What Is Standard Digital Dental Workflow?

What is standard digital dental workflow?

For instance, a digital denture workflow could be handled from one place, where the doctor takes the impression, plans the treatment, even for a fully edentulous patient, predicts and visualizes the outcome; help the patient see the final outcome and correct it according to their preferences; help a dental lab to design and manufacture the most suitable and anatomically correct dentures in a short period of time.

Regardless of indication of treatment type, the standard digital dental workflow will always consist of three steps:

1. Scanning or digital impression taking. This step is the only one visible to the patient, since it is about capturing their dentition. A digital workflow can of course start with a conventional impression that is digitized in the lab later on, but for the patient's sake, taking the impression with an intraoral scanner would be the preferred scenario. At this stage, the patient will immediately see the 3D image of their teeth displayed on the screen, since the procedure usually takes only 2-3 minutes.
   In case of a conventional impression, the lab technician also spends the same amount of time scanning traditional impressions or plaster models with a desktop scanner.
   
   

2. Treatment planning and design. At this stage, doctors or dental specialists use CAD/CAM software solutions to design restorations and other treatments. Based on patient or lab feedback, the design or treatment plan can be revised or refined instantly.
   
   

3. Product manufacturing. Now, all approved digital designs can be sent to dental 3D printers or milling machines for the creation of appliances (for instance aligners and retainers), dentures, crowns, bridges, splints, indirect bonding trays, or any other restoration product for the patient. At this point in the digital dental workflow, the patient comes back (or is still in the chair) and receives or starts their treatment.

Related Products