With CAD/CAM dentistry, custom 3-D images of your prepared tooth or teeth are created by digitally scanning your impressions. These scans are then used to produce a virtual design for the restorative device, which is then sent to digitally connected milling equipment. The design guides the milling machine to carve the restoration from a solid block of restorative material.

It can be used in the design and construction of veneers, implant abutments, crowns, inlays, onlays, fixed partial dentures and full-mouth reconstruction. Also, we can use CAD/CAM in orthodontics.

What are the steps involved in a CAD/CAM procedure:?
• Anesthesia
• Tooth preparation
• Intraoral scanning
• Restoration design
• Milling
• Sintering and polishing
• Cementation

What are the Advantages of Dental CAD/CAM?

• The quality of CAD/CAM restorations is high and they have a natural appearance because the ceramic blocks emulate enamel.
• The measurements and fabrication are precise.
• Patients could receive their permanent restoration the same day, and there is no need for a second appointment.
• Digital scans are faster and easier than conventional impressions because wax-ups, casting, firing, and investing are eliminated.
• Precision in the adaptation of the teeth with an exact marginal dental sealing which ensures its long-term performance.
• Dentists know exactly where they should place the implants.

Which material is used in Dental CAD/CAM?

• Metal: Such as titanium, titanium alloys, and chrome cobalt alloys.
• Resin Materials: Used for the milling of lost wax frames for casting technology and as crown and FPD (Fixed Partial Denture) frameworks for long-term provisional or for full anatomical long-term temporary prostheses.
• Silica-based Ceramics: For the production of veneers, onlays, inlays, partial crowns, and full crowns.
• Infiltration Ceramics: Three variations which we can use, that is Vita In-Ceram Alumina, Vita In-Ceram Zirconia, and Vita In-Ceram Spinell. They are adequate for producing crown copings and FPD frameworks.
• Oxide High-performance Ceramics: Blocks of aluminum oxide and zirconium oxide, used to produce crowns, FPD frameworks, and even implant abutments.
DENTAL CAD/CAM