3D printing brings dentistry into the 21st century. 3D printing – or additive manufacturing – builds up items by depositing materials layer by layer. The technology can create and replicate objects with an intricacy of detail that other manufacturing methods fail to achieve. The advantages for dentistry are that replacements can be created that match the exact grooves and curves desired. By combining Digital scanning of the mouth, virtualmodelling and designingin a computer and 3D printing, dentists can produce their own crowns, bridges and orthodontic devices. 3D printers can also create drill guides for dental implants. Taking a 3D scan of the patient’s mouth, a digital 3D model of the teeth can be generated. This can in turn be used to 3D print models of teeth, gums and even nerves to help dentists as well as patients understand how the procedure would be carried out. The key benefits of the technology are the true personalisation of the models to each individual patient, and the ability to create these in-house.We can ensure the quality of the restoration and Dr. Babi can check on all stages of the work during treatment. This contrasts most other Dental Practices where your work is sent away to be fabricated and the Dentist has little control.
Being able to visualise a procedure is useful not just for surgeons, but also for the patients themselves. Being shown a highly accurate model replica of their own mouth can help patients understand their treatments, and to know exactly what to expect. And in this way we ensure that with a highly personalised approach, which, alongside greater understanding of their procedure, we would help relieve our patient’s anxiety.
Computer technology has become a part our day-to- day life. From buying products eBay and amazon to booking holidays online we are relying more and more on digital technology. Dentistry is not any different and at Crescent dental we are happy to embrace this digital revolution.
Long gone are the days of conventional Dentistry and we have opened our doors to new technology and every piece of equipment and tool that will help us perform more accurate diagnostics, safer clinical procedures and reduce trauma and post-operatory healing times. This inturn increase the comfort for our patients, which is our ultimate goal. This is what Digital Dentistry is all about. We strongly believe that this is the approach that will improve our patients’ quality of life.
DIGITAL SCANNING
Until recently, dentists used to obtain impressions (also known as models) of the patient’s mouth and teeth by inserting a tray containing a gooey-soft material, which often caused people to gag. Even now most practices still use this conventional method of making models to be send to a dental lab for crown/denture fabrication. At Crescent dental, we make sure our patients have the best possible comfort during their treatment and therefore we employ the most advanced technology available in the field of digital impression.
Our 3Shape TRIOS® system uses optically assisted laser technology to obtain a full scan of the mouth in real time, as digital model is being built on the computer screen. It has the highest accuracy of any documented scanners available. This high-precision technology along with the use of CAD/CAM systems allows us to achieve higher levels of accuracy and reliability in restorations and orthodontic treatments without the risk of contamination from the patient. The digital model is either sent directly to the dental lab via email or is used to produce either a 3d Printed model that could be worked upon or used in the in-house Designing Software to fabricate the prosthesis. (Partial denture/Crown/bridge)
COMPUTER AIDED SHADE MEASUREMENT
We understand that in today’s day and age you would not want to have veneers, crowns or partial bridges of different shade to your natural teeth especially when it is in the front. Previously shade measurement was very arbitrary and the patients used to rely on the skill and ocular acuity of the doctor. No more guessing when it comes to tooth shade determination now. This is another advantage of having the Intraoral 3Shape TRIOS® Scanner system. We can match the shade of your new prosthesis or veneers to your natural teeth with extremely high precision and confidence with the help of this computer aided technology that we have available for you at our Clinic.
This advanced technology allows us to automatically determine your overall average tooth shade based on a series of measurements, up to thirty on just one single tooth. TRIOS® shade measurement has been shown to be more reliable than the human eye in evaluating patient’s teeth shades. When you factor in possible doctor or assistant eye fatigue as well, then the proven reliability of TRIOS® shade measurement becomes even more significant. This technology also allows us to automatically measure the tooth shade before and after a whitening treatment so that you can appreciate the difference and improvement in shades.
Digital photography can have big impact on how you preserve your oral health. At Crescent Dental we use photos to educate our patients and help them understand what is going on in their mouth. We use multiple DSLR cameras with standard and macro lenses and ring flash + diffusers to achieve the highest quality dental images possible. These images could then be sent directly and instantly to a viewing device, such as an iPad tablet or our computer monitor in the operatory, so you can see your photos real time.
