Computer-aided analysis of the influence of digitizing and surfacing on the accuracy in dental CAD/CAM technology.

In dentistry, ceramic materials with high fracture resistance are needed for all-ceramic fixed partial dentures (FPDs). The sophisticated processing of advanced ceramics that can be used for such dental restorations demands the application of CAD/CAM technologies. These techniques necessitate digitizing of the prepared teeth or the planned restoration itself and surfacing of the acquired digital data before milling paths can be generated. As precision in fit is crucial for dental restorations, a computer-aided method for the quantitative and qualitative 3D analysis has been developed and applied. Factors influencing the obtainable precision in the application of CAD/CAM techniques were taken into consideration.