending a mixed-status package. The worksheet supports that discussion; it does not grant permission to proceed with treatment or manufacturing.
Validation and limits
Louie validation pending — unverified locally. Louie must confirm whether Pristine and receiving workflows can preserve per-segment holds and how changed dependencies trigger renewed review. No partial clinical or manufacturing authorization is implied.
Use internal references in the blank worksheet. Examples are hypothetical; applicable instructions and responsible approvals govern real work.
Source notes
Original workflow framework prepared October 6, 2026. No software feature, new service scope or measured outcome asserted.
Prepared by Pristine Dental Design · October 6, 2026.