History of Dental CAD/CAM

Computer-aided design and manufacturing were developed in the 1960s for use in the aircraft and automotive industries, and were first applied to dentistry a decade later.

Some of the most important figures in dental CAD/CAM development are Drs François Duret of France, Werner Mörmann of Switzerland, Dianne Rekow of the United States, and Matts Andersson of Sweden.

Dr Duret was the first person to develop a dental CAD/CAM device, making crowns based on an optical impression of the abutment tooth and using a numerically controlled milling machine as early as 1971. He produced the first dental CAD/CAM restoration in 1983 and demonstrated his system at the French Dental Association's international congress in November 1985 by creating a posterior crown restoration for his wife in less than an hour. Dr Duret later developed the Sopha system.

Dr Mörmann was the developer of the first commercial CAD/CAM system. He consulted with Dr Marco Brandestini, an electrical engineer, who came up with the idea of using optics to scan the teeth. By 1985, the team had performed the first chairside inlay using a combination of their optical scanner and milling device. They called the device CEREC, an acronym for computer-assisted ceramic reconstruction.

Dr Rekow worked on a dental CAD/CAM system in the mid-1980s with colleagues at the University of Minnesota. This system was designed to acquire data using photographs and a high-resolution scanner, and to mill restorations using a 5-axis machine.

Early technology permitted the creation of inlays, onlays, veneers, and crowns. More recently, CAD/CAM systems have been able to provide fixed partial dentures and implant abutments.

Another use of CAD/CAM is in orthodontics. CAD/CAM systems are becoming increasingly popular in dental offices.