The use of cad cam in dentistry
CAD/CAM in dentistry uses digital scanning, computer design, and computer-guided milling or printing to plan and make restorations and appliances.
How is CAD/CAM used in modern dentistry?
CAD/CAM in dentistry uses digital scanning, computer design, and computer-guided milling or printing to plan and make restorations and appliances.
What do CAD and CAM mean in dental care?
CAD means computer-aided design and CAM means computer-aided manufacturing. An intraoral scanner or laboratory scan captures a three-dimensional digital model, software designs the restoration, and a milling unit or printer produces it from a dental material such as ceramic, composite, resin, or metal.
Which dental treatments can CAD/CAM support?
CAD/CAM can support crowns, inlays, onlays, veneers, bridges, implant guides, dentures, orthodontic appliances, and provisional restorations. The result still depends on the diagnosis, tooth preparation, bite record, material selection, software design, machine calibration, finishing, and clinical fitting.
What happens during a CAD/CAM dental workflow?
The clinical workflow may include examination, shade and bite assessment, tooth preparation, digital scanning, virtual design, manufacturing, finishing, try-in, adjustment, and bonding or cementation. Ask whether the work is made chairside or by a laboratory and how the fit will be checked.
When should a damaged restoration be examined by a dentist?
Seek dental care when a restoration is fractured, painful, loose, or trapping food, because digital manufacturing does not replace examination of the tooth, pulp, gums, or bite. A dentist should assess whether repair, replacement, or treatment underneath is needed.
Frequently asked questions
Can I manage this without professional care?
The clinical workflow may include examination, shade and bite assessment, tooth preparation, digital scanning, virtual design, manufacturing, finishing, try-in, adjustment, and bonding or cementation.
What warning sign should I watch for?
Seek dental care when a restoration is fractured, painful, loose, or trapping food, because digital manufacturing does not replace examination of the tooth, pulp, gums, or bite.
Who wrote this page
This library is published by Dental Nation, a licensed dental group practising in the United Arab Emirates. Pages are written and overseen by the same clinical team that treats patients in our clinics, and are held to a fixed editorial standard for safety and accuracy.
This page is patient education, not medical advice, and cannot replace an examination. Anything urgent — facial swelling, trauma, uncontrolled bleeding or severe pain — needs a dentist or emergency care now.