Digital dentistry refers to the use digital and computer technologies for the dental applications instead of the manual mechanical tools. This make the work more efficient and accurate which saves a lot of time and money. 3D printing is currently revolutionizing the dental industry it is making logo of that much faster and more efficient.
Digital workflow
The traditional work flow for a dentist would be to measure the teeth of the client by by making a Pop mould and designing the equipment which would be needed for the specific case . the occurrence of 3D printing Technology has changed the workflow for the better. now it has become much faster as shown in the workflow below
Scan
The measurement of the teeth instead of being taken by a POP mould is now being done using digital scanning. this allows a more accurate measure of the teeth so that the equipment to be used can be made more accurately and much faster.
Design
After scanning of the client's teeth is done the required equipments are designed such as braces or Crowns for correcting or resolving the problems of the teeth.
After scanning the teeth they are printed on a 3D printer so that measurements can be taken accurately and work can be done.This is much faster than making the mould using Pop where, the patient bites on a clay. 3D printing can also be used to produce Crown, bridges, caps Dentures and a lot more.It is also used for printing Surgical tools which are used for dental operations like drilling
Applications
Full dentures
3D printing is a very efficient process of creating full denture. these dentures are designed in a software based on the requirement and the scanned mouth of the patient. this makes it very accurate and a quick process and reduces the amount of errors during the process
Crown and Bridge model
The crown and Bridge can be made very quickly by the 3D printer by simply designing it in the software and getting it printed The model can be created in the software, based on the scan of the patient’s mouth. this provides a very accurate fit giving very little chances for any kind of errors in the tolerances
Clear aligners
The aligners are used as an alternative to braces to align the teeth which are crooked. they have become much more popular than braces because of their transparent nature. the process generally involves scanning the patient's mouth to create a model of the teeth and then making the adjustment in the software as to how the teeth should be. this is ten printed buy the 3D printer and vacuum moulding is used to make the plastic aligner.
Surgical guides
Surgical guides are used in dentistry to help the dentist during surgery and avoid touching the wrong nerves with good cause paralysis in the patient’s mouth. these guides can be created very accurately by scanning the mouth of the patient and creating a guide based on the model which is 3D printed.
