Biogenerics the latest in CAD/CAM

Sirona Dental Systems, the company that pioneered digital impressions and dental CAD/CAM 25 years ago has introduced new user-friendly software developed for its CEREC chairside system based on patented Biogeneric technology.

Like fingerprints, no two human teeth are identical and each tooth has its own unique characteristics. A group of researchers led by Professor Dr Albert Mehl (Zurich University) and Professor Dr Volker Blanz (Siegen University) have unraveled the rules that shape natural teeth; these rules are based on a patient's genetic makeup. Sirona has harnessed this understanding into its new Biogeneric CEREC 3D software.

Version 3.8 of the CEREC software enables dentists to create lifelike reconstructions even while working with completely damaged occlusal surfaces. On the basis of a single intact tooth, the program extrapolates the natural morphology of that tooth to the patient's damaged tooth structure. CEREC 3.8 software can be used for all single-tooth restorations and for three-unit bridges.

"Biogenerics is based exclusively on the patient's individual dentition status," said Professor Mehl. "This is a major advantage in terms of clinical reliability. The more individual the occlusion, the better the resulting functionality."

Currently, all occlusal design approaches are based on limited dental libraries and databases containing data records of various standard teeth. Conventional CAD/CAM programs retrieve a matching tooth from the archive and then generate a design proposal for the given clinical situation. The user then manually edits and adapts this proposal. No objective principles exist to justify this selection and using matching databases can be subjective and time-consuming.

"These standardized teeth are comparable to off-the-rack garments manufactured in standard sizes," Professor Mehl explained. Frequently, such garments do not fit properly in all places and require subsequent alteration. By contrast, a biogenerically designed tooth is a made-to-measure product; 'tooth couture,' if you will."

"Biogenerics will revolutionize occlusal surface design," said Morné Cheetham, CEREC Director at Sirona Dental Systems Australia. "With a single mouse click, the user will obtain a natural and individually designed restoration that requires hardly any manual adjustment. Such made-to-measure restorations are simpler, quicker, and, above all, more precise than their 'off-the-rack' equivalents."

The Biogeneric design feature will replace the "dental database" feature in previous CEREC software versions. With Version 3.8, it will be possible to easily create crowns, veneers, and anatomically sized bridges The user will simply require an intact reference tooth of the similar type - i.e., anterior or posterior.

The time-consuming process of selecting tooth morphology from dental databases has been virtually eliminated. Moreover, due to the largely automated routines, the software is easy to learn and use.