Dental Technology: Dentist/Patient Communication

Cosmetic Dentistry Directory

omputers have transformed dentist/patient communication. Most offices have chairside computer monitors where your dentist can display your X-rays or digital photos and discuss them with you. He or she can point to image features such as areas of tooth decay or an impacted wisdom tooth, and explain what they are and how they could be corrected.

This makes for much clearer and more productive dentist/patient communication. You can ask questions about the images and understand more easily what dental work you might need.

Smile Simulation Software

If you would like to have a cosmetic dentistry procedure to enhance your smile, such as a smile makeover or porcelain veneers, your dentist can show you on the chairside monitor how you would look after the dental work is done.

This is called morphing software and it works with photographic images made of pixels. An example would be AlterImage®. With your Before photograph on the screen, your dentist or your orthodontist can use software buttons and tools to change the appearance of your teeth and gums and create the After image you would have with your dental work completed. Then the two images can be toggled back and forth, or placed next to each other, for comparison. Cosmetic surgeons can also use morphing software, as can dermatologists, or anyone who works on a person’s appearance.

A different type of imaging software is made by For Your Imaging (FYI) Technologies, which combines X-rays and photographs into a single image. It shows both the surface of your face and the underlying structures (bones and teeth). It has a cephalometric aspect, meaning that it measures facial dimensions for Before and After comparisons. Your dentist can manipulate the images to show you how various changes would affect your smile.

Bite Articulators

A person’s bite is a mechanical arrangement between the three points of the chin and each jaw joint. Articulators are physical instruments that your dentist can program to simulate your jaw movements – your bite. He or she will make a mold of your upper and lower arches and mount them on the articulator. When it is opened and closed, your neuromuscular dentist can see clearly how your bite is misaligned, can show you and explain it, and then can determine your best treatment options.

CAD/CAM Software

CAD/CAM stands for Computer Aided Design / Computer Aided Manufacturing. Dentistry uses this type of software for designing a crown or bridge that will fit perfectly and look good. It is not new technology, but is new to dentistry. It eliminates having to bite down on uncomfortable X-ray films.

Instead of making your dental restorations from X-rays and a physical model made by having you bite down on some putty-like material, your dentist can use CAD/CAM technology to make a far more precise restoration. CAD/CAM does not work with pixels like morphing software; it is vector software, based on exact geometrical relationships.

CEREC Technology
An example of CAD/CAM technology used for dentistry is the CEREC® system (Chairside Economical Restoration of Esthetic Ceramics). When you have a porcelain restoration done this way, you need only one visit because no dental laboratory is used. Your dentist can design your restoration with the CEREC CAD/CAM software and create it with the CEREC mill.

Because images on the computer monitor can be greatly magnified by a zooming feature, your dentist can design a small thing like a tooth crown in precise, minute detail. The design specifications from your dentist’s CAD (design) are then implemented by the CEREC system’s CAM (manufacturing) component.

You can see the design on the chairside monitor and while you wait for perhaps 20 minutes, the restoration is made. Your dentist can attach it to your tooth immediately and the procedure is finished.

Cadent iTero
The iTero system offered by Cadent™, Inc. uses a proprietary device to create a digital scan of your teeth and bite. Your dentist can manipulate the scan in three dimensions for your customized restoration. You can see this being done on the chairside monitor and your dentist can explain how he or she is giving your restoration exactly the right size and proportions. When it is complete, it is emailed to a Cadent-partnering laboratory.

The lab then sends it to the Cadent facility in New Jersey. A technician there mills a model from your scan and sends it to the laboratory, which then makes your final restoration. You can have a dental crown done this way, or a bridge, or an entire arch of replacement teeth.

Cadent also makes OrthoCAD iQ, a system for orthodontists to use in designing your braces and your final teeth alignment. You can see your orthodontic results on the chairside monitor before your braces are even made.

For more technology information, please see these pages:

• Dental Technology: Catching Problems Early
• Dental Technology: Reducing Pain and Discomfort
• Dental Technology: New Materials and Devices

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