Digital Dentistry: Just in Its Infancy

Although I'm relatively new to dentistry, I've been involved with 3-D scanning technology for a long time and have seen scanning revolutions--similar to what's happening in dentistry--in other industries.

Ten years ago, for instance, hearing aids were made with a process similar to conventional crown fabrication. Now, all the major hearing aid manufacturers are completely digital, and that conversion happened within three years.

Digital dentistry is in its infancy because it's still replicating what can be done by hand. Things will really get exciting when the dental team can do things digitally that it can't do with manual technologies; for instance, when procedures such as placing an implant and restoring it with a crown will require only a single visit. The advance of digital scanning, rapid manufacturing and materials technologies will converge to make the dental patient care more efficient and comfortable.

Restorative...