Dental Prosthetics Using 3D Laser Scanning

close up of a smile

Visiting the dentist might not be that bad after all

People all over the world have started using 3D laser scanning because of its unusual uses. It is no longer for computer geniuses, but for anyone with interest. The best thing about this tool is that it is budget-friendly and easy to get. Many companies have come out trying to make the best version of 3D laser scanning. This means that no matter who you are or where you are in the world, you will be around a company that sells 3D laser scanning devices.

How does 3D laser scanning work

It wasn’t always as amazing as it is today. It was created in the 1960s and had many flaws. It involved a lot of human interaction and wasn’t nearly as accurate as it is today. Due to these disadvantages, many people didn’t start adopting this technology until the late 1990s.

Currently, many forms of 3D laser scanning exist, some are connected to drones that can scan things from the sky, and others are small handheld devices. The 3D laser scanning devices you see will have some of the same functions, though the information collected may vary slightly.

This technology takes rapid pictures of an object, collecting all of the information on it. All the user has to do is point, aim, and sometimes move around and object. It obtains the smallest information that a human could easily miss and then saves that information in cyberspace. After that, the information can be turned into virtual reality, sent to others to examine, or turned into a physical model using 3D printing.

Who is using 3D laser scanning now

3D laser scanning has made its way into the dental field, helping create prosthetics. However, some are still debating whether or not this technology is good enough to replace previous methods of taking molds and creating prosthetics. Egyptian researchers decided to study three different types of casts and ways to develop them.

They compared the conventional casts to 3D printed casts and digital casts. In this study, the digitally printed casts were printed using ProJet6000. These researchers found that digital casts overestimated width measurements that cause the cast to be off, and they found the 3D printed scan had very minor errors. In both cases, the errors were so minor they would still be acceptable to use in a dentist’s office.

Conclusion

Being a dentist is hard work, and being a patient can sometimes be uncomfortable. The more technology that is used, the more comfortable a patient will be. Instead of sitting for hours on end having gel in your mouth to form molds, they can scan your mouth and create accurate prosthetics from it. On top of all of that, the information that is saved can be stored forever. Typically, dentists have to save the mold of patient’s teeth. Using 3D laser scanning can actually help them save physical space.

As more uses come out, researchers will continue to test 3D laser scanning to ensure it can be used without errors or flaws. Dentists all over the world will use this technology to take their practice to the next level.

Keep reading: more articles about 3D scanning