The potential and future of digital dentistry

Abstract Body: In the last years a tremendous step forward in CAD/CAM was made and still a lot of new applications are in development. Main aspects have been the improvement of intraoral optical impression systems and the mostly full-automatic calculation and design of functional surfaces of restorations. This knowledge-based description of tooth morphologies, called the biogeneric tooth model, can be used for reconstructing the missing tooth surfaces suitable for the individual situation. The model was already introduced successfully for inlay/onlay and crown reconstructions and has now been extended to larger restorations. Additionally, new procedures to include the dynamic occlusion are possible avoiding interferences during jaw movements. In case of implantology and other fields of dentistry, software tools can assist in treatment planning and diagnostic problems. This lecture will give an update of actual software tools and their clinical applications and will provide a look into the future and potential of new developments.