Digital Workflows in the Management of the Esthetically Discriminating Patient

摘要

The advent of digital pathways for the restoration of teeth and implants has matured in recent years. Digital design software is now an important tool that can assist in the dental rehabilitation of the esthetically discerning patient. When combined with direct digital capture of a patient's pretreatment and prepared teeth, digital design software is used to simulate the patient's eventual esthetic outcome. In addition, once approved by the patient and the dentist, the laboratory technician has the ability to convert these designs into durable precision restorations for use as prototypes of the patient's eventual definitive restorative designs. Testing these restorations in function allows the patient and the dental team to confirm or to modify the designs before manufacture of the definitive restorations. The ability to efficiently design and manufacture esthetic and well-adapted restorations is now easier due to the advances in computer-assisted design and computer-assisted manufacturing (CAD/CAM) technology in the clinical and laboratory settings.