As each year passes, new technologies emerge that allow us to provide dental work to our patients that are higher quality and more efficient.

 

For instance, the turnaround time for dental prosthetics would be weeks long. However, with new digital dentistry technologies, we’re now able to offer same-day and next-day services.

 

Technology has also allowed us to provide more natural-looking prosthetics that blend seamlessly with the patient’s other teeth. Let’s dive into how restorative dentistry has been improved with technology.

 

What is Restorative Dentistry?

Restorative dentistry is the area of dentistry that aims to repair or replace missing and damaged teeth.

 

The main goal of restorative dentistry is to provide patients with a prosthetic that will help them improve their oral health and jaw function.

 

Improvements in Dental Technology

Over the years, dental laboratories have embraced a number of new technologies such as:

 

Digital Imaging

Traditionally, dentists and dental labs use a putty-like material to take a record of a patient’s bite. However, it’s often an unpleasant experience for the patient.

 

Digital dentistry techniques for digital imaging embrace the use of an intraoral scanner. This device is essentially a small camera that is used to take incredibly accurate images of your mouth. When pieced together, these images create an incredibly accurate 3D image of your teeth and gums.

 

In-office CAD/CAM systems

Computer-aid design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) have been around for quite some time. It was mainly used in the manufacturing industry to create precision tools and parts. The use of this technology was actually first introduced to the dental profession in 1985.

 

Since then, the software has only gotten better, allowing dental professionals to create incredibly accurate prosthetics that are often adjustment-free.

 

Milling Machines

After scanning for impressions and uploading the 3D imaging to the CAD/CAM program, all that is left to do is the actual fabrication of the prosthetic.  are used to cut crowns, bridges, implant abutments, and more. It can use materials such as ceramics, zirconia, alloys, resins, and wax.

 

Benefits of Dental Technology Advancements

Embracing dental technology advancements benefits everyone involved in a restorative dentistry case.

 

For a dental laboratory, it allows us to provide quicker services and more accurate results to the dentists we’re working with. Dentists are able to deliver high-quality, durable and aesthetically pleasing results to their patients. As well, some of the technology we use in our labs can also be used for some of the routine services dentists provide. Patients benefits from shorter wait times, fewer appointments, and less invasive methods to capture impressions.

 

As a dentist, it’s important to work with a dental laboratory that adopts new technologies and stays up to date with new techniques.

 

Work with Vancouver’s Premium Dental Lab

At Ocean Ceramics, we’ve embraced technological advancements so that we can continuously provide the best possible services to local dentists and their patients.

 

We offer a service where your patient can visit our dental laboratory and sit down with one of our technicians to discuss their smiles. The goal of this session is to determine the shape and shade they want before moving forward with their case.

 

Book an appointment with our team today to learn more about how our dental lab can help you! Patients can book a smile consultation on our homepage!