FOR MAY 14 2023
DR. RHODA ENTERO
MEDICAL INSIDER
The Importance of the CAD/CAM Dental Lab
in a Dental Center (PART 3)
Here are the most frequently asked questions you need to
know when it comes to CAD/CAM.
What Are The Many Names of CAD/CAM?
CAD/CAM is also known as CAM/CAD, 3D milling, 3D
printing, extraoral or extra-oral scanning, intraoral or
intra-oral scanning, digital dentistry, and a host of
other high-tech buzzwords.
These all refer to CAD/CAM or at least some of the
many processes included in it, with digital dentistry
serving as an umbrella term for dentistry that’s aided
with digital devices like computers, 3D rendering
software, digital scanners, and 3D printers or milling
machines.
When Did CAD/CAM Start?
According to a review published in the Journal of
Prosthodontic Research or JPR, this type of dentistry
started back in 1985. Since the mid-1980s, the
technology has improved in leaps and bounds,
revolutionizing restorative dentistry in many avenues
and aspects for both patients and dental
professionals.
Since then, CAD/CAM dentistry has only gotten better
thanks to the advancements in 3D software design
and the invention of the 3D printer.
Why Do Dentists Depend on CAD/CAM?
The JPR further elucidates that CAD and CAM are
terms used to describe software or programs that
make it possible for a dental professional to perform
even more complex procedures like cosmetic
dentures and orthodontics in a more accurate, faster,
and easier manner than before, when they depended
on molds and weeks of dental prosthetics creation in
the dental lab.
It also allows same-day manufacturing of crowns,
veneers, and so forth.
What Can CAD/CAM Do?
You can use CAD/CAM in order to create accurate
and perfectly fitting crowns, veneers, bridges, onlays,
inlays, and so forth from a single ceramic block.
Thanks to 3D printers, it’s also possible to print out
the prosthodontic teeth you want exactly without
wasting material to boot, all in the same day or visit so
that you won’t have to wait long in order to get your
new teeth attached.
The final product is best done with a single ceramic
block In order to ensure its toughness compared to
other methods of fabrication.
How Should You Take Care of Your New
Restorations?
You can use the same oral hygiene regimen of
brushing twice a day, gargling mouthwash, and
flossing that you’ve been using for your natural teeth
when taking care of your dental restorations whether
they’ve been made by a traditional dental lab or with
CAD/CAM technology.
There are a few caveats to this of course, like using a
special floss when cleaning out a dental bridge and so
forth.