CAD/CAM (Finally) Enters the Market

By Maribeth Marsico

Posted Mar 03, 2014 in Industry News

After years of speculation, CAD/CAM came to fruition in the dental laboratory in 1998 with the official U.S. launch of the Procera® AllCeram Crown, featuring an aluminum oxide coping milled at Nobel Biocare’s production facility in Sweden. The success of Procera—and the introduction of a dozen new in-lab milling systems in the early 2000s—fueled intense interest among laboratory owners and made CAD/CAM the hot topic for the unforeseeable future.


The automated manufacturing process afforded an efficient, consistent method of production and also opened the door to using zirconia, the strongest material on the market for all-ceramic restorations; other material options, depending on the system, included aluminum oxide, lithium disilicate, composite, gold, non-precious alloys, reinforced ceramic-based materials and titanium.


As the number of systems on the market multiplied, laboratory owners who wanted to get on...

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About The Author

  • Maribeth Marsico

    Senior Editor at LMT Communications, Inc. · Cheshire, CT

    A 30-year veteran of the editorial department, Maribeth loves getting to the heart of the story. She especially enjoys creating and analyzing reader surveys and staying in touch with our readers.

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