How technology is changing dentistry

Align Technology

Tue. 19. November 2024

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Digital technologies are now essential in everyday life, also playing a crucial role in dentistry. While a dentist’s skills will remain at the core of dentistry, clinical decision-making will increasingly rely on techniques like augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve dental care. Understanding this changing world will help dental professionals in their everyday practice, both now and in the future.

New versatile digital solutions offer a holistic approach to better address patients’ needs in oral health, as well as restorative and aesthetic treatment. Tools developed to boost chairside conversion like the recently introduced Align Oral Health Suite bring expanded capabilities that can help by delivering an elevated patient experience and engagement while driving oral hygiene and restorative treatment acceptance.*

Accuracy in intra-oral scanners remains a key focus for dental professionals. Dr Elaine Halley, a restorative and aesthetic dentist from Perth in Scotland, notes: “The accuracy of fit enables handling not only single-unit and three-unit bridges but even complex restorative cases going cross-arch.” The iTero Element scanners provide highly accurate scans, bringing efficiency to dental practices by enabling full-mouth scans in under 60 seconds.** This precision supports a 36% reduction in impression remakes*** and meets scientifically validated accuracy standards for restorative needs.**** The iTero scanners consistently deliver precise full-arch scans with reliable marginal fit across various substrates and lighting conditions, and their industry-leading performance is supported by 12 independent studies.

In an upcoming Digital Excellence Series online session, Prof. Tim Joda, the head of eHealth at the Clinic of Reconstructive Dentistry at the University of Zurich, and Dr Francesco Mangano, the president of the Digital Dentistry Society, will outline the current state of dental technology, the role of AI and AR in diagnostics and treatment planning, and discuss how AI will impact the future of dentistry. Scheduled for 20 November at 7:30 pm (CET), this session will explore how AI is shaping the tools used in dental practice. All Digital Excellence Series events are held in English. Admission is complimentary, though registration is required for access. A recording of the session will be available approximately ten days after the live event.

Editorial note:

*Based on a global survey in October 2023 of 41 Invisalign-trained dental professionals who used Align Oral Health Suite 20 times or more during the limited market release period (August–October 2023), including 27 general practitioners and 14 orthodontists across North America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Latin America. Practitioners rated their agreement with the statement, “Align Oral Health Suite helps build patient understanding and trust in their diagnosis and treatment recommendations” on a scale from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). Data on file at Align Technology, as of 17 November 2023.

**Based on 40 iRecord scanning sessions with an average scan time of 58 seconds by two experienced users. Data on file at Align Technology, as of 10 February 2017.

***Based on a survey in December 2021 of 244 general practitioners with at least three years’ experience in the US and the five major European markets (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK) who had been using the iTero scanner for six or more months. Respondents were presented with the statement, “Since I started using my intra-oral scanner, I have a lower remake rate (compared to analogue impressions).” Among respondents who agreed, 38% was the median reduction. Data on file at Align Technology, as of 14 June 2022.

****Accuracy is defined as a combination of trueness and precision tested on various materials, under different lighting conditions, for crown preparation and full-arch scanning. Based on the results of 12 peer-reviewed studies (2018–2020). Data on file at Align Technology, as of 20 November 2020.

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