New Tech for Teeth EXPLORING DIGITAL IMPROVEMENTS T O DENTISTRY B Y K I M B E R LY B U R K
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niversity of Oklahoma College of Dentistry patients often spend less time in the chair these days, thanks to an investment in digital technology. 3D Solutions at OU Dentistry opened in August 2018, after a dental school task force made a recommendation to the dean. “Our first goal was to improve the education of our dental students,” says Dr. Yacoub Al Sakka, an assistant professor and director of digital technologies. “The second thing was to reduce the time that patients sit in the chair.” With 3-D scanning and printing, dental devices such as mouth guards and crowns can be made without taking the traditional impressions. Instead, an intraoral scanner is passed across the patient’s teeth, Al Sakka said. The scanning device projects a 3-D structure of the teeth onto a computer screen, and software shares the dimensions with 3-D printers and milling machines.
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A tooth created from 3D technology. Photo provided
“No one likes the goop,” says Lance Russell, owner of International Dental Arts of Tulsa and Oklahoma City. Russell said that about six years ago, his lab started making the transition to digital technology – which now includes 3-D machines that print patterns and plastic models. “Only about 25 percent of dentists use the new technology,” Russell says. “In five years, it will be up to 90 percent.” For dentists who are still taking impressions, International Dental Arts can also use its technology to scan those impressions, Russell said. “It makes it quicker and a little more accurate,” he says. “The doctors tell me the crowns fit better now than they ever have.” OU offers dental care provided by students, residents and faculty members, Al Sakka said, which means that a number of Oklahomans now are wearing crowns created in its digital lab. The lab also has been used by OU’s medical and pharmacy schools. Research indicates that “3-D technology absolutely works,” Al Sakka said. He said that by the end of this year, OU might be ready to offer lab services to dentists in private practice. International Dental Arts offers training on the intraoral scanner, Russell said, and as many as 50 dentists show up when they hold classes. “They should be embracing it, because it’s here,” he says. The scanners cost between $25,000 and $60,000, and Russell has about 10 clients in Oklahoma City who have made the investment. They save money on the materials used to make impressions, he said, “and once they get efficient at it, they will spend less time with the scanner than doing the impressions.”