cone beam CE

cone beam1_2012 The CEREC bluecam System from Sirona The E4D Dentist System from D4D Technologies (Photos/Provided by the manufacturers) I practice matters _ better communication Author_Gary Severance, DDS Better together _Synergy has been described as two or more things functioning together to produce a result not obtainable independently. On a daily basis, we find examples of items that when combined provide synergy or a better effect than either could alone, whether in the edible world (e.g., peanut butter and chocolateinaReese’sPeanutButterCup,seealsothe “Perfect pairing” article on page 38) in the superhero field (e.g., Batman and Robin) or now, in dentistry (cone beam and digital impressions). The combining of virtual patient information captured via different sources but then combined, serves to provide even more information and capa- bilities than either source alone. Specifically, every practitioner can experience that by combining 3-D cone-beam information (DICOM data) and intraoral scanning images; diagnostics and implant and re- storative planning can be completed with more pro- ficiency, efficiency and confidence than ever before. In the world of digital impressions and chairside design, there are only two systems currently on the market that capture the intraoral scan and are immediately able to generate (and fabricate/mill if desired) a proposed restorative solution (design the restoration), the CEREC system (Sirona Dental Systems) (Fig. 1) and the E4D Dentist System (D4D Technologies) (Fig. 2). Both of these systems also now offer the ability to combine the proposed and planned restorative information (information above the tissue) with the surgical information and planned implant therapy (information below the tissue) to complete and demonstratetheplannedtreatmentbeforeinitiating any treatment. The CEREC system completes this solution by exporting a fixed restorative scan/file into GALAXIS (implant planning software) where it is joined with the DICOM data from the Galileo’s cone-beam scan. Most often this combining of data files occurs on the computer associated with the Galileos/GALAXIS system, typically away from the clinical operatory. The E4D System (D4D Technologies) has taken a different and more open approach and imports the DICOMdatafromoneofseveralcone-beamsystems (i-CAT (ISI), Gendex GXDP-700 (Gendex), OP-300 (Instrumentarium) or Scanora (Soredex) into the chairsiderestorativesystemE4DDentist.Proprietary software called E4D Compass™ (D4D Technologies) can then link with an “active” restorative file and design. E4D Compass software that combines the data of the intraoral condition with that of the cor- responding DICOM data chairside — all right in the operatory or wherever the mobile cart is. The E4D Compass software provides restoratively driven implant therapy planning in an easy-to-use andintuitiveformat.E4DCompassisanacronymfor Cone Beam Pairing Software Solution. While survey estimates vary greatly on the per- centage of general dental practitioners who are actually placing their own implants,1–3 it is safe to say and readily acknowledged that nearly all general practitioners and their teams discuss and offer im- planttherapyasanoptionintreatmentplansdealing with edentulous areas. Infact,therecontinuestobeahighannualgrowth ratepredicted,notonlyforimplantsandtheiraccom- panying parts and procedures4 , but also for single crown restorations — with a much slower growth in fixed partial restorations (bridges).5 Infact,accordingtotheADAKeyFacts,fullcover- age restoration is the third most common procedure a general practice completes behind prophylaxis and oral exams.6 So the future direction is clear: more single tooth implants and more single tooth restorations. 38 I ‘The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.’ ~Aristotle Fig. 1 Fig. 2