|
CAD-CAM technology
has changed the way that tooth restorations are made, and it has made it
possible now for people to stop procrastinating about seeking out restorative
services when necessary. Many
people know they need tooth restoration services and have every intention of
seeking out a cosmetic dentistwhen they have time. Unfortunately, many people continue to
procrastinate because they never seem to find the time. This is due to the perception they have
(which is based on dental history) of how long it takes for restorative work to
be done.
Historically, it
normally took a number of dental appointments for restorations such as inlays,
onlays, bridges, and crowns to be made for a patients. This was because dentists could not make
these restorations in the dental office itself. They had to make models of teeth by
taking a series of impressions, and then sending these impressions off to a
lab. The lab would then make the
restorations based upon these physical models. The CAD-CAM method of fabrication lets a
dentist make a tooth-colored inlay, only, veneer, or crown in the dental offices
in a single visit.
The CAD-CAM
technique involves a number of steps that are all completed while the patient is
in the office. The first of these
steps is tooth preparation. As
previously noted, dentists once had to rely upon manual impressions and physical
models to prepare teeth for cosmetic restoration. However, with CAD-CAM a special,
precision optical camera is placed in the patients mouth. The camera is able to record the exact
dimensions of your teeth and send this information back to the CAD-CAM computer,
where it is stored.
The computer then
uses this data to build a virtual model of the teeth which in turn will be used
as a template to create the tooth restoration. The dentist selects the appropriate
material for the restoration and chooses a color that will enable the cosmetic
tooth restoration to appear identical to the texture and color of your existing
teeth. The material is then placed
into a machine that fabricates the restoration using the information recorded by
the CAD-CAM.
Once the restoration
is fabricated, the dentist applies the appropriate color and bonds it to the
teeth. The patients bite is then
double checked to ensure that the natural teeth and your cosmetic teeth
restorations are in alignment.
Appropriate adjustments, if necessary, are then made.
However, there is an
even greater benefit to applying traditional methods of taking impression with
CAD-CAM technology. Making a mold
of a tooth, then allowing a lab that owns a CAD-CAM system to then make tooth
restorations based on the impressions taken in the dental office, has produces
an even more accurate tooth replacement both in terms of shape and color. The mold actually mimics the natural
teeth, and the precision optics of the CAD-CAM camera and the computer creates
an even more accurate fabrication.
We find that this
blend of tradition and new science benefits our patients more than rushing
through the process in the office in the same day. While patients do have to return to the
office after the restorations have been made in the lab, it only takes one
follow up visit for more accurate, more natural looking, and better-lasting
results.
Cosmetic
Dentistry is a specialized field that requires extensive knowledge and
experience to be done correctly. The Medical Center Dental Group in
Houston, Texas brings all of that and more to the direct benefit of each and
every patient we treat. Although we are located in the world famous Houston
Medical Center at Scurlock Towers, we routinely see dental patients who travel
from Austin, San Antonio, Dallas, Beaumont and Midland Texas to see Dr
Dale Brant, Dr. Charles Campbell or Dr. Elizabeth OSullivan-Winslow for
their cosmetic denistry services.
|
