The irruption of CAD/CAM technology in the manufacturing processes of dental prostheses has brought about a revolution in the sector. What was once a strictly manual and artisanal process has now become mechanized and digital work that is carried out through 3D printing and milling techniques. This is precisely the basis of what is known as the CAD/CAM system.
Let’s go in parts. CAD/CAM technology is used to design and manufacture dental prostheses using a computer. The acronym CAD (Computer Aided Design) refers to the scanning and digital design of the dental structure, while the acronym CAM (Computer Aided Manufacturing) includes the manufacturing process using production devices such as milling machines or 3D printers. This system has not only revolutionized the dental sector, it has also opened a new paradigm that allows professionals to be more precise when designing prostheses.
Ruben Espuche, CAD/CAM specialist and CFGS professor of Dental Prosthesis at Escola Pejoan, highlights the great advantages offered by the new CAD/CAM production processes, since it improves productivity in the dental clinic and the treatments are not so invasive like the conventional ones. No uncomfortable materials are used for the patient and a highly precise fit is achieved between prosthesis and implant, thus favoring recovery time. This translates into a decrease in the traumatic part that affects the patient during the process.
It all starts in a dental clinic, but where a prosthesis is really designed is in a digital dental laboratory, such as the Pejoan Dental laboratory, where they work on R&D with the latest material and technological innovations in the sector. As Espuche explains, the clinic receives the patient and digitally generates images of the mouth with an intraoral scanner. These are then sent to the laboratory so that the prosthesis is created with the software and respectively manufactured with the appropriate machines, be they 3D printers or 3- or 5-axis milling machines.
Those responsible for the patient having a perfect smile are dental technicians. For this, it is essential to do the Higher Degree in Dental Prosthesis. “We are the most responsible for manufacturing the treatments requested by the clinics. Dentists also have access to this type of knowledge during their studies, but it is we, the prosthetists, who develop the entire process of a prosthesis from start to finish”, says Espuche.
The professional also highlights the role of dental hygienists, which is increasingly relevant in this field, since “many clinics refer CAD CAM jobs to their hygienists in cases of immediate restorations in the clinic.”
It is important to add specialized courses in CAD/CAM to basic training, recommends the expert. “At Escola Pejoan, apart from the Higher Degree in Dental Prosthesis, we offer CAD/CAM courses of about 230 hours for second-year students. Each student has a computer with which they practiced with 3D printing, thus seeing the result of their physical designs”, explains Espuche.
Technology is already essential in the dental prosthesis sector, since, as Espuche assures, “it is increasingly common for clinics to have intraoral scanners”. “It is said that it is the future, but it is already present,” says the professional, although he acknowledges that there are still some procedures that are done through the traditional / conventional system. Despite this, he points out that every dental laboratory needs CAD / CAM machinery to offer adequate services to a clinic.
The professional sector goes hand in hand with the academic. In this sense, Espuche affirms that the CAD/CAM system is already being discussed in schools, “some demonstration work can even be carried out, although not all of them are equipped or prepared to carry out an educational project in conditions”. “At Escola Pejoan, we have been committed to digital training for a long time, but without losing the base of the manufacture of dental prostheses, the traditional one, which is what gives us all the learning to later achieve excellent results in the design digital”, ends.
Information prepared in collaboration with Escola Pejoan
