Digital Workflow in Dentistry
[M.D.S. (Ortho), Fellow ICOI]
Various digital dental technologies which were once considered expensive are being utilized in many dental clinics today. Replacing the traditional workflow with proven digital technologies has enhanced the standard of dental care we dentists provide. Moreover, the digital workflow helps the patients to receive modern solutions in a smooth, efficient, and comfortable manner.
For instance, digital smile design helps dental doctors to analyze dental, gingival, and aesthetic parameters whereas the patients also have a chance of aesthetic visualization before the treatment begins.
In simply, digital dentistry has reduced patients’ chair time, revisits because the procedures are being performed more precisely than before. Thus, you can save more time and money.
What are the technologies involved in Lakshme Dental’s Digital Workflow?
Whatever the kind of dental treatment you want, however your treatment plan is tailored, the individual steps in the treatment plan will emulate the workflow – Scan, Plan & Design, Manufacture.
Various advanced materials, tools, technologies incorporated in each stage of our dental workflow are explained as follows:
1) Scan
Assessing a patient’s anatomy is crucial for every dental treatment. This step helps dentists to map the problematic location and underlying issues. Earlier, the traditional impressions were taken with alginate materials that have a small proportion of allergic compounds. The high-quality impressions/images taken with scanners are more accurate so that digital scanning eliminates such limitations of traditional scanning.
We exploit different kinds of dental scanners attached to the chord of a computer to make digital impressions.
- Digital X-rays – Unlike traditional x-rays, digital x-rays produce high-quality images with less radiation exposure.
- Intraoral Scanners – The intraoral imaging systems produce better quality images of your teeth and supporting structures.
- CBCT Scanners – Cone Beam Computerized Tomography (CBCT) is the widely used pre-surgical imaging technique. The 3D images of a patient’s oral or maxillofacial anatomy made with CBCT scanners are mandatory for oral surgery planning and ensure its success rates.
- Optical Scanners – Optical scanners are the right kind of imaging systems to evaluate tooth anatomy, custom characterizations of a tooth such as shade, color, etc. It is widely equipped in cosmetic dental procedures.
- TekScan – TekScan, also known as T-Scan helps assess the bite relationships.
2) Plan & Design
In the case of orthodontic & restorative treatments, our dental doctors import the data obtained in the scanning stage to CAD (Computed Assisted Designing) software for treatment planning. Then the broken tooth’s 3D model along with the restoration part are prepared digitally using the software.
3) Manufacture
The digital model is then uploaded to the CAM (Computed Assisted Manufacturing) technology to fabricate the dental appliance. In this approach, the digital file is sent to the 3D printer (or milling machine) in which the restoration part is shaped to a solid block.
Our dentists produce a variety of appliances like dentures, dental crowns, veneers, retainers, splints, indirect bonding trays, and much more using digital dentistry manufacturing technologies.
Besides these, our clinic is equipped with the following digital technologies with which our patients can receive provide modern solutions to their problems:
- Diagnodent – It helps in the early detection of cavities.
- Dental lasers – Dental lasers are utilized in treating soft tissues, deep layers underneath a tooth. Infections in soft oral tissues like gums can be treated with high precision, less bleeding using this technology. Moreover, surgical wounds also heal quickly.
- The Wand – It is a computerized tool and is useful in administering anesthesia to numb the oral tissues slowly and methodically.
Bottom line
The proven technological methods incorporated in every stage of the dental workflow have elevated the way we are practicing dentistry. The transition from analog to digital dentistry empowers us to practice eco-friendly dentistry and reduces the rate of dental wastes being eliminated from our clinic.
As digital dentistry leads us to deliver an enhanced diagnosis, precision restorations, and more sophisticated treatments ever than before, various complicated, time-consuming oral care treatments have become easier more than you thought.
Want oral care solutions provided with the newest in dental technologies? Book your appointment with us today.
