CAD/CAM - international magazine of digital dentistry

industry report _ diode lasers I oxide have been improved to deliver perfect aesthetic results. Dentistry without digital technology and CAD/ CAM procedures has become inconceivable. Intraoral and extraoral measurement, scanning of antagonists and registration, three-dimensional construction on screen (Fig. 7), applying a large variety of tooth shapes fromthedatabase,designinganatomicalocclusalsur- faces, the functional articulation in the virtual model, the subtractive processing of high-performance ce- ramics—all of this would be impossible without com- puters. New procedures influence established steps of the process, and advances simplify workflows. Thus, virtual construction models, the articulation via Win- dows interface, biogeneric design of occlusal surfaces via intelligent software, rapid-prototyping and 3-D printingareonlyasmallsampleofthetopicswhichare discussed in scientific publications with regard to CAD/CAM dentistry. Small and medium-sized dental laboratories or, as in my case, larger practice labo- ratories will acknowledge their core competence of producing high-class aesthetic restorations as well as individually designed partial dentures and implant dentures. It has thus become a prevailing trend to produce inlays, onlays, partial dentures and single-tooth re- storations as well as large-span bridges and supras- tructures assisted by computer. In addition, the com- puter-assisted production of long-term temporary restorations according to functional criteria has be- come an established method in our practice for im- plantologyanditssuprastructures. _Exact transfer of the oral situation as the base Without an impression of the actual patient situ- ation, modern dentistry is unthinkable. For decades, not much has changed with regard to impression technique, except for the development of impression materials.Alreadyinthe1980s,thefirsttrialsindigital impressiontakingwereconductedintheformofintra- oral optical scans and then introduced as a new tech- nique.Bynow,thistechniqueissowell-developedthat itcanbeappliedinamultitudeofindications. However, an exact transfer of the oral situation on the virtual or physically present model is the founda- tion and the beginning of digital workflow. Whether analogous impression taking or digital scanning by opticalproceduresisapplied,themodeofpreparation, especially the preparation margin, must be depicted exactly. Althoughsometimesthesofttissuescanbepushed away from the subgingival preparation margin be- causeoftheviscosityoftheimpressionmaterial,opti- Fig. 3_Working tip of the diode laser for haemostasis. Fig. 4_Excision of interfering soft tissue can be done fast and effectively via laser. Fig. 5_After laser application, the preparational margin is depicted clearly. This is mandatory for analogous as well as optical impression taking in order to achieve optimum results in the patient’s prosthetic rehabilitation. Fig.6_Detailofthepolyetherimpression taking (Impregum Penta Soft, ESPE Company, Seefeld, Germany) with individual impression tray confirms the exact depiction of the oral situation, especially the preparational margin at the cavity margin. Fig. 7_Milling machine M5 with strip light scanner S600 ARTI as a component of the CAD/CAM system 5-TEC in Ferrari red by Zirkonzahn GmbH, Italy. Fig. 8_Model under strip light (inside the scanner S 600 ARTI). Fig. 9_Articulator with model of upper and lower jaw in the strip light scanner S600 ARTI. I 33CAD/CAM 4_2013 Fig. 3 Fig. 4 Fig. 5 Fig. 6 Fig. 7 Fig. 8 Fig. 9