Once the final restoration is designed, the crown, inlay, onlay, veneer or bridge is milled from a single block of ceramic material in a milling chamber. Some cases could take minutes, while others could require a half-hour or more of design time to ensure quality.

The amount of time it takes for a dentist, in-office restoration designer or laboratory technician to design a restoration varies based on skill, experience, and complexity of case and treatment. The dentist or laboratory technician then uses those 3-D images and CAD software to draw and design the final restoration. Alternatively, the 3-D images can be obtained by scanning a traditional model obtained from conventional impressions of the preparations. The CAD/CAM computer displays a 3-D custom image of your prepared tooth or teeth obtained by digitally capturing the preparations with an optical scanner.

In-Office and Dental Laboratory CAD/CAM Optionsĭental CAD/CAM technology is available for dental practices and dental laboratories, enabling dentists and their staff (or a laboratory technician) to design restorations on a computer screen. Today’s CAD/CAM restorations are better-fitting, more durable and more natural looking (multi-colored and translucent, similar to natural teeth) than previously machined restorations. Dental CAD/CAM also is used to fabricate abutments for dental implants, used to replace missing teeth.Īs the materials and technology available for CAD/CAM dentistry have improved over the years, so too have the restorations that patients can receive from this form of digital dentistry. Used for decades in the manufacturing industry to produce precision tools, parts and automobiles, CAD/CAM technology has been increasingly incorporated into dentistry over the past 20 years.ĬAD/CAM technology and metal-free materials are used by dentists and dental laboratories to provide patients with milled ceramic crowns, veneers, onlays, inlays and bridges. Shaping Dentistry with CAD/CAM TechnologyĬAD/CAM is an acronym for computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacturing.

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