Digital dentistry

What is an Digital dentistry ?

Digital dentistry has dramatically improved the ability to have passive screw-retained restorations. The intraoral impressions may be computer scanned in the mouth, which eliminates the problems of impression material shrinkage. The scanned impression may use a virtual model. This eliminates the effects of laboratory transfer error and stone expansion. If the impression transfer is made in the traditional open-tray technique, the traditional implant models may be computer scanned, which eliminates fabrication errors. The framework may be digitally machined, which eliminates wax distortion and metal shrinkage concerns. As a consequence, the future advancements of digital dentistry are most advantageous for screw-retained implant prostheses.

The Digital Process

The new millennium has brought with it a change in digital dentistry because more than 20 different CAD/CAM systems have now been introduced as solutions for restorative dentistry. The introduction of digital laboratory laser scanning technology along with its accompanying software allowed the dental laboratory to create a digital dental environment to accurately present a real three-dimensional (3D) virtual model that automatically takes into consideration the occlusal affect of the opposing and adjacent dentition. This process also includes the ability to design 16 individual full contour anatomically correct teeth at the same time (Figure 27-2). It essentially takes a complex occlusal scheme and its parameters and condenses the information, displays it in an intuitive format that allows dental professionals with basic knowledge of dental anatomy and occlusion to make modifications to the design, and then sends it through to the automated milling unit. For the dental laboratory profession, the introduction of digital technology can effectively automate or even eliminate some of the more mechanical and labor-intensive procedures (waxing, investing, burnout, casting, and pressing) involved in the conventional fabrication of a dental restoration, allowing the dentist and technician the ability to create functional dental restorations with a consistent, precise method.