Validating digital dental workflows requires strict controls

Jeremy Booth, Dental Tribune International

Mon. 3. August 2026

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At the sixth GC International Dental Symposium, set for 3 and 4 October in Tokyo in Japan, two of the programme’s digital dentistry sessions will address how digital diagnosis, planning and design are translated into clinical outcomes, focusing on validated digital workflows. Prof. Reinhilde Jacobs of KU Leuven in Belgium, president of the Digital Dentistry Society, will contribute to sessions on the use of artificial intelligence in diagnosis, smart personalised treatment and digital prosthodontics. In the build-up to the event, Prof. Jacobs spoke with Dental Tribune International about workflow validation, accuracy control and the points at which digital workflows are most vulnerable to error.

Prof. Jacobs, what defines a truly validated digital workflow from diagnosis to restoration?
Validating a digital workflow involves a high-level, hybrid scientific verification of all stages of the workflow. This includes a clinical validation trial that tests the complete workflow against a clinical expert benchmark. Validation of a workflow in this way helps ensure that cumulative errors across image data acquisition, software design and fabrication consistently remain below a critical clinical failure threshold.

Prof. Reinhilde Jacobs is head of oral and maxillo-facial surgery at KU Leuven in Belgium and president of the Digital Dentistry Society. (Image: Prof. Reinhilde Jacobs)

Why is clinical validation necessary in addition to technical validation?
Digital workflows for dental implant placement are a primary example of the importance of clinical as well as technical validation. These workflows were introduced some three decades ago, and several hundred validation studies were conducted both before and after their introduction. The vast majority of these studies were technical in nature, whether in vitro or ex vivo. The advantage of these studies is that they can clearly isolate error margins at individual steps in the workflow; however, they cannot be directly translated into potential biological margins in a clinical setting. By contrast, clinical validation studies reflect the net cumulative effect of positive and negative errors across the workflow.

Opposing errors may sometimes balance out, resulting in compensatory cumulative error. The opposite may also occur: when unvalidated components are combined within a digital workflow, errors that have not been measured or accounted for may compound rather than cancel each other out. Therefore, scientific validation of digital workflows requires strict accuracy control across all stages—acquisition, planning, design, fabrication and treatment—as well as clinical validation of the final outcome, including cumulative error, against a clinical expert benchmark.

Where do errors most commonly arise as digital data is captured, processed and translated into fabricated restorations, and how can they be avoided?
Errors occur primarily during acquisition of the image data and secondarily during fabrication. Accuracy at the primary acquisition stage and any related errors may further limit the accuracy of subsequent fabrication. Even if fabrication could be delivered with micrometre precision, the accuracy of the fabricated product will be determined by the acquisition accuracy. Although technical validation studies of intra-oral scanners in laboratory environments often indicate very high precision, this accuracy can very often not be maintained in clinical settings. In such settings, errors may accumulate, especially in posterior, subgingival or interproximal areas. Thus, if this initial data is compromised, subsequent CAD/CAM processing may simply replicate the original inaccurate digital model, albeit precisely.

Editorial note:

Organised by GC Corp., the sixth GC International Dental Symposium will bring together international speakers and dental professionals for a multidisciplinary programme covering topics such as prosthodontics, implantology, dental materials, endodontics, aligner therapy and digital workflows. The event is being held as part of GC’s broader One Week of Excellence programme, which will feature additional networking opportunities and organised cultural tours. More information is available on the symposium website.

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Artificial intelligence Dental events Digital dental workflows Digital dentistry GC Corp International Dental Symposium Personalised care Prosthodontics

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