CAD/CAM Dentistry – Computer-Aided Design and Computed-Aided Manufacturing in Dentistry

Old School vs. New School . . . CAD/CAM technologies produce different types of dental restorations, including crowns, inlays and onlays, veneers, fixed-bridges, implants, and orthodontic appliances.  These restorations are milled from solid blocks of ceramic and titanium materials.  Computer images are either captured by hand-held devices which scan directly in the mouth or desk-top which scan images outside the mouth.  The images are sent to the computer software where they are interpreted and set up for design.  At this point, the designers are either going to be your dentist, dental assistant, or dental laboratory technician depending on the system being used.  The virtual images are sent to the milling center where the final restorations are produced.  For further information, feel free to visit the following sites:  http://www.3shape.com/why-3d-design/software-videos.aspx , http://www.cadent.biz/  GC