Digital Dentistry & Zirconia for the Perfect Smile

The term digital dentistry is being increasingly used in recent times. We’ve asked Dr Miodrag Šćepanović, DDS, PhD, to explain to us how is dentistry becoming digital and how do digital technologies influence his work?

Dentistry will never be the same again. Digitalisation is a process that opens up a new dimension to our work as dentists.

In our daily work at the Cirkonija Centar, we use the Trios 3Shape intraoral scanner, which is currently the best intraoral scanner in the world. This scanner replaces standard impression techniques using imprint materials and impression trays. The scan is done without contact with the teeth and is completely painless. It generates a 3D image of the tooth – this is where our work enters the digital dimension. The scanning procedure is very fast, completely harmless and absolutely precise!

Following the scan, photo and video records of the teeth are taken to enable detailed analysis using the Digital Smile Design platform, to determine the kind of teeth you need for the perfect smile. Our technicians use the digital CAD/CAM method, ensuring precision and predictability are elevated to the highest level.

Zirconium is one of the most advanced materials today, used even in the space industry. When it is combined with digital dentistry, you say, a revolution occurs. What does the process of creating zirconia crowns look like and what makes it revolutionary?

With us, the process of making zirconia crowns is fully digitalised. This yields outstanding results and experience with maximum comfort for the patient. It is no longer necessary to explain to patients what their teeth will ultimately look like because they are shown what their future smile will look like prior to the intervention! When the patient says “Yes, that’s it”, we continue onwards.

We like the course of our work to be predictable. We make a thorough analysis of the photographs, scans and videos of patient’s teeth and smile, taking into account patient’s expectations. Then we make a precise treatment plan so the patient could know exactly what to expect at the end of the treatment. After the teeth are prepared to accept the crowns, a digital imprint is taken using an intraoral scanner, which is sent to a dental technician with a single click on the screen. Based on the already clearly defined shape and length of the tooth as seen by the patient in their mouth, the technician conducts a virtual design process.

The next stage is a prototype testing. The prototype crowns are made to fit the designed shape but are made of plastic. The patient can see what the final product is going to look like and whether any corrections are necessary. Corrective adjustments are extremely simple and quick at this stage, after which everything is ready for production of zirconia crowns.

Primacy in our work is being taken over by Monolithic Multilayer Crowns. Monolithic means that our entire crowns are made of a zirconium block, without any additional ceramic layers, and are thus much more resistant to breakages than any material previously used. Multilayer means that the colour of the crown is subject to a gradient, which provides a unique impression of naturalness.

In the digital era, don’t allow for your smile not to be made digitally!
Cirkonija Centar