Sometimes, if a case requires the use of an external dental lab, having high quality images of our patients from out dedicated DSLR camera helps us in communicating the proper shape and shade of your teeth with the dental lab using these photos.
At the end of treatment, we take a couple of these photos again and make a side-by-side comparison to show our patient the improvements we have made together, and helped you in your journey to achieving the perfect smile thus making you as much of a part of the process as possible.
Computer Aided Design (CAD)
We use state of the art computer designing software from 3 Shape called “Design Studio” used to configure the 3D design of the prostheses and prepare it to be sent to the milling machine. We can design customized crowns, bridges and Inlay/Onlays, suited to your particular needs taking special care of your aesthetic requirements and making sure they fit harmoniously with the rest of your teeth with the help of this software.
Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM)
We design and fabricate our crowns, partial bridges, full bridges, crowns over implants, ceramic Fillings inlays/onlays, using the most advance CAD/CAM (computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing) technology. This includes state-of-the-art equipment such as the PrograMil OneÒ 5axis milling machine (one of the very first ones to be installed in Australia) which is capable of using different materials such as acrylic, porcelain, zirconium oxide, e-max to fabricate prostheses over implants or natural.
Furnace
Once the ceramic prostheses are milled for a crowns, partial bridges, full bridges, crowns over implants, inlays/onlays, they are heated at very high temperature (more than 1200°C) to crystalize and strengthen the prostheses. For this purpose we use Ceramic Furnace to carry out a laser sintering of translucent ceramic crowns and bridges. A furnace is also used to modify the colour and shade of the new prosthesis and to make the characterization changes permanent on the crowns or bridges.
At Crescent Dental we pride ourselves in providing state of the art technology that not only makes treatment pain-free and convenient for our patients but also more accurate and reliable. Today we have the capability to 3 dimensionally planningan implant case on a computer. 3 Dimensional planning allows for greater accuracy during your surgery and also assists the surgeon in performing computer aided virtual surgery before you ever arrive for your surgical appointment!
This process involves taking a CT (Computerized Tomograph) of your jaw. CT is a type of X-ray, which produces images of internal physical structures of the body. It is compiled from hundreds of images, which are combined in a powerful computer to create a 3D image of you face and jaw. This3D rendering can now be freely rotated on the computer to be examined from any aspect. Conventional X-ray can produce only single or two-dimensional images.
The images produced by dental CT scan are used to accurately assess the quality and quantity of your jawbone, as well as to identify all vital structures such as nerves, vessels and sinuses. This in turn help us accurately plan the Size, type and diameter of the implant that is best suited to be placed in the available space, maximizing contact with bone as well as taking care to protect all the vital structures. With the use of our computer software we can visualize the end stage of the treatment by designing a crown/bridge virtually in a computer. This gives our patients an accurate depiction of how their tooth would look in their mouth even before the treatment and they can modify the design of their tooth (permitting it would not effect the treatment in general).
We can then work towards achieving that end goal by transferring all of this digital information to your mouth. This is done by fabricating a Surgical guide/stent with our in house 3D printer which is then used in the mouth to accurately follow the steps that were used during the virtual surgery. In this way we can make sure that highest standards of care are achieved and try to attain the best possible outcome for our patients.
We can then work towards achieving that end goal by transferring all of this digital information to your mouth. This is done by fabricating a Surgical guide/stent with our in house 3D printer which is then used in the mouth to accurately follow the steps that were used during the virtual surgery. In this way we can make sure that highest standards of care are achieved and try to attain the best possible outcome for our patients.
Our next generation technology provides a real-time view to our patient to view the treatment being performed. The integrated DSLR camera in our microscope takes photos/videos as a part of your dental records as well as for explanation/discussion purposes. The live feed of the treatment is displayed on the screen, which is strategically located on the ceiling for patients who wish to see the treatment being performed live. Our dental microscope enables the patients to see their mouth, which gives them a better understanding of what’s going on in the treatment process.
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If you already have had a silver filling that has been done in the past to fill a cavity that does not mean that you are stuck with it and cant replace it. These silver fillings can be replaced with a white, more natural looking fillings to have all the advantages of appearance as well as being adhesive. However in some instances, dental composite may not be appropriate restorative for fillings placed in back teeth.If you would like to discuss options of having your fillings replaced please contact our team at Crescent Dental on today on (02) 58060848.