Custom rapid manufacturing of implants, supporting structures
and other dental solutions is just around the corner. The
days when dentists have to ladle quantities of goo into
patients' mouths to take impressions are over. As the 3D
printing bullet train continues to accelerate, so does the pace
of change in dentistry. The day when everything from
scheduling to final restoration is handled digitally, has
arrived.
Today, a two-minute digital scan of a patient's teeth captures
the patient's entire dentition in real time. The 3D
digital file is then delivered to a dental lab where milling or
3D printers craft a solid artificial model of the dentition from
zirconium dioxide (instead of the traditional materials of
choice, gold and platinum).
New and exciting technologies are empowering dentists to provide
more rapid, accurate, non-invasive and automated dental
solutions. Intra-oral scanners and their designated
imaging software continues to improve. Scan speed, image
capture and enhancement capabilities are developing at a record
pace, enabling Cone Beam CT scanners to provide astounding
diagnostic and treatment possibilities. This year has seen
a dramatic increase in chair-side and laboratory devices
dedicated to digital imaging and impressioning and CAD/CAM
fabrication of restorations.
Data capture systems have expanded the scope of digital
dentistry for practices and laboratories alike. As a
result of intense R&D efforts, manufacturers have created 3-D
scanning systems engineered to capture data from the "negative"
spaces inside tray impressions, both in the laboratory and in
the clinic. From a precise, detailed 3D image of the
impression, CAD software converts the "negative" form into a
"positive" 3D representation of the missing teeth. Working
from this virtual model, the clinician can manipulate a number
of different components. This approach is seen as a
transitional step for laboratories that see the benefits offered
by digital dentistry but that need to accommodate
client-dentists who prefer traditional tray impressions.
For many dental professionals, the digital evolution has been a
long-awaited and welcomed transition that paves the way for more
rapid, labor-saving CAD/CAM automation, which improves quality
and precision as well as lowers costs. The open question
is when dentists will embrace these innovative technologies and
use them to advance their practices forward.
With the roll-out of new systems and materials over the coming
year, increasing current capabilities even more, many believe
that more dentists will see the technology as a viable
alternative to their current dental techniques. For
dentists who are ready, willing and able to integrate digital
impression technology, systems are available today that move the
digital process back to the oral preparation site. By
scanning the prepared tooth and creating a digital impression,
the accuracy of the data capture is enhanced and the digital
restorative process begins sooner.
For most labs that work with these progressive dentists, all
that is required is an investment in design software (and
appropriate training). The crafting of the dental products
is outsourced to production facilities where 3D printing
technology rapidly prints accurate 3D models to dentist
specifications.
In
many respects, digital dentistry is already here and a growing
number of laboratory owners have incorporated digital dentistry
in some form into their strategic business models. Some
day in the near future, we may look back at 2009 as the year
when the dental-lab industry passed the point of no return in
the transition from the traditional manual workflow to an
all-digital process.
