Digital Restorative Dentistry

Book excerpt: This book offers up-to-date, readily understandable guidance on the materials and equipment employed in digital restorative dentistry and on the specific clinical procedures that may be performed using the new technologies. The key components of digital restorative dentistry – image acquisition, prosthetic/restorative design, and fabrication – are fully addressed. Readers will find helpful information on scanners, the software for prosthetic design, and the materials and technologies for prosthesis fabrication, including laser sintering, 3D printing, CAD/CAM, and laser ablation. The section on clinical procedures explains all aspects of the use of digital technologies in the treatment of patients requiring removable partial dentures, complete dentures, fixed partial prostheses, crowns, endodontics, and implant surgery and prosthodontics. The field of restorative and prosthetic dentistry is undergoing rapid transition as these new technologies come to play an increasingly central role in everyday dental practice. In bridging the knowledge gap that this technological revolution has created in the field of dentistry, the book will satisfy the needs of both dentists and dental students.